On a current episode of the “Discuss Louder” podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist “Steel Dave” Glessner and lifelong arduous rock/metallic vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was requested to call the perfect piece of recommendation he ever received from PRIEST singer Rob Halford. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We had been within the studio writing [2018’s] ‘Firepower’ [album] and we had some variations of opinion. And I mentioned my piece and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] mentioned his piece. I imply, he is a legend of rock guitar. What the hell do I do know? However I felt like I had an opinion. So we had a number of phrases — it wasn’t arguing or something like that, however we had some robust opinions about the place we thought the music ought to go. And afterwards, I mentioned to Rob, ‘Sorry that it received like that.’ And he mentioned, ‘No, you have to do this. In any other case you resent the opposite individual and you find yourself not doing something. When you assume that that opinion is true, you’ve got gotta put it on the market.’ And he is proper. I feel in any other case, you possibly can think about, when you do this a number of occasions, you begin resenting the individuals that you simply’re creating with, and that simply stifles the creativity. So I all the time do not forget that. And Glenn is a kind of guys as nicely that he’ll all the time say, ‘What’s your concept?’, and if he thinks it is a greater concept, we’ll go together with that. So he is very open to new concepts, which he did not need to be. So it was an honor to be included in stuff like that.”

Again in 2014, Tipton advised the “Speaking Steel” podcast that PRIEST recruiting Faulkner to switch unique PRIEST guitarist Ok.Ok. Downing in 2011 was “only a miracle, actually. I mentioned it many occasions. I actually consider if we hadn’t discovered Richie, or he had discovered us, there can be no JUDAS PRIEST,” he mentioned. “He has introduced a whole lot of vitality, youthful enthusiasm. He is introduced all that and extra.”

Glenn‘s feedback had been just like these made by Halford in a 2015 interview with The Georgia Straight. On the time, the singer mentioned about discovering Downing‘s substitute: “We did not desire a copycat, we did not need any person that was simply gonna replicate issues. The essential parts of the music are already in place, however we mentioned to Richie: ‘Do not be afraid to do your personal factor, as a result of it is vital that you simply set up your personal id.’ Which he did. And the followers had been so receptive. There was no negativity towards the man. Let’s face it, to some extent Richie saved JUDAS PRIEST, as a result of if we hadn’t discovered him on the essential time that we had been on the lookout for a guitar participant, issues might have turned out fairly otherwise.”

Faulkner is at present selling “Horns For A Halo”, the debut album from ELEGANT WEAPONS, his new undertaking additionally that includes singer Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG). The LP, which was launched on Might 26 by way of Nuclear Blast, was recorded with bassist Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) and drummer Scott Travis (JUDAS PRIEST) and was helmed by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap, who has beforehand labored with JUDAS PRIEST, ACCEPT, EXODUS and MEGADETH, amongst many others.

ELEGANT WEAPONS, which is rounded out by Dave Rimmer (URIAH HEEP) on bass and Christopher Williams (ACCEPT) on drums, lately hit the street in Europe, with dates working by way of the tip of July. The trek consists of performances with PANTERA, pageant appearances and headlining reveals.