In a June 2006 interview with MTV.com, Halford said of the group’s concept album about the 16th-century French writer Nostradamus , “Nostradamus is all about metal, isn’t he? He was an alchemist as well as a seer – a person of extraordinary talent. He had an amazing life that was full of trial and tribulation and joy and sorrow. He’s a very human character and a world-famous individual. You can take his name and translate it into any language and everybody knows about him, and that’s important because we’re dealing with a worldwide audience.” In addition to digging new lyrical ground for the band, the album would contain musical elements which might surprise fans. “It’s going to have a lot of depth”, Halford said. “There’ll be a lot of symphonic elements. We might orchestrate it, without it being overblown. There may be a massive choir at parts and keyboards will be featured more prominently, whereas they’ve always been in the background before.” Nostradamus was released on 16 June 2008 in the UK, where it peaked at number 30 in their native and number 11 in the US, where it has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide by the following year. The band also began the album’s supporting tour the following month.
In a June 2006 interview with MTV.com, Halford said of the group’s
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