When you purchase a book and especially an autobiography, the basic if not the crucial point of choice is the positive view that you have of the author. Rob Halford is not only a highly respected figure in the metal world but I dare to say that he represents what this music stands for!After all, it’s not coincidental at all that we all call him Metal God, right? For me personally, Halford is the sheer embodiment of what I’d like to address as dignity and self respect. This is what I seek from my favorite artists and “Confess” not only proves my initial, positive view that I had for Rob Halford but it also reinforces it even more!
“Confess” is a candid, enjoyful and quite revealing autobiography. A book that you simply cannot let down and you want to read more and more. As every chapter draws to an end, the next one urges you to carry on without any delay! Naturally, it has the familiar stucture of an autobiography as we find our hero growing up in the idustrial area of Walsall, discovering his sexual identity, joining Judas Priest, leaving them and after more than a decade reuniting with those metal legends. Two things really stand out throughout the book: a) Rob’s undying passion for heavy metal and b) the constant stress and frustration of being a gay frontman of a heavy metal band…and that lasted for almost 25 years! This fact alone is sufficient enough to love this guy even more as he sacrificed so many things in order to keep the name of Judas Priest intact!
The book is full of impressive stories (take my word…you are gonna laugh so hard when you read the story of Halford’s meeting a fan after an…eehmm…interesting experience in the toilets of a truck stop). Halford takes his chances and reveals many details by doing his self-critique while he doesn’t fail to deliver the goods (pun intended) with so many facts about Priest’s classic albums and tours. I might add that Halford seems to have a soft spot on Glenn Tipton as he talks with touching words about him.
“Confess” is a fascinating book and proves once and for all that Rob Halford is not only the undisputed Metal God but a personality that we won’t see like him in the future…ever! And that alone leaves us a bittersweet feeling. In Metal God We Trust!
