Judas Priest Without Classic Members? ‘Nobody Is Irreplaceable’

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill believes the band could continue to exist long after its classic members have all retired.

Hill is the longest tenured member of the heavy metal giant, having been in the band since 1970. He is one of the remaining classic era members, along with singer Rob Halford, who joined in 1974 (guitarist Glenn Tipton is also still officially in Judas Priest, though he retired from touring in 2018 due to health problems).

During a recent conversation with Spanish outlet Metal Journal, Hill was asked if he could envision Judas Priest continuing with new members once he and Halford retire.

«There’s no reason why not,” the bassist responded. “I mean, we’ve already got through about six or seven drummers, four guitarists and two vocalists. So, why not? I’m sure everybody will be up for it if Rob or myself have to pack it in for one reason or another. Yeah, nobody’s irreplaceable, so you never know.»

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While Hill isn’t thinking about stepping away from the band any time soon, he revealed what it would take for him to start considering retirement.

“If the performance starts to suffer, it’s time to start thinking about [hanging it up],” the rocker noted. “So as long as we’re able to, to give that 100% — I’m talking personally here — yeah, we’ll carry on. But if there are any problems, and it ain’t feeling right, or you know you’re not giving your all, it might be time to call it [a day]. So we’ll see.»

Judas Priest Are Recording New Music

Elsewhere in the interview, Hill offered an update on Judas Priest’s next album.

«We’ve done most of the music, or all the backing tracks anyway; we’ve got them down,” he revealed. “There might be one extra [song] to do. But the vast majority of it, the backing tracks have been done. The guys have been to Phoenix working on vocals with Rob [Halford] over the last few weeks, I believe. So he’s in the process of putting the vocals down.»

The bassist noted that the upcoming LP will be “a great classic Priest album,” describing it as “a little bit more traditional, maybe a little bit quirky with some of the things.” He predicted the album would likely arrive in spring of 2027.