Confess: The Autobiography by Rob HalfordMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
First, this is not the history of Judas Priest, though it plays a great part in the book. Nor is it an in-depth discussion of the musical choices the band has made, though that too is touched upon here and there. Instead this is Rob Halford's story, stripped bare of his Metal God persona, he is surprisingly candid on all areas of his life, primarily his struggles with his sexuality and his drinking problem, surprisingly he states that up until Turbo he never went on stage or recorded a vocal unless he had a few drinks in him.
It starts as all biographies do (working class family, industrial setting, slightly estranged from his father, school hijinks), and then moves on to his first brush with the stage as an actor and stagehand and finally with small bands before joining Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill and joining the band as their lead singer.
Again, the usual fledgling band stories (greedy record label, inept promotion, the hardships of the road while gigging in a van), until they get picked up by a bigger label and hitting their stride as they virtually invent Heavy Metal. Yes there was hard rock before them, and Rob readily admits to being a huge fan of Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath. But nobody did it quite like Priest, they took what came before them and took it to another level, one that was to define the metal sound, twin guitars, massive riffs and vocals that would pummel your ears.
The book also goes into the misunderstanding that went into his split from Priest in the 90's and the formation of the bands Fight and 2wo, his solo albums are somewhat glossed over and the last third of the book tells of his sobriety, coming out as a gay man and his return to Priest as the true Metal God.
The writing is crisp, very readable and to the point, making all the stories fun to read. However I was disappointed that his relationship with his bandmates, Glenn Tipton, Ken (K.K) Downing, Ian Hill and the several drummers was not given more importance, certainly they have been with him far longer and are more important in his life than anyone else. They are mentioned, of course but not nearly enough. But in general, a great read and essential for any Judas Priest fan.
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