In a thunderous revelation that has sent shockwaves through the global metal community, Judas Priest and Slayer—two titans of heavy music—have announced a historic collaboration titled “In Loving Memory Of…” The project, both an album and a co-headlining tour, is dedicated to honoring the lives and legacies of fallen warriors of metal—fictional legends born from the mythic tapestry of sound and steel.
The concept album unfolds across ten blistering tracks, each telling the story of a different mythical figure who perished in the eternal war between chaos and order. From the ashes of the scorched Earth in “Ballad of Skarvolk the Forsaken,” to the celestial fury of “Elyndra, Queen of the Last Skyforge,” the collaboration conjures a rich, fictional universe where metal is magic, and legends never die.
Produced in secret over the last year, “In Loving Memory Of…” fuses Judas Priest’s soaring vocals and intricate guitar harmonies with Slayer’s raw, thrashing ferocity. Lyrically, it’s a requiem for the gods of an imagined realm: The flame-wreathed sentinel Kharos Ironjaw, the twin-bladed martyr Thren Vol, and the deafening silence left by Kraag the Thunderseer—each immortalized in riffs as heavy as their fates.
Rob Halford described the collaboration as “a call to arms for the fallen spirits who shaped the sound of our inner worlds,” while Kerry King added, “It’s metal myth-making at its most furious—we’ve built a world, burned it to the ground, and screamed over its bones.”
The co-headlining tour, also titled “In Loving Memory Of…”, will bring this epic to life with stage design evoking ruined citadels, pyrotechnic dragon shrines, and spectral banners waving above the pit. Fans can expect full-album performances, surprise guest appearances, and immersive interludes that weave the story between songs.
- Set to release this fall, the album promises to be a thunderous monument to fictional heroes forged in darkness—and a rallying cry for those who still believe in the immortal power of metal storytelling.
