Rob Halford Receives the Lemmy Award – 2017 Loudwire Music Awards
There’s a few things to be said about our beloved and departed rock warrior Lemmy Kilmister that are just plain undisputed. Lem was a beacon of consistency, deafening fans for decades to the tune of Motorhead’s “Everything Louder Than Everything Else” bravado. He was rock ‘n’ roll personified, never conforming in appearance, sound or attitude.
The Lemmy Award, presented by Eagle Rock, signifies an unwavering dedication to rock and metal and there’s no better inaugural recipient to hand this to than the Metal God himself, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. Without him, metal would not have its identity of leather and studs and ear-splitting vocal wails. Simply put, no person who has ever roamed this earth in past, present and future will ever be more metal than Rob Halford.
A staunch supporter of the entirety of the metalsphere, Halford has maintained a watchful eye over the genre he pioneered and brought to the mainstream masses with a white-knuckled grip on anthemic songwriting, relatable imagery and self-empowerment. He’s up to speed on all of metal’s modern acts and has publicly backed some of metal’s more extreme corners, embracing it all.
Anthrax presented Halford the honor, as the "Metal God" came to the stage to chants from the crowd. Halford then honored the man the award is named after looking to the sky and screaming "Lemmy." "The fans are the lifeblood of what we do," said Halford. "We share so much together."
Rob, without you, heavy metal would never be what we know it as today. We salute your tireless service, unrivaled voice and courageous work ethic and for encouraging us all to rock hard and ride free. We know Lemmy would agree.