Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)
June 2008
Nostradamus is a huge epic concept, something unexpected from Priest. Was it long time coming?
Well, after the last album Angel Of Retribution we decided that we wanted to do something different and we thought of a concept album. Our manager suggested that we did Nostradamus. When we looked into his life story we got interested in it because his life was really interesting. It was very inspiring so we started from there.
Did you have any other subject matters that you could have done if it wasn't Nostradamus?
Jeff Wayne did The War Of The Worlds, Pink Floyd did The Wall... it isn't just about the themes you can do. The subject matter can be anything really: an even in time or history. But we just found his life story very interesting. He lost his wife and daughters in the Plague and the Church exiled him from France and then he found a new beginning. He was a very mysterious character and certainly made his mark on history and it just inspired us really to write the whole concept about his.
It's interesting that you chose to write about his life because there's a whole lot of other bands that already wrote songs and albums about Nostradamus but mostly about his predictions and prophecies...
Exactly. Although we do touch upon the predictions and prophecies it was him that we were interested in really because we found him an incredible character. Whether you believe in his prophecies or not he was a very intelligent man and certainly made his mark on history.
What is the most fascinating part of his life for you?
I just think the fact that 500 years on people still talking about him and about his predictions. His life for me was inspiring because I mean he was outspoken. He said what he thought. There was a mystical side to him, he was an alchemist and he had these so called vision but he said what he thought and I think that's a great thing, certainly in those dark ages when you were supposed to conform to what the Church said.
What would Nostradamus be like if he lived today?
A bit like Rob I think. (Laughs) I'm not sure, really. Good question but I don't know the answer to that one, Zoltan.
And how do you see the connection between Nostradamus and heavy metal?
I found it very similar in the sense that he was an alchemist and his life was associated by mystery, light and shade. It's like the album which is very melodic in places and there's a lot of blood and thunder in other places. This sums up this guy's life: he went for everything. I think the mystery and the light and shade it's all hand in hand with heavy metal.
Do you see yourself continuing with the Nostradamus concept on your next album? Maybe an album about his predictions?
No, I don't think so. We do touch upon that theme in the second track of the album that is called Prophecy. Also there's a track called Visions which is when the four horse used to come and visit him. So we actually touch on it as much as we wanted to because it was his life that we were mostly interested in. And I think it's a long album and I think we've covered every aspect of his life really. (Laughs)
Many of his prophecies can be translated into things that happen today...
I think you need to believe in prophecies or not. I think if you make enough prophecies then some of them will come true and you tend to ignore the ones that don't. But I think in Nostradamus' prophecies, the way that he actually formulated them and the way that he's put them down and catalogued them, is very clever. Like I say, it's up to individuals whether they believe in prophecies or not but certainly this man had something special to offer.
The world today is full of disasters and negative things so it's kind of easy to relate to those things...
Exactly. I think it's inevitable that at some point in the future problems are gonna re-errupt in the world and if you project those in the right way then it will appear that they come true.
Did you find it more difficult to write the album this way to fit the concept?
No, actually it fell into place quite easily. The hardest part really was to make it flow. We wrote a lot of passages and those musical moods had to suit those parts of his life. Then we did the lyrics and made the story flow telling his life story. The composition wasn't really hard as we had a lot of ideas as we were inspired by his life. We did discard a lot of stuff as well. We probably wrote almost as much as we discarded. But piecing it together so it was fluent was the most difficult part but even that, it seemed to happen quite easily really.
The promo copy doesn't have all the tracks so it's not easy to tell the whole album's atmosphere. How would you describe the album's musical direction?
Well, for us it's very Judas Priest like. We're amazed because we did step into very classical and operatic areas but by the time it was all finished and put in place it's still very much a Judas Priest and very much a heavy metal album. There are areas in there with different moods, different melodies and different areas that we never ventured before but this album allowed us to do that. But it's always been about light and shade and melody and heavy passages so it seems to just be very appropriate and worked out very much as a Judas Priest heavy metal album.
