The 2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced on Wednesday, and unfortunately, Judas Priest did not make the cut. Front man, Rob Halford, stopped by Mark & Neanderpäul’s radio show yesterday to discuss their rejection, and actually read the letter that the President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sent him.

Here’s what it said, “Thank you for embracing your nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While you didn’t garner enough votes for induction this year, you were part of a very select group of Hall of Fame nominees. Artists are frequently on the ballot multiple times before they are inducted. For example, Black Sabbath were nominated eight times before their induction, Patti Smith seven times, Solomon Burke nine times, and both the Beastie Boys and The Yardbirds were on the ballot three times before their respective inductions. If you are touring or simply traveling nearby, please visit our museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Our six floors of exhibitions tell the remarkable history of rock and roll and how it changed the world. You’re part of that story and we’d love to share it with you. Again, congratulations on your nomination. My best, Greg Harris, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

As you’ll see in the video below, the Metal God goes on to say, “Personally, I would love it, yeah. I’ve said before, we deserve it. We’ve put our 10,000 hours in and more. Beyond that, we just feel that heavy metal music deserves more space on shelves at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We were thrilled and honored to be even nominated, so it’s kind of bittersweet. We got the nomination, which is something of a recognition for the work that you’ve done, but we didn’t quite get in this time, but I’m hopeful that eventually we’ll get some more metal.”

Via Mark & Neanderpäul’s Facebook page