Devin Townsend reveals he turned down a chance to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest

In a recent interview with the SDR Show, Devin Townsendthe master of Progressive Metal Canadian, said that he had declined the offer to become the new singer of Judas Priest.

When Rob Halford left the band in 1992, Tim “Ripper” Owens took over as the band’s vocalist; however, before that, Judas Priest, who was looking for a new singer, auditioned several people, and among those performers was Townsend.

Speaking about his invitation to audition as the new lead singer of Judas Priest, Townsend said: “Technically, yes, it happened, but it wasn’t like they knocked on my door. In fact, they issued a general invitation to several singers – Warrel [Dane] from Nevermore, myself, a few other people.”

“Everything about singing in my life has to do with my collaboration with Steve Vai [quand j’étais plus jeune]because I never really wanted to be a singer. I learned to sing because I was a guitarist and didn’t get along with most of the singers I auditioned.

Speaking of the “expectation” of singing like Halford at such a young age, as an autodidact, Townsend added: “Because of [ma façon de faire]the technique I had was really poor. If I had come into a situation with that level of expectation, to sing like Rob Halford… man, I would have been crucified.”