Judas Priest to release star-curated album, The Chosen Few

On The Chosen Few, Judas Priest pay tribute to...Judas Priest. © BRITTA PEDERSEN/epa/Corbis

Judas Priest, currently in the midst of their farewell tour, will release a compilation album, The Chosen Few, next month. Rather than pick the titles themselves, however, the group asked some of hard rock and heavy metal's biggest names to choose their favorite Priest songs.

"This is a collection of songs chosen by our friends and respected peers," Priest frontman Rob Halford told Rolling Stone. "We hope all the metal maniacs out there will rock out to the tunes enjoyed by metal legends."

Among those who participated in the song-selection were Steve Vai, Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Joe Satriani and Slash. The album includes commentary from each artist about the reasons for their choice. Here are some excerpts:

LARS ULRICH - BEYOND THE REALMS OF DEATH
"The blueprint for the epic rock ballad. Copied thousands of times, never eclipsed."

SLASH - SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE
"Judas Priest have put out their fair share of great albums to be sure. But my all time favourite is Screaming For Vengeance. It was, and still is, one of the best metal records ever produced, and the title track is, in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time."

COREY TAYLOR, SLIPNOT - YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING
"Judas Priest: the blueprint for the ultimate heavy metal band….."

The Chosen Few will be released on 11 October 2011. The following day, Judas Priest kick off the North American leg of their Epitaph farewell tour.