The legendary frontman of Judas Priest, one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time, celebrates five decades of heavy metal in this tell-all memoir.
Most priests hear confessions. This one is making his.
Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true "Metal God." Raised in Britain's hard-working, heavy industrial heartland, he and his music were forged in the Black Country. Confess, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story-a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-fated sexual trysts, and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption . . . and finding love.
Now, he is telling his gospel truth.
Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humor, Confess is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal.
Rob Halford has decided to Confess. Because it's good for the soul.
Named one of the Best Music Books of 2020 by Rolling Stone and Kirkus Reviews
Show moreThe legendary frontman of Judas Priest, one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time, celebrates five decades of heavy metal in this tell-all memoir.
Most priests hear confessions. This one is making his.
Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true "Metal God." Raised in Britain's hard-working, heavy industrial heartland, he and his music were forged in the Black Country. Confess, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story-a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-fated sexual trysts, and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption . . . and finding love.
Now, he is telling his gospel truth.
Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humor, Confess is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal.
Rob Halford has decided to Confess. Because it's good for the soul.
Named one of the Best Music Books of 2020 by Rolling Stone and Kirkus Reviews
Show moreRob Halford is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy award-winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest, which will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. The band have released twenty albums to date and continue to tour together today. Halford lives between The Midlands in the UK, and Arizona in the US.
"Confess can't be reduced to a collection of salacious gay
encounters, cocaine binges or romanticized rock'n'roll horror
stories. It's a cautionary tale that offers redemption through
courage and the changing of times. It's a treasure-trove of heavy
metal nuggets and anecdotes that any rock-blog dork would lose
their mind over. But most importantly, it's a beautiful exploration
of the human condition and one man's capacity for love and
self-love."--Forbes
"Confess digs deeper... and provides useful
context."--AllMusic.com
"Confess is a must-read for Judas Priest fans as it is written from
a place of honesty and passion while done with integrity....a
page-turner."--Sonic Perspectives
"Confess is no hyperbole: Halford bares his soul."--Revolver
Magazine
"[Halford's] language is vivid and personal...and his tale is
compelling. As he tells the story of Judas Priest...he weaves in
any number of funny, heartbreaking, and interesting tidbits about
the obstacles he encountered and the many famous people he has met
along the way."--Rolling Stone
"[Halford] didn't pull any punches and he didn't leave anything
out. I thought that was very courageous...very heartfelt and very
real."--Buzz Osborne, Melvins
"A must-read for pop-culture lovers and metalheads alike."--The
Baltimore Sun
"A unique and deeply revealing insight into the extraordinary life
he has led."
--Metal Talk
"Confess...takes readers on a unique journey... Halford is candid
and direct."--Media Mikes
"Deliciously readable...Confess is a warts-and-all rock'n'roll
confessional."--Esquire
"Essential reading for any fan of hard rock."
--Jewish Journal
"For nearly half a century, Halford has been the voice of Judas
Priest, screaming for vengeance against nonbelievers."
--Rolling Stone
"His memoir recounts the highs and lows of his history in a medley
of comical, candid, and heartbreaking stories about obstacles and
experiences...Confess is a fascinating portrait, dripping in
Halford's polite yet brutally honest demeanor and personal slang:
equal parts legendary metal icon and every-day humble Walsall
lad."--Phoenix New Times
"Raw and searingly moving, Confess will delight metal heads and
music fans alike."--GQ
"Rob Halford has written one of the most candid and surprising
memoirs of the year. . . Confess is a riproaring tale, a funny,
often shocking and genuinely emotional story."--The Telegraph
"Rob Halford led Judas Priest, and heavy metal itself, out of the
Midlands and into the bigtime."
--The Guardian
"Rob Halford though is one of the few metal musicians who actually
has a story worth hearing....Confess, true to its title, doesn't
hold back....Confess manages to be both dark and at times
endearing. Halford's openness, despite some dark themes, allows for
his humor to shine through....It may have taken a while for Halford
to tell his story, but it was certainly worth the wait."
