RICHIE FAULKNER Hopes To Do The 'Right Thing' When It Comes To JUDAS PRIEST's Legacy

In a new interview with the YouTube channel of Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, Richie Faulkner was asked how he finds his role within the JUDAS PRIEST legacy and what he hopes to leave as a lasting contribution to the band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a good question, man. I don't know, really. I can't answer that. I try and bring the best I can bring and whatever I think is the best I can give in terms of creativity, performance, songwriting, representation of who I am as part of JUDAS PRIEST. That's all I can do, really. When you're a part of that legacy… I haven't been there very long, but even if you've been there for two weeks, you're representing a legacy that's been there for 50 years, and that's a big thing. So all you can do is bring the best you can bring and represent what's been there for 50 years before you and be grateful for the fans that put the band there for 50 years. That's all you can do. And hopefully you do the right thing."

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.

Faulkner joined JUDAS PRIEST in 2011 as the replacement for the band's founding guitarist K.K. Downing.

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]."