Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Source: Bravewords.com

Guitar World’s John Katic recently caught up with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Photo by John Katic

Guitar World: Judas Priest have a new DVD/Blu-ray, Epitaph, which is the entire 220-minute set from the last night of the Epitaph tour. For the release, you guys did a premier in theaters. Was it surreal to see yourself on that big of a screen?

Faulkner. “Absolutely! You see yourself on YouTube in little bits and pieces, and that’s always amazing to see. I don’t think Priest has done a live show in this format in movie theaters. It’s exciting, not only to see myself but to see myself with Priest for the first time on the screen. There are no other words to describe it.”

Guitar World: For a lot of people, this is going to be their first opportunity to see you with the band. You rose to the occasion with great playing on this DVD. Did that factor into your nerves going into that night?

Faulkner: “I didn’t let myself become nervous. I was excited and I was confident I could do the job. I was respectful of the position I was taking on the stage. Sometimes if you let nerves into the equation they can trip you up. I knew there was no point in being nervous. I did have a point to prove to the fans — that I was capable of being there. I think that was a healthy position to be in. Because the fans are so loyal and passionate and they paid their money to come down to the show, they gave me a chance, and I can only thank them for that. Within about a minute, they had their hands in the air singing along with me. It was a great testament to the fans.”

Guitar World: The DVD shows the final night of the tour, correct?

Faulkner: “This was the absolute last date of the Epitaph tour. We filmed it in London, and we didn’t have any backup plans.”

Guitar World: I was going to ask you about that. If you flub a song you don’t get a do-over!

Faulkner: “Exactly. We were joking about it. If we’d thought about it we would have come up with a different plan. If the electrics had gone down or had any technical issues, we were in trouble. Everyone was going home the next day. There was no plan B if anything went wrong. Luckily it went off without a hitch. It was a great homecoming show for Priest to finish the tour in England in the Hammersmith. That venue has had countless, iconic live recordings done there. What better way to wrap up the tour?”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Judas Priest have released another clip from their new live release, Epitaph. When the metal giants wrapped their 2012 world tour at London’s Hammersmith Apollo last May, they filmed the historic gig – possibly their last – as a souvenir for their massive, loyal following. Epitaph, that career-spanning concert-turned-long-form video, is out this week on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats.

The band have released the following performance of their classic ‘Rapid Fire’: