PORTRAIT Records Cover Version Of Unreleased JUDAS PRIEST Song

Swedish metal band PORTRAIT has recorded a cover version of a JUDAS PRIEST song that has never been released by the legendary British heavy metal band. The track "Mother Sun" appears on PORTRAIT's CD single "We Were Not Alone", which is being sent out exclusively to subscribers with the May issue of Sweden Rock Magazine.

"When first deciding to record a cover song for a bonus track for this exclusive release, the choice of band was obvious as JUDAS PRIEST is to blame for the birth of PORTRAIT in the first place," says PORTRAIT guitarist Christian Lindell.

"Instead of doing something completely unnecessary, like recording a song that they themselves have already perfected on some of their own album releases, we chose to record 'Mother Sun' as that song for obscure reasons has remained unreleased.

"This JUDAS PRIEST song is only available on two bootleg recordings of poor sound quality, even though it was frequently played live in the mid-'70s.

"The song itself is a fantastic, QUEEN-like epic, with Rob Halford doing one of his most impressive vocal performances ever.

"Even if the style of the song is somewhat different from what we do ourselves, it isn't too far-fetched to believe that a PORTRAIT ballad would sound something along those lines, would we ever write one."

An audio sample of PORTRAIT's version of "Mother Sun" can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

For more information, visit www.swedenrockmagazine.com.

PORTRAIT will release its new album, "Crossroads", on April 25 in Europe and April 29 in North America via Metal Blade Records.

The relentless, Swedish heavy metal monster known as PORTRAIT was born in the year 2006 with the intention to exterminate the entire world. After the release of a demo, two singles and their self-titled full-length debut, PORTRAIT released its Metal Blade debut, "Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae", in 2011. After numerous tours and festival appearances, the band began to focus on its third album, entitled "Crossroads". The writing and recording process took about a year, and Tore Stjerna of Necromorbus Studio handled the production together with the band.