Rob Halford has said he’s “a bit pissed” that Judas Priest weren’t honoured as one of the main performer inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year.

The metal band will accept the Award for Musical Excellence at this year’s ceremony, which will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 5. The gong was first introduced in 2000 as the ‘Sideman’ category; it became the Award for Musical Excellence 10 years later.

Joel Peresman, the president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, previously said: “This award gives us flexibility to dive into some things and recognise some people who might not ordinarily get recognised.”

But in a recent interview with AZ Central, Halford expressed his frustration over not being listed among this year’s main Rock Hall honourees which include Eminem, Duran Duran and Dolly Parton.

“I was a bit pissed. At the end of the day, does it matter?” the frontman said. “Some days, I go, ‘No, it doesn’t matter. We’re in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Be grateful. Shut the hell up’.

“And then there are other days where I’m like, ‘God damn, why did they give us the Musical Excellence Award?’ Because it sounds very, you know, grandiose. ‘The Musical Excellence Award, reserved for blah, blah, blah’.”

Halford continued: “I just felt a little bit like, ‘Well, [Black] Sabbath got this [as performers in 2006]. So why can’t we have that?’ Not that I’m jealous of Sabbath. I’m just talking about this tag that they give it.

“Why do they put these tags on the damn thing? Why don’t they go, “Welcome. You’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” and leave it at that.”

He added: “It’s as though we got this far. We’re, like, one step away, you know? I know it’s silly, but it’s just frustrating.”

Back in May, Judas Priest confirmed that their former guitarist K.K. Downing will join them at their 2022 Rock Hall induction.

John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation, said in a statement that each inductee “had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock ‘n’ roll”.

Meanwhile, Judas Priest have announced a run of North American headline dates as part of their ongoing ’50 Heavy Metal Years’ tour.