Could Rob Halford make the jump from Metal God to Blind Lemon?

As the Judas Priest singer recently reminded Newsday, a solo blues album is something that's been on his list of "bucket-list endeavors" for some time. "I've always felt that that's very much a part of my background and musical roots. I don't know what kind of blues album I could do because there are so many different facets," he mused. "Maybe I'll just mix it up."

Halford went on to explain that a major motivation behind his blues dream is an abiding faith in his own vocal versatility. "I'm a fan of people like Michael Bublé and Michael Feinstein. I've always been a fan of [Frank] Sinatra and Tony Bennett and Elvis [Presley]. I'd love to hear what my voice would sound like in that kind of musical mix, with wind instruments, trumpets and sax, piano, just that big-band sound," he continued. "I think if I had a voice that was different to what it is and was a little more in one focus, maybe I wouldn't be as adventurous about my ideas. But because my voice is able to do those different things, it's instinctive and natural to see what else I can do."

In a 2011 interview with Examiner.com, Halford credited blues records with giving him "the buzz" to be a musician as a young man, and said he'd like to cut a blues album of his own "because I want to explore what my voice can do in that wonderful world." Adding that he "learned to do a lot of that soaring, sweeping and screeching" that Priest fans have come to love through similar exploring, he said, "I've got a voice that can go in different octaves, directions, and different kinds of projections. It's a combination of a sense of adventure and just being inspired by those guys, those wonderful singers."

Halford, who turned 64 this year, told Newsday he realizes that "the clock is ticking" on the number of records he'll be able to finish before he retires, and he expressed a similar urge to make the most of Judas Priest's available time during a recent conversation with Sixx Sense co-host Jenn Marino, who spoke with him backstage at this year's Download Festival. "We can't afford to wait three years, or five years now, to make the [next] record," he argued. "You know, who wants to go home and sit down for a year? And especially while the band is buzzing and the energy's there creatively."

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