--New Noise
"The Metal God has written his bible."
--The Oakland Press
"The Metal God shares stories from a life like no other, spending
over 50 years in the heavy metal bubble, facing adversity head-on
but always with a wry smile and horns held firmly aloft."
--Kerrang
"When it comes to metal memoirs, Judas Priest frontman Rob
Halford's aptly titled and long-awaited Confess: The Autobiography
certainly has enough sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to satisfy
voracious readers of, say, Motley Crüe's The Dirt or Keith
Richards's Life. But a great deal of sorrow also permeates the
just-released page-turner."--Yahoo! News
"Whether guiding the reader through the highs and lows of the Judas
Priest machine, or through harrowing struggles with his sexuality
and cocaine addiction, Halford's ability to let his humble
working-class British upbringing and a wisecrack poke through the
events depicted in his autobiography, Confess, gives an uplifting
aura to even the darkest parts of his life story....It's that sense
of introspection that drives what ends up being the most
compelling, and inspiring parts of Halford's story....It's the
introspective -- and brutal honesty -- of Halford's off-stage
struggle that truly lifts his autobiography from a library checkout
to a must-purchase."--Blabbermouth
"With its courageous, truthful delivery and the depiction of
Halford truly rising above difficulties, perhaps the greatest
aspect of Confess is the book's ability to inspire readers to rise
above their challenges and come out on top. 10/10."--Audio Ink
Radio
"A powerful, often shocking read."--Vintage Guitar
"An incredibly candid look at one of the biggest metal vocalists of
all time....Full of great stories and great jokes."--Metal
Injection
"Delivered with refreshing down to earth frankness...Simply put,
it's a must read - not only for fans of Halford and Judas Priest,
but for all music fans."--Louder
"Free of the demons of his past, Halford chronicles his unique rock
and roll journey in this compelling autobiography.... Rock fans
will naturally enjoy this book, but it is also a significant
contribution to LGBTQIA+ nonfiction."--Library Journal
"Rob tells his story without holding anything back. Some truly
incredible accounts."--NPR's Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
"Salacious revelations....The most hotly anticipated hard-rock
autobiography of the year, Rob Halford's Confess is gossipy, good
natured, and hilarious, often unintentionally. It's also gloriously
and relentlessly filthy....With a breezy, down-to-earth
frankness...Confess is much more personal story than music
memoir...Halford is winningly unpretentious and
self-deprecating....In its final stretches, Confess becomes a
moving meditation on family, friendship, personal growth, and
social progress...[a] revealing and entertaining book."--Classic
Rock Review
"The book is well-crafted, detailing Halford's early years and
initial forays into the music biz. Fans will love the details of
the rise of Priest along with the peaks and valleys along the
way...Everything... included helped show a real informative
blueprint of [Halford's] background."--Anti-Music
"The full, frank, and shocking autobiography of Judas Priest's
Metal God....[T]his book celebrates five decades of the guts and
glory of rock-n-roll."
--Rough Trade
"What a rock memoir should be - brutally honest and funny as
hell....[Rob Halford] has written a rock memoir so full of life,
humor, insight and turmoil that it feels reductive even to assign
it to that formulaic genre... complex and richly textured.... While
much of the book's power derives from Halford's struggle to
integrate his public and private lives, there are plenty of
beautifully remembered tales of the kind that enliven any
rags-to-rock-riches story....A redemptive, funny, honest
account.... We all carry secrets. The lesson of this unforgettable
memoir is not to let those secrets undo what makes each of us
uniquely valuable."--RockandRollGlobe.com
"You can add great writer to [Halford's] resume as well. His story
is incredible and his journey is something that reads like a
Hollywood script. Albeit a Quentin Tarantino film....The pages are
filled [with] so many great stories and memories - both good and
bad. But you get the sense that Halford has always been able to
persevere and make the best out of whatever situation he found
himself in. And he does this by absolutely keeping the reader
entertained with anecdotes and an unbelievable sense of
humor."--Sound Vapors
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