By MARIO TARRADELL Music Critic
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Rob Halford defies heavy-metal stereotypes. He's not angry. At 59, he's long past the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" period. He's an openly gay man in a genre known for macho posturing. And he refuses to wallow in the moodiness that permeates metal song lyrics.

Take "Like There's No Tomorrow," one of the standout cuts on the band Halford's new CD, Halford IV: Made of Metal. On the track, the baldheaded British singer and songwriter best known for his legendary band Judas Priest urges listeners to "dare to be open" and fight for the freedom to be honest with yourself and the rest of the world. It's a cathartic song, Halford says, as is the entire album, which he calls "the most personal release of my solo career."

"I'm not one of these musicians that put moaning into their songs," says Halford by phone from a tour stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. "I'm not really the kind of guy to reflect on my painful experiences. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I have an optimistic streak in life. I got it from my mother. No matter what you go through it's all relative. There's always somebody in a worse position. If you've got two arms, two legs and two eyes, then stop complaining. That's a little rallying cry that is part of my character."

Made of Metal is the fourth Halford disc, which was released in September. Halford is one of three post-Judas Priest projects for the man nicknamed "Metal God" by his legion of fans. He's also had Fight, a band formed with Priest drummer Scott Travis that cranked out four albums, and 2wo, an industrial rock-influenced collaboration with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor that produced only one effort, 1998's Voyeurs.

Halford hasn't abandoned Judas Priest, but according to its website the group's 2011 trek, dubbed Epitaph, will be its farewell world tour. So far, only eight concert dates overseas have been announced. As for the 40-year-old Priest legacy, Halford is characteristically realistic and philosophical about the band, considered one of the most influential in the guitar-fueled, drums-propelled style.

"I'd like to think that Priest and all of metal isn't one-dimensional," he says. "Everything doesn't have to be connected to leather. We tried to create with Priest a really entrenching, varied, exciting heavy-metal band. By definition we've always called ourselves a heavy-metal band, but we've done many, many things in our music. The legacy of Judas Priest is the songs that we've made. It's been a fantastic journey for 40 years."

Meanwhile, Halford has been touring with metal mate Ozzy Osbourne as well as sneaking in solo headlining gigs, like his upcoming show Monday at House of Blues. An imposing figure onstage at nearly 6 feet tall, decked out in leather, with shaved head and dark sunglasses, Halford feels fortunate that he's never had to forgo his livelihood even after publicly announcing his homosexuality in 1998.

That was no small feat in the testosterone fortress of heavy metal.

"I'm just going through my life like we all do regardless of what we are and what we do," he says. "If I do reflect upon the trials and tribulations ... it's to empower myself. You can make yourself stronger by being most honest and truthful. Some people can't make the decisions that I made. It's very important to respect everybody's final choice and how they want to go through their sexual orientation. It just displayed the passion ... and the tolerance of metal fans around the world. They don't care about that."Plan your life

Halford and opening act Philm featuring Dave Lombardo perform Monday at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., Dallas. 8 p.m. $25-$35. livenation.com.

Originally posted at:  http://www.dallasnews.com/