In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Rob Halford talked about leaving Judas Priest back in 1992.
Asked why he left Judas, and returned back after 10 years, Rob replied:
“I would probably say that my exit was due to probably the similar circumstances as a lot of my friends, lead singers that I know that went on the same self-journey of discovery.
“I think it was important for me to do that. Because it’s like that song, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’
“Internally, as difficult as it was for me to be away from the band that I lived for, it kind of brought things into perspective and led me back to the place where I felt this is where I need to be. This is the band I need to be in. This is the band that means everything to me.”
About his other band Fight and 2wo, he replied:
“I still had that sense of self-determination and drive to express myself in those styles of music and be able to realize it, make it happen. I had no clue how any of those bands were going to work – that they would connect, but they did.
“I surrounded myself with like-minded players. And even though I hold the reins more firmly in that respect in terms of leading those projects, I couldn’t have done any of those things by myself. It helped me figure out a lot of things.”