Ian Hill Says Original Judas Priest Fans Are ‘Expiring’

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has noted the importance of appealing to new audiences since the group’s original fans are “expiring.”

During a conversation with Idaho radio station The Pick, Hill noted how his band keeps their new material relevant decades into their career.

“It’s something we always try and do, is try and take a step forward with each album,” the bassist explained. “I mean, you’re learning stuff all the time, and whatever we learn, we try and put it into the next project. And we’ve done that right from the very start, right from way back in early ’70s. And it’s important that you do it, because it keeps you modern and it keeps you relevant.”

Judas Priest’s New Generation of Fans

According to Hill, that perspective regarding new music has helped Judas Priest grow their audience, even as their original fans have dissipated.

READ MORE: Judas Priest Albums Ranked Worst to Best

“You can sort of make that connection with the younger fans, which is important. I mean, the original fans are all our age, and they’re all sort of expiring,” Hill noted. “But we’ve been able to make that connection with the younger people. And you look down from stage, and you see people in late teens, early twenties, what have you. And they’re loving it, and it’s not just the new stuff that they’re loving — they’re singing along to the older stuff, 20, 30 years old, what have you. So you’ve got them interested in that and they’ve gone back into the heritage of the band and started to look at some of the earlier material. And it’s great news — not just for us, but it’s great news for metal in general, that these people are still getting interested in it.”

Judas Priest have extensive touring planned for 2025, with dates throughout Europe and South America.