Richie Faulkner on the Judas Priest Progession – Interview

2024-02-29

Original live photo of Richie Faulkner and Rob Halford of Judas Priest.

Judas Priest, Richie Faulkner – Interview – Author Anne Erickson, Photo via Anne Erickson

Judas Priest is coming up on the release of their 19th studio album, “Invincible Shield.” At this point, with 19 full-length studio records under their collective belts, Judas Priest have certainly evolved over the year. It would be impossible to not change and not go through some kind of musical evolution over the course of creating 19 albums.

Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner is a big part of that evolution. He joined Judas Priest in 2011 and has been a force in the band ever since. He’s anything but a “hired gun.” With Judas Priest, he’s helped write and record every one of their albums since joining the band. He’s also toured the world with them.

So, where does “Invincible Shield” fit in Judas Priest’s long and detailed discography? I spoke with Faulkner about the new album in a new interview for Audio Ink Radio.

“I think it’s a bit more adventurous than (previous album) ‘Firepower’ was, and I think that’s just the natural progression, coming from ‘Firepower,’ to do something that- it’s definitely not a radio single format. It’s not three-minute singles,” he says. “It’s musical journey.”



That musical journey encompasses 11 new songs, all filled with Judas Priest’s brand of raging British power metal. The deluxe edition features three more tracks, to boot.

So, now that Judas Priest are 19 albums into their career, do they have any more albums left in them? When I asked this question, I totally expected Faulkner to say, “Of course.” But, his answer surprised me. He actually wasn’t 100% sure if there would be another Judas Priest album, but he does sound hopeful.

“That’s a great question. You never know,” he said. “I know personally, whenever we kind of put the writing sessions to bed and we finish the writing and everything, I always feel spent. I’m out of ideas. I’ve got nothing left. I’ve given everything to it. Where the hell am I going to get more ideas from if we choose to do another record? But somehow, they always- over the next couple of years, you start banking new riffs and melodies and stuff, and somehow, you get new ones. So, you never know what the future holds. If the guys want to do it, I’m all for it, and if they choose not to do another record, then it won’t fall that way, whatever they want to do.”

His answer got me nervous about Judas Priest being finished with albums. So, I asked, “You don’t meant that this is the last Judas Priest album, right?” Thankfully, Faulkner put my fears to rest. Mostly.

“No, I’m definitely not saying…never say never, you know?” he said. “Then, you’ve got to think, what are we going to do from here? We can’t do a record like this. Which way is it going to go? Again, the album normally dictates where it’s going to go, but we don’t want to repeat ourselves ever. So, what would do next time? It’s all good conversation, and if we ever got to that stage again about doing another record, it will be an interesting one, for sure.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Faulkner talks about how Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton is doing with his health.

“Glenn’s doing okay. I think, as we all know, the nature of the challenges he’s going through with Parkinson’s’ s, sometimes he has good days, and sometimes he has bad days,” Faulkner says. “But, it’s always great to see him if he can come out and play with us. Hopefully he comes out and joins us on stage for a few songs in the future. Obviously, if he can, he will, and if he’s not feeling up to it, then I think everyone is going to know why. So, when he comes out, it raises in the roof, and we hope to see him if he wants to and if he can hopefully in the future.”

Listen to the full interview with Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner above and on the Audio Ink Radio podcast on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here. For all things Judas Priest, visit their official website.

Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Features, Interviews, Metal, Music

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