Watch: JUDAS PRIEST's RICHIE FAULKNER Performs 'Bitter Pill' Song From ELEGANT WEAPONS Project

January 17, 2024

EMGtv has shared a video of JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner playing the song "Bitter Pill" from his ELEGANT WEAPONS project. Check it out below.

ELEGANT WEAPONS features Faulkner on guitar and Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG) on vocals, alongside Dave Rimmer (URIAH HEEP) on bass and Christopher Williams (ACCEPT) on drums.

ELEGANT WEAPONS' debut album, "Horns For A Halo", was released on May 26, 2023 via Nuclear Blast. The LP 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.

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Faulkner spoke about a possible second album from ELEGANT WEAPONS. He said: "We've already started. We've recorded drums for the second record. We got together in March, I think, of [2023]; I think it was March — I'm not sure. We got together in the studio and played together to record the drums, get the drums recorded. So it's been started."

Asked if the second ELEGANT WEAPONS LP will arrive in 2024 or 2025, Richie said: "I don't know. Maybe [in 2024]. Back in the day, bands used to release a record every year, sometimes two in a year. I know we don't do things under the same cycle anymore. But the ideas are there for the songs. We all were together, and we thought why not get at least the drums going. We got the drums and we got the guitars, and stuff like that, so why not start the process?

"It was important for me, really, when I started the band… It was a band that it wasn't just a one-record type thing," Faulkner explained. "It was a band that plays live and records — hopefully — multiple records and grows and evolves together moving into the future. So the next record is just a part of that sort of process, really."

Richie went on to say that he plans on focusing on ELEGANT WEAPONS full-time once PRIEST has officially called it a day.

"PRIEST music is gonna be around a lot longer than we are," he said. "It's legendary music. They're genre-defining musicians and it's a genre-defining band. It will be around for a long time. But none of us gets out of this alive. That's just the reality of it. So if one day that call comes in and that's the last tour or the last album, whatever it is… I mean, I joined the band on what was the farewell tour. Luckily it wasn't, and we're still here 12 years later. [It's] fantastic. But at the time, I think I would have been silly not to consider what I was gonna do after the band, because of the circumstances of the tour. It was a farewell tour — it was [supposed to be] the last tour — so what am I gonna do after? So it's always been in the back of my mind. And this is a band that seems natural to me to continue with if that call ever came in."

ELEGANT WEAPONS played a number of shows in Europe in June and July 2023, including performances with PANTERA, festival appearances and headlining gigs.

ELEGANT WEAPONS made its first two festival appearances on June 16, 2023 at Hellfest in Clisson, France and on June 18, 2023 at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium.

Find more on Elegant weapons
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).