Matt Heafy had an appropriate response to meeting one of his idols, Judas Priest icon Rob Halford, for the very first time over the weekend.
Despite being at the top of the metal world with Trivium, Heafy had surprisingly never encountered Halford until Knotfest Colombia on Saturday, December 9th.
He posted a picture of their meeting backstage on Instagram, both beaming happily, with Heafy revealing that Halford actually initially came up to him.
“I never assume anyone knows me or my band. Today after an amazing show I was walking into catering and saw the living legend Rob Halford was backstage as well. I didn’t want to disturb him,” he wrote in the caption.
“He came up to me and gave me a big hug and said such wonderful things about our band and I – about our/ my hard work ethic and what we do.”
As Heafy recalled, the rest of their chat was “a bit of a blur.”
“I will never forget that moment. Thank you to a lifelong hero of mine!! That is all. I am stunned and elated and blown away. I exist in this metal world because of legends like Rob Halford. Hail Judas Priest and Rob Halford!!!” he added.
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Multiple other metal musicians soon added their own Halford memories in the comments.
“He did the same to me at Ozzfest and ai was like… he pays attention to everything around him. Such a great person, artist and frontman,” gushed Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia.
Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, meanwhile, hailed Halford as “the nicest gentleman in metal.” After the weekend, Heafy’s definitely won’t be disagreeing.
Heafy and Halford may run into each other again this weekend when their respective bands, Trivium and Judas Priest, play Knotfest Brazil on Sunday, December 18th. Trivium will also be performing at the inaugural Knotfest Australia next March.
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