Judas Priest singer Rob Halford has one of the most powerful voices in all of heavy metal history. He has a voice that is truly recognizable; packing power and emotion, there are few metal vocalists that can capture the epic presentation that Rob offers listeners. However, the Judas Priest frontman is not super fond of his vocals. In a new interview with Loudwire, Halford speaks to the discomfort he feels when it comes to listening to his own signing.
Talking about how uncomfortable he feels when listening to his own singing voice, Halford shares the following: “I don’t think it’s that peculiar. Because musicians, we’re always trying to reach nirvana… nirvana is unreachable. We’re always, ‘I wish I could have done that bit better or held that scream a bit longer, and that’s part of the joy of what we do.”
Rob Halford continues to talk about the discomfort he feels when hearing his own singing voice: “Is it weird? I don’t know, I just can’t stand the sound of my own voice. I listen to it, obviously, in playback when I’m with Andy ‘do it again’ Sneap. I have no choice. I wait for him to say, ‘Got it. Next!’ It’s a peculiar foible, but I learned to live with it. It’s what I do, it’s my life, my life is a metal singer. All that matters to me is what comes out of my mouth when I’m onstage, first and foremost. The biggest struggle for all musicians is when you validate who you are and what you’re about and what you’re achieving with your fans. That’s when it all makes sense. That’s probably the only time I can cope with listening to myself, because I’ve got it coming in at 11 in my ears anyway.”
What do you make of Rob’s points? What do you think of the Judas Priest frontman’s singing? Where does he rank for you when it comes to greatest heavy metal singers?