I chew a special brand of gum that you can't get in America. It's British, and it's called Airwaves. It's a menthol eucalyptus gum that is a very soothing thing for me when I'm singing because I'm swallowing, and it also keeps my sinuses and general upper breathing clear. I've got to be able to hit these clear, clean notes.
Just the basic principles of what makes America work for me are very strong in my heart. It's like no other nation in the world.
It's best to keep things as free and open as you can. It's good to have a template, but then you go back and dissect it and see where you can make improvements. That's pretty much been the case with every Priest song that's ever been written.
'Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk,' that's my big Emperor album.
'Firepower' is the eighteenth full-length studio album for Judas Priest. That's a lot of metal songs over the decades, and the writing process is always the same, really.
It's a myth that I received any flak from the metal community over my decision to come out. I have, in fact, received numerous positive responses from fans, as well as e-mails from people who were going through much the same thing. It's horrible to keep something like that secret, and I felt I had to make it public.
I'm not a frugal person, but I find it difficult to be extravagant materially.
I was in several bands before I joined Judas Priest. Being in those early unknown bands were the stepping stones, really, so I learned a lot in those short few years jumping from one band to another.
To have Judas Priest together? It's a real adventure, and we always feel excited when it's time to create a new record.
I think I'm still a lone wolf, internally. And I always will be.
I love early blues like Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. I listened to the way these people sang, and it was just beautiful - straight from the soul. That, for me, was an inspiration.
Metal fans are just as compassionate and caring and tolerant as any other form of music fans are.
This overpowering relief of love conquering any kind of difficulty and hardship in life - that love is forever, even with people that we lost in the physical world.
The moment I came out as a gay man, I never really thought of the consequences. Of course, the proverbial happened: it hits the newswires, and it's this big, big thing.
I've always felt that where Priest has been able to get to, it's been down to discipline, our real love and commitment to making the best music that we can make, and never forgetting our fan base.
I never tire of the drive from Phoenix to San Diego, and it is mostly desert, obviously, but you get different varieties of desert terrain.
If you go to the gym every day, it's not really good. Your muscles get fatigued. Your vocal cords are muscles - they get burned out, they get tired, so you've got to give them the chance to recover and repair during the night.
If I was a billionaire, I'd have a warehouse full of Ferrari and Lamborghini, but I'm not.
