ROB HALFORD Says His Spiked Platform Heels Were A Gift From LZZY HALE

In a new interview with Metal Hammer, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford discussed the photos he recently shared on Instagram of him wearing a tailored sports coat, tie with white skulls, leather gloves, jeans, cowboy hat and fabulous spiked platform heels while carrying a sophisticated dragonhead cane. Asked if that is a regular outfit Chez Halford these days, Rob responded: "Those heels were given to me by the beautiful Lzzy Hale, from HALESTORM. When PRIEST were on tour in New Zealand we worked with HALESTORM and I was chatting to Lzzy backstage and she had those particular heels on her feet. I was going, 'Oh my God, how do you even walk in them?' She said, 'Oh, you know, it's a girl thing...' But they looked so powerful and they scream 'heavy metal!'

"And so I was at the post office about a week ago and there was something for me there in the locker. And it was from Lzzy," he continued. "I hadn't a clue what it was, so I opened it up and there were those spectacular heavy metal heels! She wrote me this really sweet note saying, 'Hey, Rob, hope you're well, lots of love. We talked about these heels in New Zealand and I found a pair for you. Have fun! Love, Lzzy.' And I thought, 'How sweet is that?'

"If you'd have been in my house watching me do that photo, you'd have been roaring," Rob added. "It took me forever and I was blacking out in pain. Those heels fit me, but you're being pitched at this extraordinarily abnormal angle and then you try to keep your balance. I took about five or six pictures and I threw myself on the couch and ripped those shoes off and was massaging my feet, sweating from head to toe. It was absolutely fucking hilarious."

Last month, Rob also shared a couple of photos of him wearing black leather assless chaps. One of the people who reacted to the pictures was Halford's PRIEST bandmate Richie Faulkner, who posted the comment: "Bro! Next tour!! Less is more haha". Rob then replied: "70 this year bro no fucks left!"

After Halford came out in 1998, PRIEST's studs-and-black leather biker outfits — which defined the look of the heavy metal genre for years to come — took on an explicitly gay dimension, with some fans claiming that they were taken by surprise by his revelation.

Halford's autobiography, "Confess", arrived in September via Hachette Books. It was written with Ian Gittins, co-writer of "The Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx. In the book, Halford discusses in detail what it was like becoming the first metal icon to announce he is gay in 1998 during an MTV interview, despite knowing about his sexuality since he was 10.

Last fall, JUDAS PRIEST and Rufus Publications announced the publication of the first-ever official JUDAS PRIEST book documenting the band's extensive history over the last 50 years. Titled "Judas Priest - 50 Heavy Metal Years", the book has been put together by David Silver, Ross Halfin and Jayne Andrews.