This sentence perfectly sums up, through his personal example, what so many people out there have experienced when facing marginalization, especially during the years to which this man refers. Unfortunately, even today, decades later, despite the progress that has been made, many still find themselves in this grim reality, which at times becomes even more complex and irrational. Concepts like acceptance, respect, and love are often thrown out the window of the tallest building, and as they fall, they sing national anthems, just to make sure division takes place before they hit the pavement with a final splat.
Lemmy once said, paraphrasing, why be racist, why hate someone you don’t even know? You see them standing a few meters away, and you draw conclusions about them without having the slightest idea who they are or what they do. Talk to them first, and then form an opinion. To add my own thought, generalizations only make sense when you’re in a hurry and don’t have time for deeper analysis. But in this life, it’s worth taking a few minutes here and there to give our attention, especially if what we’re dealing with is a living being.
Moreover, such opinions, or whatever one may call them, tend to be shallow, if not outright manipulated, yet they carry weight. They spread from generation to generation like bad habits that are not easily shed. Of course, homophobia is far more than just a “bad habit”; its roots are deeply tangled in pseudo-moralistic notions that divide people and drive them to act out of fear rather than love. And we all know the outcome of that, as history is steeped in blood and violence.
Fortunately, that’s not the whole story.
There is another side to us: artistic expression, which unite us and help restrain the hungry jaws of self-destruction. How many times have you heard someone say, at least once in your life, I hope, that music saved them? In their darkest, most hopeless moments, a song, an album, a melody kept their mind intact. I highlight music because Rob Halford is a singer and songwriter in one of the most important bands in modern music history: Judas Priest.
The Metal God chose to Confess and followed it through to the end, always honest, deeply emotional, and remarkably expressive. He gave us a book, his life’s journey, that passed through darkness but has now reached a good place. He lost people he loved, yet he remains with us, his listeners and followers, still inside a creative cycle that has not yet closed. I hope it stays open for hundreds of thousands of years to come.
I know that literally cannot happen, but I am certain Priest’s music will never fade, unless the world itself is destroyed and history erased. As long as that doesn’t happen, the Metal legacy will live on, and new generations, young and old alike, will continue to follow.
Confess is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read, and this was my second time through it, the first was the audiobook, narrated by Halford himself. I recommend it wholeheartedly; it is magnificent.
There is also another book, published in 2022, titled Biblical: Rob Halford’s Heavy Metal Scriptures. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and continue reading. Something tells me it will be even more fascinating, since it dives into music itself, the artists who influenced him, and who knows what else.
This man is a living treasure. I feel gratitude and blessing simply knowing he exists.
All Hail the Metal God!
Until next time —
be well, and keep reading.
It’s important!
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