Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford will be honored with the Lemmy Lifetime Achievement Award at the first-ever Loudwire Music Awards later this year.

The heavy-metal music blog named the award after former Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, and said it will be granted each year to an artist who "embodies the spirit of Lemmy, heavy metal and rock ‘n’ roll."

Halford has been chosen as the inaugural recipient of the award in celebration of his decades fronting one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time.

The hard-rock icon co-founded Judas Priest in the early 1970s and broke ground when he came out as gay in an interview with MTV News in 1998.

"I think that kind of experience, in terms of the pressure involved, is something that every gay guy goes through – feeling isolated and feeling that you’re the only person in the world who has those kind of feelings," Halford told Team Rock about his time in the closet. "I suppose I used my music to work out all that pent-up aggression and depression I was feeling, as we all use music to blow off steam."

The singer went on to acknowledge that, although times have changed since he came out as gay, there are still hateful attitudes regarding homosexuality.

"I know it’s a little bit easier now, but it’s still tough, especially in the world of heavy metal," he added. "Although, that said, I like to think I’ve exploded that particular myth."

Halford is also set to perform at the Loudwire Music Awards, which will take place on October 24 at the Novo Theater at L.A. Live.