A walk-behind lawn mower

Claas Cougar, a large self-propelled mower with 14 m cutting width

A self-propelled Case IH swather

Pre-mechanical mower: the scythe

A mower is a machine for cutting grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers and combines.

A smaller mower used for lawns and sports grounds (playing fields) is called a lawn mower or grounds mower, which is often self-powered, or may also be small enough to be pushed by the operator. Grounds mowers have reel or rotary cutters. Larger mowers or mower-conditioners are mainly used to cut grass (or other crops) for hay or silage and often place the cut material into rows, which are referred to as windrows. Swathers (or windrowers) are also used to cut grass (and grain crops). Prior to the invention and adoption of mechanized mowers, (and today in places where use of a mower is impractical or uneconomical), grass and grain crops were cut by hand using scythes or sickles.

Mower configurations[link]

Larger mowers are usually ganged (equipped with a number or gang of similar cutting units), so they can adapt individually to ground contours. They may be powered and drawn by a tractor or draft animals. The cutting units can be mounted underneath the tractor between the front and rear wheels, mounted on the back with a three-point hitch or pulled behind the tractor as a trailer. There are also dedicated self propelled cutting machines, which often have the mower units mounted at the front and sides for easy visibility by the driver. Boom or side-arm mowers are mounted on long hydraulic arms, similar to a backhoe arm, which allows the tractor to mow steep banks or around objects while remaining on a safer surface.

Mower types[link]

The cutting mechanism in a mower may be one of several different designs:

Sickle mower[link]

Eicher tractor with a mid-mounted finger-bar mower

Sickle mowers, also called reciprocating mowers, bar mowers, or finger-bar mowers, have a long (typically six to seven and a half feet) bar on which are mounted fingers with stationary guardplates. In a channel on the bar there is a reciprocating sickle with very sharp sickle sections (triangular blades). The sickle bar is driven back and forth along the channel. The grass, or other plant matter, is cut between the sharp edges of the sickle sections and the finger-plates (this action can be likened to an electric hair clipper).

The bar rides on the ground, supported on a skid at the inner end, and it can be tilted to adjust the height of the cut. A springloaded board at the outer end of the bar guides the cut hay away from the uncut hay. The so-formed channel, between cut and uncut material, allows the mower skid to ride in the channel and cut only uncut grass cleanly on the next swath. These were the first successful horse-drawn mowers on farms and the general principles still guide the design of modern mowers.

Rotary mower[link]

Rotary cutters mounted on a swather

Rotary mowers, also called drum mowers, have a rapidly rotating bar, or disks mounted on a bar, with sharpened edges that cut the crop. When these mowers are tractor-mounted they are easily capable of mowing grass at up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) in good conditions. Some models are designed to be mounted in double and triple sets on a tractor, one in the front and one at each side, thus able to cut up to 20 foot (6 metre) swaths.

In rough cutting conditions the blades attached to the disks are swivelled to absorb blows from obstructions. Mostly these are rear-mounted units and in some countries are called scrub cutters. Self-powered mowers of this type are used for rougher grass in gardening and other land maintenance.

Reel mower[link]

Reel mower

Reel mowers, also called cylinder mowers (familiar as the hand-pushed or self-powered cylinder lawn mower), have a horizontally rotating cylindrical reel composed of helical blades, each of which in turn runs past a horizontal cutter-bar, producing a continuous scissor action. The bar is held at an adjustable level just above the ground and the reel runs at a speed dependent on the forward movement speed of the machine, driven by wheels running on the ground (or in self-powered applications by a motor). The cut grass may be gathered in a collection bin.

This type of mower is used to produce consistently short and even grass on bowling greens, lawns, parks and sports grounds. When pulled by a tractor (or formerly by a horse), these mowers are often ganged into sets of three, five or more, to form a gang mower. A well-designed reel mower can cut quite tangled and thick tall grass, but this type works best on fairly short, upright vegetation, as taller vegetation tends to be rolled flat rather than cut.

Flail mower[link]

Flail mower

Flail mowers have a number of small blades on the end of chains attached to a horizontal axis. The cutting is carried out by the ax-like heads striking the grass at speed. These types are used on rough ground, where the blades may frequently be fouled by other objects, or on tougher vegetation than grass, such as brush (scrub). Due to the length of the chains and the higher weight of the blades, they are better at cutting thick brush than other mowers, because of the relatively high inertia of the blades. In some types the cut material may be gathered in a collection bin. As a boom mower (see above), a flail mower may be used in an upright position for trimming the sides of hedges, when it is often called a hedge-cutter.

