RICHIE FAULKNER Reveals The Best Piece Of Advice He Ever Got From ROB HALFORD

On a recent episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was asked to name the best piece of advice he ever got from PRIEST singer Rob Halford. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were in the studio writing [2018's] 'Firepower' [album] and we had some differences of opinion. And I said my piece and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] said his piece. I mean, he's a legend of rock guitar. What the hell do I know? But I felt like I had an opinion. So we had a few words — it wasn't arguing or anything like that, but we had some strong opinions about where we thought the song should go. And afterwards, I said to Rob, 'Sorry that it got like that.' And he said, 'No, you have to do that. Otherwise you resent the other person and you end up not doing anything. If you think that that opinion is right, you've gotta put it out there.' And he's right. I think otherwise, you can imagine, if you do that a few times, you start resenting the people that you're creating with, and that just stifles the creativity. So I always remember that. And Glenn is one of those guys as well that he'll always say, 'What is your idea?', and if he thinks it's a better idea, we'll go with that. So he's very open to new ideas, which he didn't have to be. So it was an honor to be included in stuff like that."

Back in 2014, Tipton told the "Talking Metal" podcast that PRIEST recruiting Faulkner to replace original PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing in 2011 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 said. "He has brought a lot of energy, youthful enthusiasm. He's brought all that and more."

Glenn's comments were similar to those made by Halford in a 2015 interview with The Georgia Straight. At the time, the singer said about finding Downing's replacement: "We didn't want a copycat, we didn't want somebody that was just gonna replicate things. The basic components of the song are already in place, but we said to Richie: 'Don't be afraid to do your own thing, because it's important that you establish your own identity.' Which he did. And the fans were so receptive. There was no negativity toward the guy. Let's face it, to some extent Richie saved JUDAS PRIEST, because if we hadn't found him at the crucial time that we were looking for a guitar player, things could have turned out quite differently."

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, recently hit the road in Europe, with dates running through the end of July. The trek includes performances with PANTERA, festival appearances and headlining shows.