Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengeance is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and to celebrate, vocalist Rob Halford and bassist Ian Hill sat down with Metal Hammer to discuss the making of the album. Apparently, Priest were on a roll during this time, and we're not talking just musically! It seems like the boys in the band were quite the hellions.
"How we got through that record… I don't know," Halford told Metal Hammer. "We were dancing with death. I went into town every night getting absolutely fucking bladdered. Ian drove a rental car into the pond out the front of the studio at four o'clock in the morning, waking everybody up." Though the real gem of the interview came when the band was out on the road supporting Screaming For Vengeance.
Once the band set out on the World Vengeance tour (which also featured a young and hungry Iron Maiden as the opening act), Halford recalls a very specific incident involving a taxi accident, being high on acid, and some hot water. "There was one incident where a taxi knocked K.K. [Downing, guitarist] over while we were in Germany. Glenn suddenly became this instant medic – he's going, 'He needs hot water.' Somebody rushes off to get a bucket and some towels, dipping them in this hot water and putting them on K.K., who suddenly starts screaming in agony. Glenn says to me later, 'Worst part is – I was tripping on acid at the time.'"
The good news is that Priest came out on the other side of chaos without too much of a scratch, and Screaming For Vengeance remains one of their most popular albums, thanks to one particular tune you all know so well…
You can read the full interview with Halford and Hill in Metal Hammer today.
