Judas Priest’s Ian Hill: “People have been trying to kill heavy metal now for about 40 years”

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has claimed that people have been “trying to kill heavy metal” for about 40 years.

• READ MORE: Judas Priest legend Rob Halford: “Coming out happened in the right way – it wasn’t premeditated”

The metal musician made the comments in a recent interview with music YouTube channel Metal Oda ahead of their concert in Istanbul, Turkey this July.

Asked what advice he would give himself if he could go back to the beginning of the band’s career more than 50 years ago, the bassist spoke about the importance of “patience and persistence” (per Blabbermouth).

Elaborating on the title of the new album ‘Invincible Shield’, Hill continued: “We’ve had a lot of stuff thrown at us over the years. I mean, people have been trying to kill heavy metal now for about 35, 40 years, so it’s always been a bit of a struggle against the establishment, if you know what I mean.”

The artist concluded that the band had “managed to survive and come through it”.

Hill’s comments come after Judas Priest’s own Rob Halford reflected on being labelled ‘Metal God’ by fans.

Speaking to NME as part of a recent In Conversation video interview, he shared that the nickname “kind of got a life of its own and then I started to take it too seriously”, adding: “So much so that I’ve actually got a trademark on ‘Metal God’ because I cherish it so much – not just not for me, but for the band and the fans as well”.

The vocalist said he always has “fun” with it, sharing: “I always say: ‘There was only one Elvis, and there’s only one Metal God.’ And I mean that, you know, with my tongue in my cheek.”

Halford also expressed his relief that the band were aligned in their outlooks on fame and music. “None of us walks around with the spotlight on us [being like] ‘don’t you know who I am?’ The yam-yas won’t stand for that,” he said. “I don’t forget where I come from: I’m a singer in a heavy metal band, I love you to death, and that’s all it is.”

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