Yesterday, May 26th, the all-star metal collaboration ELEGANT WEAPONS dropped their debut album, Horns for a Halo – furthermore the fans can also view their latest music video, for the title track. Comprised of RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner, URIAH HEEP bassist Dave Rimmer, and ACCEPT drummer Christopher Williams, the title track from Horns for a Halo is the third single/video, and can be watched below.

“Unmistakably dark and brooding, light and dark, good and evil. A mid-paced blend of Birmingham and Seattle with a slice of thrash thrown in” explains Richie Faulkner. “The title track “Horns For A Halo” is like Tony Iommi crossed with Alice In Chains. It’s about the way we justify the bad things we do. When we turn up on Judgement Day, will the angels kind of confuse our horns for halos, if you know what I mean.“

The band’s earlier singles/videos, “Blind Leading the Blind” and “Do or Die” can also be viewed and heard via these links:
 
“Blind Leading the Blind” music video: https://youtu.be/qWPE-iIkA5M
“Do or Die” music video: https://youtu.be/8K37V1KwROU

ELEGANT WEAPONS’ debut full-length, Horns for a Halo (produced by Faulkner’s PRIEST bandmate, Andy Sneap and featuring album performances by PANTERA’s Rex Brown and JUDAS PRIEST’s Scott Travis), can be streamed and purchased here: https://ew.bfan.link/horns-for-a-halo

And lastly, ELEGANT WEAPONS will also soon be hitting the road in Europe beginning in June and running through July, which will include performances with PANTERA, festival appearances, and also headlining their own shows. Tickets to the shows can be purchased via this link: https://bnds.us/u7tlvx
 
“We are very much looking forward to touring and our first tour dates are taking place in Europe starting in June 2023. Fans can expect heavy songs with catchy melodies, great vocals and lots of riffs! We all live to play live, and can’t wait to take the ELEGANT WEAPONS out onto the live stage.”

TOUR DATES:
12.06. CZ Prague – O2 Arena
13.06. DE Berlin – Verti Music Hall
15.06. FR Paris – L’Alhambra
16.06. FR Clisson – Hellfest
18.06. BE Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting
20.06. NL Amsterdam – AFAS Live
21.06. DE Hamburg – Edel Optics Arena
23.06. CH Zurich – Komplex
25.06. ES Cartagena – Rock Imperium Festival
26.06. ES Madrid – Mon Madrid
28.06. PT Lisboa – Evil Live Festival
29.06. ES Viveiro – Resurrection Fest
02.07. IT Bologna – The Return of the Gods Festival
30.07. UK Abertillery – Steelhouse Festival

Photo Credit: Claudio Bergamin

Metal fans have been eager to hear what the much-talked about new collaboration, ELEGANT WEAPONS, sounds like – with the arrival of their latest single, ‘Do or Die’. Comprised of Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, Uriah Heep bassist Dave Rimmer, and Accept drummer Christopher Williams, ‘Do or Die’ is the second single/video (directed by Lief Thomason) off their forthcoming debut full-length, Horns for a Halo, and can be accessed below.

Stream ‘Do or Die’ here: https://ew.bfan.link/do-or-die-single

“‘Do or Die’ is a rip roaring track about taking the opportunity and giving it your all,” explains Faulkner. “Take the shot, play the game and do it to the best of your ability. It’s the fastest track on the record and is a blast to play!”

ELEGANT WEAPONS will also soon be hitting the road in Europe beginning in June and running through July, which will include performances with PANTERA, festival appearances, and also headlining their own shows. Tickets to the shows can be purchased via this link: https://bnds.us/u7tlvx

“We are very much looking forward to touring and our first tour dates are taking place in Europe starting in June 2023. Fans can expect heavy songs with catchy melodies, great vocals and lots of riffs! We all live to play live, and can’t wait to take the Elegant Weapons out onto the live stage.”

TOUR DATES:
June
Monday 12 Czech Republic, Prague – O2 Arena (With Pantera)
Tuesday 13 Germany, Berlin – Verti (With Pantera)
Friday 16 France, Clisson – Hellfest
Sunday 18 Belgium, Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting
Tuesday 20 The Netherlands, Amsterdam – Afas (With Pantera)
Wednesday 21 Germany, Hamburg – Edel Optics (With Pantera)
Friday 23 Switzerland, Zurich – Komplex
Sunday 25 Spain, Murcia – Rock Imperium Festival
Monday 26 Spain, Madrid – Mon Club
Wednesday 28 Portugal, Lisbon – Evil Live  Festival
Thursday 29 Spain, Viveiro – Resurrection Festival

July
Sunday 2 Italy, Bologna – Return Of The Gods Festival
Sunday 30 UK, Ebbw Vale – Steelhouse Festival

ELEGANT WEAPONS’ debut full-length, Horns for a Halo (produced by Faulkner’s Priest bandmate, Andy Sneap and featuring album performances by Pantera’s Rex Brown and Judas Priest’s Scott Travis), will be dropping May 26th via Nuclear Blast Records, and can already be pre-ordered: https://ew.bfan.link/horns-for-a-halo

Metal fans have been eager to hear what the new collaboration, ELEGANT WEAPONS, sounds like, after the formation of the band – comprised of Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, Uriah Heep bassist Dave Rimmer, and Accept drummer Christopher Williams – was first announced last year. Now, the time is finally upon us to get a sneak peek of what lays in store from the quartet, with the new single/video, “Blind Leading the Blind”, which can be viewed and heard via these links:

Listen to the song here: https://ew.bfan.link/blind-leading-the-blind

“The video is great and gives a quirky and stylistic representation of the meaning of the song,”  explains  Faulkner.  “The main character is getting drunk on the power he is given by the people that trust him, only to be found out later when his followers really see the truth. When the power is taken away, he is seen for what he really is.”