See also[link]

• Groundskeeping
• List of agricultural machinery
• Roller mower

External links[link]

Media related to Mowers at Wikimedia Commons

• Industrial and Agricultural Mower Safety Practices Program, from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
• Compare the mower brands, from the Lawn Mower .Info

Rob Halford
Rob Halford in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Robert John Arthur Halford
Born	(1951-08-25) 25 August 1951 (age 60) Walsall, England
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, harmonica
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	Judas Priest, Fight, 2wo, Halford, Bullring Brummies, Black Sabbath, Hear 'n Aid
Website	Official website

Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is considered one of the most consistently powerful singers in rock,^[1] possessing a wide vocal range, and is particularly known for his high-pitched, operatic, soaring screams. His vocal range spans nearly four octaves from C2 (which can be heard in "The Mower") to A5 (which can be heard in the title track to the Ram it Down album). In addition to his work with Judas Priest, he has been involved with several side projects, including Fight, 2wo and Halford. He is credited as the first openly gay heavy metal star, having come out in 1998.

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Halford was born in Sutton Coldfield, but raised in Walsall, which was then a part of Staffordshire ^[2] a town to the northwest of Birmingham, in England's modern day West Midlands. He sang for numerous bands including Athens Wood, Lord Lucifer, Abraxas, Thark and Hiroshima.

Judas Priest[link]

Halford was introduced to co-founding Judas Priest member Ian Hill by his sister who was dating Hill at the time.^[3] Halford, a former cinema manager, joined the band as singer, bringing with him drummer John Hinch from his previous band, Hiroshima. In August 1974, the band debuted with the single "Rocka Rolla", before releasing an album of the same name a month later. The next albums were Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), which included a variety of old material; 1977's Sin After Sin; and 1978's Stained Class and Killing Machine (released in America as Hell Bent for Leather), and 1979's live Unleashed in the East.

Rob Halford performing with Judas Priest in 2005

In 1980, the band released British Steel. The songs were shorter and more concisely structured, but retained the heavy metal feel. They released Point of Entry in 1981, featuring the song "Heading Out to the Highway". The 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance had a song, "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", which garnered strong US radio airplay, and the popular follow-up Defenders of the Faith was released in 1984. Turbo was released in April 1986, during the glam metal era. In May 1988, Ram It Down (which was supposed the 2nd half of "Turbo") was released, with songs that were also recorded during the "Turbo" sessions.

In September 1990, the Painkiller album dropped the 1980s-style synthesizers for almost all of the songs. Along with a change in musical style, the band's look changed as well. Halford emerged with all-new tattoos, including a bent Judas Priest cross on his right arm and ring around his other, as well as a few on his shoulders. He also began shaving his head for the first time, claiming that his receding hairline was getting annoying to keep up with.

Rob Halford during the World Wide Blitz Tour in 1981.

During the tour for Painkiller in August 1991 at a show in Toronto, Halford rode onstage on a large Harley-Davidson motorcycle, dressed in motorcycle leathers, as part of the show. He collided with a half-raised drum riser and fell off the motorcycle, breaking his nose.^[4] After regaining consciousness, Halford returned and performed the whole concert. In the band's Behind the Music episode, Halford named the accident as one of the events that caused the rift between him and the rest of the band that would eventually force them apart. However, during an interview with Bernard Perusse of Montreal's The Gazette (1 August 2007), he is quoted as saying "And it absolutely did not [lead me to leaving the band]. It was just an accident."

After spending nearly 20 years with Judas Priest, Halford announced to the band on 4 July 1991 that he was leaving, and he also sued their label, Sony, for restrictive practices. Halford would leave the band in May 1992. During this period, Halford had recorded twelve studio and two concert albums with Judas Priest.

Fight, 2wo and Halford[link]

He first formed the band Fight with Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis, bassist Jack "Jay Jay" Brown and guitarists Brian Tilse and Russ Parrish, recording two albums between 1993 and 1995: War of Words (1993) and, after Parish's departure and his replacement by Mark Chausee, A Small Deadly Space (1995). While the first one was a straightforward tough and solid metal record, the second record had a grungier sound, making it less appealing to fans who had developed a taste for his debut album.

