Ian Hill, the bassist of Judas Priest, believes that the band could continue to thrive long after its classic members have retired.

Hill, who has been with the heavy metal band since 1970, is the longest-tenured member. He remains one of the classic era members alongside singer Rob Halford, who joined in 1974. Although guitarist Glenn Tipton is still officially part of Judas Priest, he retired from touring in 2018 due to health issues.

In a recent interview with the Spanish outlet Metal Journal, Hill was asked if he could see Judas Priest continuing with new members after he and Halford retire.

“There’s no reason why not,” the bassist stated. “I mean, we’ve already gone through about six or seven drummers, four guitarists, and two vocalists. So, why not? I’m sure everyone will be up for it if Rob or I have to step back for any reason. Yeah, nobody’s irreplaceable, so you never know.”

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While Hill isn’t contemplating retirement anytime soon, he shared what would lead him to consider stepping away from the band.

“If the performance starts to suffer, it’s time to start thinking about [hanging it up],” the rocker noted. “As long as we’re able to give that 100% — I’m speaking personally here — yeah, we’ll carry on. But if there are any issues, and it doesn’t feel right, or you know you’re not giving your all, it might be time to call it [a day]. So we’ll see.”

Is Judas Priest Recording New Music?

Elsewhere in the interview, Hill provided an update on Judas Priest’s next album.

“We’ve completed most of the music, or at least all the backing tracks; we’ve got them down,” he revealed. “There might be one extra [song] to do. But the vast majority of it has been done. The guys have been in Phoenix working on vocals with Rob [Halford] over the last few weeks, I believe. So he’s in the process of laying down the vocals.”

The bassist mentioned that the upcoming LP will be “a great classic Priest album,” describing it as “a little bit more traditional, maybe a little quirky with some of the things.” He predicted that the album would likely arrive in spring of 2027.