Judas Priest have been raging for 50 years, and according to guitarist Richie Faulkner, the band has no plans to slow down. MMR’s own Sydney Taylor spoke with the Judas Priest guitarist on the Metal From The Inside Podcast ahead of the band’s performance at The Met Philadelphia on March 29th.
The conversation dives into Richie’s intense health scare in September of last year and the difficult process of curating the band’s setlist for their career spanning 50 Years of Judas Priest tour.
When asked about the possibility of a new Judas Priest record, Faulkner detailed the band’s progress:
“It’s been slowed down a lot because of the pandemic. Some of us live in the U.S. and some of us live in the UK, so getting together proved to be a bit difficult over the last couple of years. We don’t have a release date. It’s not finished; we’ve got the songs, but we’ve got to record it. We’ve got drums down, I don’t know if that’s even been said yet. But, as Rob always says, ‘It’ll be finished when it’s finished.’ At this point in their career, there’s no point in rushing anything, especially when we’ve waited this long through the pandemic to start doing it. It will be done when it’s done. But, there will be another another Priest record.”
There’s been quite a buzz around Judas Priest as of late; the biggest topic of conversation being centered around their third nomination for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Richie shared his thoughts on Dolly Parton who, in a poignant statement, bowed out from the running:
“I think it raised questions around branding. Dolly was very conscious of her brand, and I think it raised questions of what the brand of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame is as well. If it’s the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame without Judas Priest, then what credibility does it have really if it’s called the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame? I don’t quite know to be honest. I think the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame does what it wants and I think Dolly will still get in anyway, weirdly, even though she removed herself from it. I’ve said it before, but I think a 50th Anniversary tour signifies 50 years of creating new music and touring around the world to beautiful fans and beautiful countries. I think that’s more of an accolade than any trophy on the shelf.”
The band brought their fiery stage show to a packed house of heavy metal maniacs at The Met as the 50 Years of Judas Priest tour continues on, featuring special guests Queensrÿche.
Watch Sydney’s full conversation with Richie Faulkner here:
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