In between both albums, Fight released an EP, Mutations, featuring War of Words studio versions, live cuts and alternate mixes. Immediately before this, Halford had recorded a track called "Light Comes Out of Black" for the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The song featured music provided by Pantera, although their contribution is uncredited.

After Fight, he collaborated with guitarist John Lowery in an industrial-influenced project called 2wo which was executively produced by Trent Reznor and released on his Nothing Records label.

Halford returned to his metal roots in 2000 with his band Halford and the widely acclaimed album Resurrection (2000), produced by Roy Z. A live album in 2001 was followed up by 2002's Crucible.

Reunion with Judas Priest[link]

Rob Halford often rides a motorcycle onstage

Halford's reunion with Judas Priest had been speculated about when he was no longer in the line-up, at least since the release of the Resurrection album, which some critics^[who?] claimed sounded more like Judas Priest than the band's previous album Jugulator (1997). Halford himself had never ruled it out, claiming in 2002 that "Gut instinct tells me that at some point it will happen".^[5]

In July 2003, Halford returned to his former band, and they released Angel of Retribution in 2005. The world tour that accompanied the release marked the band's 30th anniversary.

In 2008, Halford recorded Nostradamus with Judas Priest, and appeared with the band on the Metal Masters Tour. Long in the works, Nostradamus fuses heavy metal and operatic elements while relating events in the life of the 16th century French prophet of the same name.

In 2011, Judas Priest embarked upon what was billed as their final tour as a group, titled the "Epitaph" tour.^[6] Subsequent to the tour's announcement, Halford stated that he will continue to move forward with his solo band.^[7]

Other activities[link]

Halford has performed as the vocalist for Black Sabbath at three shows. He replaced Ronnie James Dio for two nights in November 1992, when Dio elected not to open a show for Ozzy Osbourne. Halford also replaced Osbourne in Black Sabbath on 25 August 2004 (Halford's 53rd birthday) at an Ozzfest show in Camden, New Jersey, since Osbourne could not perform due to bronchitis.

In early 2008, Halford expressed a desire in making a black metal album, citing encouragement from former Emperor frontman Ihsahn.^[8] He said he'd "love to but it's all about finding the time".

Rob Halford performing at Sauna Open Air in 2011 during Judas Priest's Epitaph World Tour.

He provides his voice to the video game Brütal Legend, released in October 2009, where he voices General Lionwhyte, as well as the leader of the Fire Barons, he also heavily influenced the appearance of the latter.^[9]

In 2002, Halford had a small role in the film Spun in which he played a sex store clerk.

Halford developed the clothing line Metal God Apparel with plans to develop retail sales through 2010.^[10]

Halford had a brief cameo in a recent commercial for Virgin Mobile, appearing as a priest. His line in the commercial is "Let us pray". Judas Priest's 1977 album, "Sin After Sin" contained a song titled "Let Us Prey/Call for the Priest".^[11][12]

Personal life[link]

In 1998, Halford came out as gay publicly on an interview with MTV News.

"I think that most people know that I've been a gay man all of my life, and it's only been in recent times it's an issue that I feel comfortable to address ... something that I feel has a moment, and this is the moment to discuss it."

—Rob Halford^[13]

It is revealed in Behind the Music that hiding his sexuality during Priest's career caused him a lot of depression and isolation which led to his alcohol and drug abuse.

This event was the subject of the song "Hats Off to Halford" by Atom and His Package (released on Making Love, No Idea Records, 1999).

In addition to the sound, Judas Priest are also known for being revolutionaries in heavy metal fashion. Halford thus began incorporating a macho image of what today is known as hardcore metal/biker/S&M style into his look as early as 1978. Halford claimed on Behind the Music was his attempt at finding an outlet for his angst of his hidden sexuality and shopped around gay S&M shops

He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, US,^[14] though he also maintains residences in San Diego, California, US and Amsterdam, Netherlands, as well as a home in his native Walsall, United Kingdom.