ELEGANT WEAPONS’ debut full-length, Horns for a Halo (produced by Faulkner’s Priest bandmate, Andy Sneap and featuring album performances by Pantera’s Rex Brown and Judas Priest’s Scott Travis), will be dropping May 26th via Nuclear Blast Records, and can already be pre-ordered: https://ew.bfan.link/horns-for-a-halo

And shortly after the album’s release, the group plans on hitting the road, according to the guitarist. “We are very much looking forward to touring and our first tour dates are taking place in Europe starting in June 2023. Fans can expect heavy songs with catchy melodies, great vocals, and lots of riffs! We all live to play live, and can’t wait to take the ELEGANT WEAPONS out onto the live stage.”

As for the music, Richie describes it as “a mix of Jimi Hendrix, Priest, Sabbath, solo Ozzy and Black Label Society, but with a lot of melody, sort of old school and modern at once if that makes any sense, and actually down-tuned a whole step. There are a lot of guitar solos and the songs are on the heavier side. And even though there’s a lot of melody, it’s still going to shake your bones.”

Lastly, Faulkner sees a promising/long road ahead for ELEGANT WEAPONS. “As far as the future, we are all dedicated to giving this band the longest life we can. Live shows, tours and future albums. Growing with the fans along the way. The writing process for the second album is already underway and with live dates coming in thick and fast, we are looking forward to seeing how the future evolves for ELEGANT WEAPONS.”

And the new video for “Blind Leading the Blind”, is certainly a mighty first step.

Pre-order your copy of Horns for a Halo, here: https://ew.bfan.link/horns-for-a-halo

Judging from its band members’ resumes, the newly-launched ELEGANT WEAPONS will rock ferociously – which includes singer Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG), guitarist Richie Faulkner (JUDAS PRIEST), bassist Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN), and drummer Scott Travis (JUDAS PRIEST). The band will be issuing their full-length debut, Horns for a Halo, in spring 2023, which was produced by Andy Sneap and issued via Nuclear Blast Records.

“It’s exciting to be part of a label like Nuclear Blast that has such a rich history and level of respect among fans and the music industry,” says Faulkner. “Monte Conner [Nuclear Blast VP A&R] knows Andy Sneapwell, and Andy has always held Monte and label in very high regard. Monte has loved the record from the very early demo stages. It’s very valuable and important to me that the label I sign with understand and connect with the music. This record represents for me more of my DNA as a guitar player and a songwriter. Heavy, but moving slightly outside the realms of ‘heavy metal.’ Those roots are obvious, but I wanted to reach in a bit and see what else came out that wasn’t necessarily ‘expected’.”

Says Monte Conner, “I am such a huge fan of all the players involved, especially Richie. As a diehard Priest fan, I have enjoyed watching help breathe new life into the band and add to their incredible story and legacy. What an amazing player he is. People always focus on leads, and of course Richie is a master in that department, but I can listen to him play rhythm guitar all day long! His rhythm playing is just so tasteful and magical. I can’t wait for fans to hear this album and discover how multi-faceted he is.”

And according to the guitarist, ELEGANT WEAPONS features his “dream line-up.” “I’ve always wanted to make a record with Scott outside of Priest. Add to that Rex Brown’s unmistakable tone and attitude is something special. Having those guys as the rhythm section is a guitar players dream. The icing on the cake was Ronnie Romero. One of the new breed of instantly classic vocalists, Ronnie brought a character and a swagger to the songs that is instantly iconic, making these songs his own.

As for the music, Richie describes it as “a mix of Jimi Hendrix, Priest, Sabbath, solo Ozzy and Black Label Society – heavy, catchy, and with melody. Sort of old school and modern at once if that makes any sense, and actually down-tuned a whole step. The Marshall Plexi basically does one thing, but you’ve got to crank it to 11 for it to have that distorted sound. It hasn’t got a lot of bells and whistles on it or different channels and effects. It basically does one thing and does it very well. But again down-tuning creates more of a modern sound, and by using the classic sound of the Marshall Plexi, you get that juxtaposition, that contrast. All told, there are a lot of guitar solos and the songs are on the heavier side. And even though there’s a lot of melody, it’s still going to shake your bones.”

Specific to the songs, Richie explains that “Me and acoustic don’t really get along, so there’s only one mellow song on it, a sort of smoky, haunted, New Orleans kind of tune called ‘Ghost of You,’ with de-tuned 1920s piano on it. That one is about a memory, or ghost of a lost love. But that’s about as acoustic as it gets. I’m not really attracted to acoustic guitar in general. It’s mainly kind of heavy and full-on, really. There’s a song called ‘White Horse,’ plus ‘Horns for a Halo’, which is like Tony Iommi crossed with Alice in Chains. That’s about the way we justify the bad things we do. When we turn up on Judgement Day, will the angels kind of confuse our horns for halos, if you know what I mean.”

But really, the over-arching mandate with ELEGANT WEAPONS is to perpetuate the rich legacy of the traditional proto-power metal invented by the heavy metal titans of the ‘70s and ‘80s, most pertinently Richie’s own band, JUDAS PRIEST. And in 2023, fans will finally get to hear what this promising new band sounds like – with the arrival of Horns for a Halo.  

More information at https://www.facebook.com/elegantweaponsband