GLENN TIPTON: 'If We Hadn't Found RICHIE FAULKNER, There Would Be No JUDAS PRIEST'

In the latest episode of the "Talking Metal" podcast (web site),hosts Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy interview guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST. You can now listen to the podcast using the Spreaker widget below.

Glenn Tipton on the current status and future of JUDAS PRIEST: "The band has definitely been re-energized. It's a great when you get an album like ['Redeemer Of Souls'] under the belt, which we are all very proud of and we are all excited by. We love the songs. It gives you a whole new outlook and a whole new angle; you are coming from a different place. Things have turned around for sure."

Glenn on what he considers the classic JUDAS PRIEST: "I think 'Living After Midnight' on 'British Steel'. 'British Steel' is an album we did very quickly. We actually wrote half of it while we were in the studio, which is very unusual for us. It just has a really solid complete, satisfying sound. We took a different approach on nearly every album and tried to do something different while still remaining as obviously JUDAS PRIEST. We have made an attempt to give each album a different character while remaining in the bounds of what is acceptable for JUDAS PRIEST."

Glenn Tipton on Richie Faulkner: "It was just a miracle, really. I said it many times. I honestly believe if we hadn't found Richie, or he had found us, there would be no JUDAS PRIEST. He has brought a lot of energy, youthful enthusiasm. He's brought all that and more."

Richie on Gibson guitars: "I didn't start on Gibsons, but there was something about the feel of them, the weight of them and the quality of them and as a tool it was what I needed. I was playing in bands around clubs, you know, cover bands around London, and Gibson was the tool I needed to achieve what I wanted to achieve. You develop your own taste as to whether you want a light guitar or heavy guitar or humbuckers or single coils were a SG or V. I play the Les Paul, SG and the Flying V and they all have something different about them but they're still all uniquely Gibson. You could pick them out of 50 guitars. They all have personalities. They'll have little quirks. They are like old cars. I like the vintage guitars and I like the new guitars. The leaps in technology that they're making now, it's just an incredible brand. It's synonymous with metal and heavy music and all music across the globe. It started off as a tool that I needed to do what I wanted to do."

Glenn on JUDAS PRIEST's 2011 statement that there would be no more world tours: "We did state that back then that at the time it was our last world tour. It takes a big chunk out of your life. We never said we wouldn't do any dates. It was never the end of us playing live, it was just the end of the massive world tour. It can be quite draining and certainly time-consuming but we've been reenergized since then. We've got a great new album under our belt and it is exciting to think of playing the numbers off album mixed with JUDAS PRIEST classic songs, so things have changed a bit, but we weren't lying at the time when we made that statement. If we start the tour and absorb the songs, we really love the songs. Who knows what's around the corner?"

Glenn on how he views the "Turbo" album in 2014: I like 'Turbo'. I know it was a bit different and some people thought we were chasing the commercial trail. If you hear us play 'Turbo' live, it is one of the heaviest numbers. The crowd loved it, they sing along with it. We have always been brave enough to try new things with 'Point Of Entry', 'Turbo' and 'Nostradamus'. And you've got to do it. You have got to pursue those new trails to get better. It's something that's essentially in the band's evolving status. That's what we've done. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes people understand you're trying to do, sometimes they don't. You have got to experiment."