At a time when plenty of artists are choosing to keep their heads down, Tom Morello is doing the opposite.

Speaking at a press conference during the Berlin Film Festival, Morello leaned into the political weight behind his directorial debut The Ballad of Judas Priest, framing both the film and the band at its center as examples of what solidarity can actually look like in practice.

“What a time to be alive,” he said, grinning as the room perked up, “where you can make a documentary about one of your favorite bands and fight fascism at the same time.”

It wasn’t just a throwaway line Morello doubled down, pointing to the evolving crowd at Judas Priest shows as proof that heavy metal’s old stereotypes don’t hold much weight anymore. He went on:

“The band’s existence is very political. When I’ve seen Judas Priest over the last decade or so in Los Angeles, the audience is maybe more than 50% Latino, it’s a lot of gay couples. Nothing that has anything to do with any of the stereotypical — yes, there are some older dudes like myself in leather jackets probably bringing their kids to the show — but that community and the unity and the harmony that exists at a Judas Priest show, is in some ways a model for how we all can do better.”

Watch a teaser for The ballad of Judas Priest below

The film, co-directed with Sam Dunn, traces Judas Priest’s journey from working-class England to rock immortality, including their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But it doesn’t shy away from heavier subject matter either, namely Rob Halford’s decades-long experience as a closeted gay man in metal, and the band’s entanglement in the moral panic of the 1980s.

Halford, who joined Morello at the press conference, made it clear that the political undercurrent isn’t just retrospective, it’s baked into his songwriting to this day.

“I see things in the world that piss me off,” he said bluntly. “And I think, ‘How do I put this into a song?’”

He even hinted at taking lyrical aim at Donald Trump on the band’s most recent record, before catching himself. “I’ve had to temper it,” he admitted. “But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten angrier, especially when it comes to injustice, particularly for my own people.”

That same fire runs through Morello’s activism outside the film world. Whether it’s calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, supporting protests in Minneapolis, or sharing a stage with Bruce Springsteen at a recent benefit show, he’s remained one of rock’s most consistently outspoken figures.

All of it lands against a complicated backdrop at this year’s Berlinale, where several high-profile attendees have sidestepped political questions altogether. Jury president Wim Wenders even suggested artists should “stay out of politics,” while stars like Michelle Yeoh and Neil Patrick Harris have declined to weigh in, a silence that’s sparked plenty of online backlash.

Festival director Tricia Tuttle later responded with a measured statement defending artists’ right to engage, or not engage, on their own terms.

The Ballad of Judas Priest will presumably see wide release later this year.