Fronted by Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest) and featuring Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG), Dave Rimmer (Uriah Heep), and Christopher Williams (Accept), Elegant Weapons continue to build momentum around their sophomore album Evolution with the release of the lyric video for “Evil Eyes,” a high-impact opener built around a signature Faulkner riff.
Faulkner describes the track as “an obvious choice to open the album. It’s pacey, energetic… and right out of the gate it gives an introduction to what the band’s about.” The new video, directed by Andy Pilkington (Judas Priest, Motorhead, Saxon), who also helmed the clip for “Bridges Burn,” brings the song to life with striking visuals that match its intensity.
ELEGANT WEAPONS, the hard rock and heavy metal powerhouse led by Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, have released their new single “Bridges Burn,” the first track from the band’s forthcoming sophomore album Evolution, due April 24, 2026 on Exciter Records.
The album will be released digitally and on CD on April 24, 2026, with a special edition vinyl pressing to follow later in the year.
Elegant Weapons features a formidable lineup: Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG), bassist Dave Rimmer (Uriah Heep), and drummer Christopher Williams (Accept).
With Evolution, the band pushes its sound forward — combining razor-sharp riffing, arena-sized hooks, and technical precision with a chemistry forged through touring and collaboration. The album was co-produced by Faulkner alongside Andy Sneap (Judas Priest’s touring guitarist, who also produced Priest’s Invincible Shield), with the recording spanning Nashville, Europe, and France — a truly global effort reflecting the band’s international pedigree.
“This record represents growth in every sense,” said Richie Faulkner. “When the four of us come together, we sound like Elegant Weapons. We’ve spent time on the road, we’ve developed a chemistry, and you can hear that evolution in the performances. I’m proud of what we’ve built, and I’m excited to begin this next chapter with Exciter Records.”
For Exciter Records, the signing marks a strategic move into contemporary metal while reinforcing the label’s deep ties to the genre’s foundations. Exciter Records and its publishing affiliate Reach Music, recently acquired Judas Priest’s landmark early albums Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny, making the partnership with Richie Faulkner and Elegant Weapons a natural continuation of that legacy into a new era.
“Richie Faulkner is not only one of the most respected guitarists as a member of Judas Priest, but he is also a leader in forming and developing Elegant Weapons,” said Michael Closter, Founder and President of Exciter Records. “Signing Elegant Weapons is a natural step for Exciter Records as we continue to honor metal’s heritage while investing in its future.”
The album features standout tracks including the opener “Evil Eyes,” the groove-driven anthem “Generation Me,” and the lead single “Bridges Burn,” alongside the instrumental “Rupture,” an emotionally charged composition inspired in part by Faulkner’s life-threatening onstage medical emergency in 2021.
With Evolution, Elegant Weapons solidify their identity as a band defined not simply by pedigree, but by forward momentum.
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:
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
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.
“‘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:
“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.
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.
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