Rob Halford says that JUDAS PRIEST “deserves” to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
The British heavy metal legends were on the ballot for Rock Hall induction this year, but failed to receive enough votes to make the class of 2020.
Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was previously on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.
Asked in new interview with NME if he is disappointed that PRIEST hasn’t been inducted into the Rock Hall yet, Halford said: “I’ve always admired it. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame isn’t any different from those other institutions they have in America, like the one for football, where you’ll always get some people complaining one player deserves to be there over another. Emotions always run high whenever these awards take place. But I’ve always supported it — only because of the company we’d be in.
“I think if any metal band deserves to be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, it’s PRIEST,” the singer continued. “And beyond that, there needs to be more metal there, because there’s not enough.”
Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N’ ROSES in that group’s first year of eligibility.
Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other “criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock ‘n’ roll,” which is, of course, open to interpretation.
Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn’t get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.
DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn’t get inducted until 2016.
After this year’s Rock Hall inductees were announced in January, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner said that it made no sense that DEPECHE MODE, Whitney Houston, NINE INCH NAILS and Biggie Smalls were going into the Rock Hall before PRIEST. “Hence why the Rock Hall holds no credibility for me and never has,” he tweeted.