How can you find new challenges in music after being in the business for this long?
I think because in this band we genuinely love and believe in heavy metal. We've always been proud to be a heavy metal band even when a lot of bands disowned the title because it wasn't fashionable. We've always felt that heavy metal can be what you wanted to be. Our albums were really varied and each ones wear its own character and I think that's what kept Judas Priest alive. We haven't got boring, we've always took challenge to make our next album a little bit different while still being very much a heavy metal album and still being very much a Judas Priest album.
The song Nostradamus is the most classic sounding Priest track on the album. Was it the obvious choice for the single?
We needed to let people to know that the album is a Judas Priest album first and foremost, we haven't compromised our music. Secondly, we really like the track. And thirdly, being the title track it sets everybody's mood for the album. Or if you heard the album you know this, there are different passages on there. 13 primary tracks and 24 tracks in all. Even the small preludes and connecting pieces are very important because they create the mood of that particular point in Nostradamus' life.
Do you plan to shoot a video for this song?
We've already done an animation video for the track War and that'll be released shortly.
Do you plan more single releases off the album?
Well, it's not really a singles album. What we'd hope for this album is the fact that it's not a few track album. We've created this album and we want it to be listened to in its entirety. We would suggest to people that when they're in the mood they step out of this world and they step into the world of Nostradamus and play the whole thing. It's a magical journey and that's the way we wrote it and that's the way it should be listened to.
And that's the way we want to listen to it live...
I would love to do that. And next year hopefully when everybody is really got used to it and got to know it we intend to perform it in its entirety which we would like. It's too early to say this but if it's successful we'd like to do that. And that will probably be filmed.
Do you have any special stage shows in mind for this?
Yes. If we do we're gonna have an incredible idea of how we're gonna do the production on stage. It would be absolutely amazing if we can pull it together.
But Nostradamus on a motorcycle might not work, right? (Laughs)
No, not really. (Laughs)
Did you already perform any of the Nostradamus songs live?
Yes, we're doing three of them. One is the introduction Dawn Of Creation which introduces the first track Prophecy. I love that track, Prophecy. We also play Death and that song sums up Judas Priest and not because of its title but it's got some very quiet parts and some very very heavy parts in there and it also has a tempo change which again is a stamp and trademark of Judas Priest. I enjoy playing Death the most off the new album at the moment.
A limited edition of the album will come out with a very special book release. What's up with that?
It's all to try and encourage people to treat this album as an event. It's not just a new CD, it's a whole thing and we wanted to make it visually special as well as audibly special. The special edition with a 48 page book looks fantastic and we also have a 3 disc vinyl set whish is great. I listened to the test pressings the other day and it's absolutely fantastic. We just want to make an event of it and hope that people will enjoy it.
How did you feel working together with Rob again after he decided to come back to Priest a few years ago?
It's great to work with Rob and we're very lucky in this band, myself, Rob and KK that we have a great writing formula and when we get together special things happen. We never know what's gonna come out of our writing session. Nostradamus came out of this one and we don't know what's gonna come out of the next one but it's always very special and it's just going to work with Rob again. We're all very close in the band and we get along really well so it's a great atmosphere.
What's the best thing about having him back?
It's just that the band is complete again.
What do you miss the most about Ripper, if there's anything?
Ripper is a great singer and a really great guy. I still get along well with him and phone him or email him occasionally. He's just become a good friend and he did something that I don't think anyone else could do. Not only he stepped into Rob's shoes but he did a great job while he was in the band. He's got a fantastic voice ad I'm sure he has a fantastic career ahead of him. I've got a great respect for Tim. He's very adoptable, he's been working for a lot of different guys and he always did a fantastic job. He should be proud of himself.
For closing, please sum up what's the meaning of life for you.
The meaning of life for me is to enjoy every single day.