(Gibson) Metal legend Rob Halford recently discussed Judas Priest's farewell tour announcement with SignOnSanDiego.com. He said that the tour would begin in 2011, but would probably stretch on until 2012. As for why the band is saying goodbye, Halford said that it was because of a bunch of reasons."I suppose retirement or slowing down, if you want to call it that, I don't know," he said. "I think you have to face mortality, that's for sure. Some bands keep going and going, some bands ease off a bit, and some bands stop altogether. It happens to all bands, eventually, and now this is something we're facing in Judas Priest. So, what we want to do is leave on what we feel are respectable terms, musically."
Although Priest is still very popular around the world and performing well, Halford said the band are in danger of "Muhammad Ali Syndrome."
"If you get in the ring too much, the whole thing can become really sad to look at and listen to," he said. "And you have to ensure that doesn't happen as a musician, especially in the extreme world of heavy metal, because it's very demanding to carry these old bodies all over the place. You try to do the things you could easily do 30 years ago and it's not so easy. What we would like our fans to do is consider that this something to celebrate and not feel sad or depressed about. It won't be all over in a flash."
