How Has RICHIE FAULKNER's Mindset Changed Since He Joined JUDAS PRIEST? He Responds

In a new interview with Everyone Loves Guitar, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner, who joined the band in 2011 as the replacement for K.K. Downing, was asked what the biggest change has been for him, over the last 12 years, in his life, particularly as it relates to his mindset. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think, obviously, your life changes with something like PRIEST. PRIEST calls you, you get the gig in PRIEST and your life changes within a month. You're on tour with one of the biggest bands in the world, your life changes and you do your best to keep up with it. And I think everything you've gone through up until that point determines how you deal with it. I think it's in METALLICA's [latest] album, the '72 seasons' thing — you learn everything you learn up until your eighteenth birthday; they you're formed as a person. So I think how you deal with that is based upon how you've lived your life up until that point. So when a life-changing event like that comes with PRIEST, hopefully you've learned enough about yourself and the industry and life to be able to deal with that kind of change. And then, subsequently, you can take in all the lessons around you — from Rob [Halford], from Glenn [Tipton], from Ian [Hill], from Scott [Travis], from the management, from the fans, from the experiences that you can learn from and try not to take any of it for granted.

"So, how have I changed? I think fundamentally I'm still the same person — I think," he continued. "Fundamentally. But obviously you can't help but be influenced by these things that happen around you.

"I think the main thing… Initially you're focused on your performance, the guitar, the notes, the songs. And then as you grow through that process, it's more about the bigger picture," Richie explained. "So, what are we doing to create a bigger performance, a better album, a better experience, a better stage show for the fans that put the band there for the last 50 years and welcomed me for the last 12. I think it becomes more about that. I'd say that. As I'm talking to you, that's what it is. It becomes less insular. And it needs to be insular. You don't become the expert at your craft, hopefully, if you're not that insular. If you don't have that passion that drives you to be that anal, that you're sitting awake at four o'clock in the morning learning 'Manic Depression' or whatever it is, song you're learning. You've gotta be that focused. Everyone's out at the bar. You're in your bedroom playing 'Eruption'. You've gotta be that way. But it gets to the point where because of that focus, you get the gig in the first place. Now it becomes about, 'What are we doing? How do we make it bigger, better, louder?', all that sort of stuff. So that definitely changes. And hopefully that goes into the future with the new band. And, obviously, PRIEST is still going. So that becomes part of the journey and part of the mindset moving forward. So I'd say that, for sure."

Faulkner is currently promoting "Horns For A Halo", the debut album from ELEGANT WEAPONS, his new project also featuring singer Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG). The LP, which was released on May 26 via 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 previously worked with JUDAS PRIEST, ACCEPT, EXODUS and MEGADETH, among many others.

ELEGANT WEAPONS, which is rounded out by Dave Rimmer (URIAH HEEP) on bass and Christopher Williams (ACCEPT) on drums, has just hit the road in Europe, with dates running through July. The trek includes performances with PANTERA, festival appearances and headlining shows.

In September 2021, Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during PRIEST's performance at the Louder Than Life festival, just a short distance from Rudd Heart and Lung Center at UofL Health - Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. It took the hospital's cardiothoracic surgery team, led by Dr. Siddharth Pahwa and also including Drs. Brian Ganzel and Mark Slaughter, approximately 10 hours to complete the surgery, an aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement with hemiarch replacement.

After Louder Than Life, JUDAS PRIEST postponed the remainder of the U.S. dates on its 50th-anniversary tour, dubbed "50 Heavy Metal Years". The shows were rescheduled for March and April 2022.

Last September, Faulkner revealed that he underwent a second heart surgery in early August 2022 to fix "a hole in the repair." He added: "There was a leak — I'd basically sprung a leak in there — and it was causing a sack to form around my heart. So they found it just before the European leg [of PRIEST's 2022 tour]."