JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD On Setlist For 'Invincible Shield' Tour: 'There'll Probably Be At Least Two Or Three Deep Cuts'

In a new interview with Metal Pilgrim, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke about the setlist for the European leg of the band's "Invincible Shield" tour with SAXON and URIAH HEEP, which is scheduled to kick off on March 11 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've had this conversation before as far as trying to put the setlist together. And after 19 studio albums, it's, like, 'Oh my God. Where do we go?' If we didn't play 'Breaking The Law', there'd be a riot. If we didn't play 'Painkiller', there'd be a riot. There are certain songs that you are indebted to your fans to play, because they're part of the fabric of who you are as a band. Without naming names, there are certain bands where you know you wanna hear that song when you go to a show. So there's a portion of the setlist that already writes itself. Having said that, yeah, we are gonna go quite deep, and we found some songs from previous albums that we're gonna work with and we're gonna bring out. So there'll probably be at least two or three deep cuts on this setlist."

Rob continued: "At any given moment, we've got 60 to 70 songs we can play — at any given moment. And then we're gonna add more into the mix. It's fun to see the texts and the e-mails flying through: 'Well, I'll give you this one if you give me that one.' 'Cause you've gotta find a balance. When a band plays on stage, every single bandmember has to agree on the set list. There's no place for, 'Oh, dude, I've gotta play this one.' There's no place for that. You've all gotta be believing in that particular song as you go through the show. And it's gonna be fantastic. And this is gonna be a really eventful tour as we're about to kick off in Europe, with our friends SAXON and URIAH HEEP."

JUDAS PRIEST will be touring in support of its new album, "Invincible Shield", which will arrive on March 8 via Sony Music.

In a recent interview with Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In, Halford spoke about the first three songs that have been released "Invincible Shield": "Panic Attack", "Trial By Fire" and "Crown Of Horns". He said: "Your first three cuts, your first three tracks of your new album are so important because they have to send the right messages out in terms of connectivity and what are they doing now? What is it gonna sound like? There's then the excitement and the anticipation of your new music. Your fans around the world are just, like, 'What are they doing? I wanna check it out, what's going on.'"

He continued: "I'll tell you what was really cool, because there's that great intro to [the first single] 'Panic Attack', which starts with the almost-'Turbo'-sounding guitars… And I thought, I just know our fans are gonna be listening and [going], 'What the hell is this shit? What are they doing now?' Which is exactly what we wanted to do in terms of getting your attention, getting you focused and ready, because when that song opens up, when those first rhythm riffs start blasting through and then the band is just taking off, we leave the launchpad immediately. And PRIEST fans are going off, 'Thank God for that. Because this is exactly what I wanted.' … The structures, the arrangements, the DNA of that song is full of lots of beautiful metal trails that take this band all the way back to 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' and beyond."

When Maxwell touched upon the fact that none of the first three songs released from "Invincible Shield" sound similar to one another, Halford concurred. "I'm really pleased with the way that we've unleashed these first three tracks, because, again, it just shows you the breadth of the ability of this band to take you to all these different places," he said. "Those three songs are nothing like each other; they're nothing like each other. They're three songs, but when they're connected to the rest of the material, you're getting, again, this beautiful album definition of what PRIEST is doing and representing itself in 2024.

"You wait till you hear 'The Serpent And The King'," Halford added about one of the tracks that have yet to be released from the LP. "That's gonna rip your head off. We've already sent a teaser out for that, and the fans are already losing their minds. So, all the things that you love about PRIEST are enmeshed in 'Invincible Shield', and then some."

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Original guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.