Although he is able to play several instruments (including guitar, bass, harmonica and drums), he does not consider himself enough of an accomplished instrumentalist to play while performing on stage.^{[citation needed]}

In an interview with Motor Trend, he revealed that he has owned a variety of classic cars, including a 1970's Aston Martin DBS, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Mercury Cougar, although interestingly, he didn't pass his driving test until he was 38 years old;^[15] his current daily driver is a 2006 Cadillac DTS.^[16]

He has been clean and sober since going to rehab in 1986, stating that, before that point, he heavily abused drugs and alcohol.^[17] He was born and raised in a Christian home, and states the following about his upbringing: "On a religious, more spiritual foundation, that really, for me, has become more important since I became clean and sober on Jan. 6, 1986. That was 25 years ago and I think that’s probably more important to me now, on a daily basis."^[17]

Singing style[link]

Halford possesses a powerful voice with a large vocal range which was trademarked by his high screams and strong vibrato. In his prime his range has been claimed to be near 6 octaves (including his Head voice) but in recent years, his range has lowered with age but is still close to 4 octaves and can still reach many high notes. However, his lower range has nurtured and become more powerful. Along with Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson, Halford is one of the pioneers of the operatic vocal style later to be adopted by power metal vocalists and regularly appears near the top in lists of the greatest rock vocalists/front-men of all time.^{[18][19][20][21]} Halford says that his style was influenced primarily by Arthur Brown, Janis Joplin, Lemmy, Robert Plant, David Bowie, Roger Daltrey (The Who), Freddie Mercury, Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator), Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and Ian Gillan (Deep Purple).^[22]

Discography[link]

Judas Priest[link]

• Rocka Rolla (1974)
• Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
• Sin After Sin (1977)
• Stained Class (1978)
• Killing Machine (1978) (released as Hell Bent for Leather in the USA 1979)
• Unleashed in the East (1979)
• British Steel (1980)
• Point of Entry (1981)
• Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
• Defenders of the Faith (1984)
• Turbo (1986)
• Priest...Live! (1987)
• Ram It Down (1988)
• Painkiller (1990)
• Angel of Retribution (2005)
• Nostradamus (2008)
• A Touch of Evil: Live (2009)
• British Steel - 30th Anniversary - Live (2010)

Fight[link]

• K5 – The War of Words Demos (1992) (released in 2007)
• War of Words (1993)
• Mutations (1994)
• A Small Deadly Space (1995)

2wo[link]

• Voyeurs (1998)

Halford[link]

• Resurrection (2000)
• Live Insurrection (2001)
• Crucible (2002)
• Halford III: Winter Songs (2009)
• Live in Anaheim (2010) (recorded in 2003)
• Halford IV: Made of Metal (2010)

Guest appearances[link]

• Krokus – Headhunter – vocals on "Ready to Burn" (1983).
• Surgical Steel – Surgical Steel (demo)- vocals on "Smooth And Fast" (1984).
• Hear 'n Aid (1986).
• With Stryper on the Against the Law tour in Toronto, Canada, performing "Breaking The Law" (1990).
• Ugly Kid Joe – America's Least Wanted – backing vocals on "Goddamn Devil" (1992).
• Skid Row – B-Side Ourselves – vocals on "Delivering the Goods" in a live version (1992).
  • the same outfit also performed for a live-in-studio session on the MTV show Headbanger's Ball (1992).
• Black Sabbath – on 14 and 15 November 1992 Halford took over vocals for Sabbath, who played a double performance at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, California, USA (1992). This was part of Ozzy Osbourne's "final" solo tour, prompting former Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio to refuse to play and subsequently leave the band for a second time.
• Background vocals on the song "Hex 'n' Sex" for the album with the same title by the German band Brings (1993).
• Bullring Brummies, a studio session line-up that came together to contribute to the Nativity in Black tribute compilation album of Black Sabbath cover songs (1994).
• Recorded the song "Light comes out of Black" with Pantera for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack (1992).
• While playing their concert in Miami, FL, Metallica asked Halford on stage to perform a version of "Rapid Fire", originally recorded by Judas Priest. on British Steel in 1980 (1994).
• Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R – vocals on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (2000).
• Performing a live medley with Sum 41 and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, MTV's 20th Anniversary (2001).
• Furious IV – Is That You? (2002).
• Spun motion picture (2002) – "Pornclerk" character.
• Brütal Legend – Voicing the main villain Lord Doviculus' minion General Lionwhyte, who is strongly based on the culture of glam metal. Also voiced the leader of the Fire Barons, who was directly modeled after his younger appearance.
• Black Sabbath – Halford filled in for an ill Ozzy Osbourne during the Ozzfest stop in Camden, New Jersey, USA on 26 August 2004.^[23]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Rob Halford interview @ Metalpaths.com 2010
• Judas Priest official website
• Metal God Apparel, Halford's clothing line
• Halford's MySpace discussion group
• Interview @ Chaos Control
• Rob Halford Interview on Music Business Radio
• glbtq profile