In a recent appearance on the Full Metal Jackie podcast, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has revealed that, before Ozzy Osbourne's passing, the two of them recorded a duet covering Black Sabbath's hit song "War Pigs." Halford also shares that the cover is expected to be released "pretty soon."
"War Pigs," initially featured on Black Sabbath's seminal sophomore album Paranoid in 1970, has been a longtime pre-concert staple for Judas Priest. During his appearance on Full Metal Jackie, Halford said that they are currently going through the legal process of clearing the release, and spoke on what it was like to record with Osbourne.
"You get Ozzy singing a line and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line," Halford says. "It's the first ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy and I'm so eternally grateful and blessed that I was able to do that."
Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest's Rob Halford recorded a special duet
On the podcast, Halford said it was ultimately Sharon Osbourne who made the duet possible after she reached out to Halford initially.
“She approached me with this idea, she said, 'I love your version of 'War Pigs.' Is there a way we can get Ozzy?' I was [like], 'You're asking me? This is gonna happen!'" Halford said.
Judas Priest have covered "War Pigs" numerous times throughout their career, most recently covering the song ahead of Osbourne's death earlier this year. The Godfather of Heavy Metal, after a period of declining health due to advanced Parkinson's disease, passed away on July 22 at age 76.
Just weeks ahead of his passing, Osbourne held a massive final concert, titled Back to the Beginning, that marked the last time that he or Black Sabbath would ever perform together onstage. The benefit concert included a large number of guest performers, including Metallica, Mastadon, Halestorm, and more.
At the time of the show, Judas Priest were unable to make an appearance as they were booked to support Scorpions in Germany that day for their 60th anniversary hometown performance. Prior to Back to the Beginning, Judas Priest released a live cover of "War Pigs," and Halford spoke once again in the podcast about how "gutted" he was to miss Osbourne's final show.
Halford also told Full Metal Jackie about his reaction upon learning of Osbourne's death, which shook the entire rock music world.
"I just put the phone down in my hotel room...And I just curled up in a ball and bawled my eyes out for hours,” Halford said. "He gave everything onstage. When he walked out on the stage, he was always beaming, you know? He loved his fans with such an extraordinary passion, but that existed offstage as well."
The Judas Priest frontman says his duet with Osbourne is expected to arrive very soon, and it will be more than anyone could ever imagine it to be.
"When you hear it, it's just colossal," Halford said. "You think that you've heard the one experience of Priest's 'War Pigs,' but when you hear Priest's 'War Pigs' with Ozzy singing on that track, it's just going to a really special place."
Judas Priest are currently on the road for their co-headlining Shield of Pain Tour with Alice Cooper, which celebrates the 35th anniversary of their hit album Painkiller. Beginning September 16, both bands will make their way throughout North America this fall with Corrosion of Conformity as support.