New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Judas Priest are commemorating their history with a 648-page coffee table book called .
Arriving in early December, it's the first authorized book about the band, with contributions from all current members of the group, as well as journalist Mark Blake. 50
Heavy Metal Years also contains hundreds of photographs from Ross Halfin, Neil Zlozower, Mark Weiss, Fin Costello,
Oliver Halfin and others. Mark Wilkinson, who created the artwork for six
Judas Priest albums, designed the cover.
"We spearheaded the visual image of metal - breathing new life into it and it has been captured forever in the pages of this book," guitarist
Glenn Tipton said in a press release.
"I've photographed
Judas Priest from 1978 until now and of all the bands I've worked with they are one of the most enjoyable to me," photographer Ross Halfin, who helped compile the book, added. "You have to love the mighty Priest."
There will be four versions of 50
Heavy Metal Years. The Standard Edition (pictured above) comes in a cloth slipcase with red foil, while the
Deluxe Edition, limited to 500 numbered copies, is bound in black leather with gold foil and a lenticular image on the front, and also contains a fold-out poster.
Only 100 copies will be made of the
Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation Charity Edition, which contains a blue cover and is housed in a cloth slipcase with blue foil. All proceeds go to the
Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation, created in 2018 after the guitarist revealed that he was diagnosed with the condition. These three editions measure 12"x12".
Finally, there is the Epic Leather and Metal Edition, which is 16"x16" and comes in die cut black metal slipcase. The book, restricted to 100 copies, is bound in padded black leather with gold foil and a lenticular image, with a poster included. All but the Standard Edition are personally signed by Rob Halford,
Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis.
Pre-orders will begin this Friday, Sept. 11 at 10AM Eastern at
Rufus Publications' website.
Rufus also promises merchandise bundles and says that fans will be able to get a 10 percent discount by using the code PRIEST50.
