Say It Isn’t So :( Judas Priest is calling it a day..:(

After storming the world for nearly 40 years and taking its very special brand of heavy metal to all four corners of the planet, JUDAS PRIEST — one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time — has announced plans to embark on a final world tour. However, the mighty PRIEST will certainly be going out strong as they rock the planet starting in 2011 on the massive “Epitaph” tour — hitting all the major cities throughout the world where they will be playing the songs that helped make the name JUDAS PRIEST synonymous with heavy metal!

With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all its fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is JUDAS PRIEST!

JUDAS PRIEST will be starting its world tour in Europe and has just confirmed the following festivals for 2011:

Jun. 09 – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 11 – Sauna Open Air, Tampere, Finland
Jun. 17 – Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 19 – Hellfest, Clisson, France
Jun. 22 – Gods of Metal, Milan, Italy
Jun. 25 – Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium
Jul. 23 – High Voltage, London, UK
Aug. 05 – Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany

JUDAS PRIEST was honored in the “Best Metal Performance” category at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held on January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRIEST was nominated for the track “Dissident Aggressor”, from the band’s 2009 live album “A Touch of Evil: Live”. Singer Rob Halford and the band’s drummer, Scott Travis, accepted the award at the event.

In his acceptance speech, Halford said, “The fifth time is the charm,” referring to the fact PRIEST had been nominated four previous times and gone home without the award every time. He mentioned that PRIEST have been making metal for 35 years and that they still love what they do. He also remembered to thank all the radio stations and press that have supported the band, and he dedicated the award to all heavy metal fans.

In a 2008 interview JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill stated about being part of a band that has defined a genre and spawned countless imitators, “We are very proud of what we have achieved. When I formed this band way back in 1970 I had no grand plan. K.K. Downing [guitar] and I were just mates from school that wanted to play some music. We have a great family among us and like family we have our good and bad days, but without sounding nostalgic, yeah, it’s pretty cool what we have achieved.”

JUDAS PRIEST‘s most recent double-disc concept album, “Nostradamus”, sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. This marked the band’s highest-ever chart position in the U.S. In Canada, the CD opened at position No. 9 after shifting close to 4,000 units.

JUDAS PRIEST‘s previous studio CD, “Angel of Retribution”, premiered with 58,000 copies in the U.S. back in March 2005 to debut at No. 13.

JUDAS PRIEST‘s “A Touch of Evil: Live” live album sold around 5,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 87 on The Billboard 200 chart.

PRIEST chose 10 songs not previously released in live album form for “A Touch of Evil: Live”, which was released in July 2009, in the midst of the band’s U.S. summer tour.

“A Touch of Evil” included live renderings of longtime fan favorites such as “Painkiller”, “Dissident Aggressor”, “Riding on the Wind”, “Between the Hammer & the Anvil” and “Eat Me Alive”, as well as “Hellrider” from “Angel of Retribution”, the group’s 2004 reunion album with frontman Rob Halford, and two tracks — “Death” and “Prophecy” — from 2008’s rock opera “Nostradamus”.

Recorded by Martin Walker and Brian Thorene during JUDAS PRIEST‘s mammoth 2005 and 2008 world tours, “A Touch Of Evil: Live” marked the first PRIEST album that producer Tom Allom has worked on since 1988 (co-producing along with the band). It was such Allom-produced albums as “Unleashed In The East”, as well as “British Steel” and “Screaming For Vengeance” (among others) that made PRIEST not only one of the premier metal acts, but one of the leading global rock acts.