Judas Priest's Rob Halford is doing just fine on a couple of accounts. The rocker has opened up about his back problems and also addressed a recent diss from Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson in separate interviews.

Halford, who had some pretty serious back pain in recent years, tells Grammy.com, "I had a back operation. It's fixed. I'm still not 1,000 percent, but I don't think I ever will be, quite frankly. At this point, who is? I went under the knife screaming in pain and woke up pain-free."

He adds, "I think whenever you're dealing with physical challenges, it really sorts out your personality and what you want out of life. I just wanted to get back to my job as a singer in a metal band as quickly as possible."

And speaking of his job as a singer in a metal band, Halford has also addressed recent criticism from Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson over his use of a teleprompter during live performances.

Dickinson recently told The Guardian, "I never realized that people were using autocues. What the f--- is that all about? People pay good money and you can't even remember all the sodding words. The daftest one I ever saw was 'Breaking the Law.' It's on the f---ing autocue."

In response, Halford told San Francisco's 107.7 The Bone, "What we British say is it was just a storm in a teacup. I love Bruce. I love Bruce. He's a great friend of mine and he's very outspoken. [He's a] great frontman, a great singer from a great band. And, you know, these things are said in many ways and I'm sure he didn't mean it in any other way than Bruce sometimes goes off on one of his rants. You know, it's just the way it goes. But yes, storm in a teacup, storm in a metal teacup."

Halford and his Judas Priest cohorts will return on July 8 with their latest album, 'Redeemer of Souls.' The band also announced a fall 2014 U.S. tour. Check out the dates here.

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