JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was interviewed by Sweetwater editorial director Mitch Gallagher during Making Hard Rock Look Easy, a three-day recording master class which was held October 20th-22nd at Sweetwater’s campus in Fort Wayne, IN, reported Bravewords.com.
Talking about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for JUDAS PRIEST‘s follow-up to 2014’s Redeemer Of Souls album, Richie stated: “I just flew straight back out of the U.K., straight to Sweetwater. We’ve just been in the studio for a couple of months putting songs together. We haven’t started the recording process yet, but we’re recording demos; we’re recording songs that work without the production to save them, if you know what I mean. But the core value… We’re putting down some grassroots ideas and fleshing them out for the next Priest record. So we’re gonna go into the studio to start recording in January. So it should be out sometime next year. But we’re not touring next year. So we’re gonna be touring, hopefully, in 2018.”
Legendary actor Christopher Lee, who has appeared in such cinematic milestones as “Lord Of The Rings”, “Star Wars”, “The Man With The Golden Gun” and “Dracula”, released his second heavy metal album, “Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death”, on May 27 on audio CD, a two-disc gatefold vinyl and MP3 downloads.
“Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death” signifies Christopher Lee‘s move into “full-on” heavy metal.
Speaking to Skullbanger Media, Lee stated about his new album: “‘The Omens Of Death’, apart from being the continuation to the first album, ‘By Sword And The Cross’, no longer makes use of the introductions to the songs, or has symphonic elements. This creates a different atmosphere which shapes the story.
“Throughout Charlemagne‘s life, there had been key events which could have taken various turns, and these have shaped the world in which we live today. He was the ‘Father of Europe’ and responsible for carving the map as it is today.
“As Charlemagne recounts his life, he focuses on these key elements which represent omens, hence the title ‘The Omens Of Death’. By attempting to unify the people of Europe and take them out of the dark ages of ignorance and chaos, he also created death and destruction.”
Asked how he feels about the fact that he has been a major influence to metal musicians through his film work and now that he is part of the genre itself, Lee said: “Going back to the early stages of my career, my work, my acting has always been influenced by the German composer Wagner. Now that I have been able to listen to many metal albums, I realize that the genre is a direct evolution of the world and the sounds that Wagner imagined. I am, of course, very pleased and honored to have been able to carry these themes through.”
Regarding whether there any other heavy metal artists out there he would be interested in collaborating with, Lee said: “It’s fair to say that since the early 1970s, I had been asked to do collaborations with metal bands and even now I receive offers from various bands. I guess that the difference between then and now is that I have more time to explore projects that are different and new to me. I take the same approach as when a movie offer comes through: I look at the story and the character that I am asked to portray and if it appeals to me, I will do it. As things stand now, I am already committed into participating in several projects, one of which will be announced fairly soon.”
The music in “Charlemagne: The Omens of Death” was arranged by Richie Faulkner. He completed the work shortly before he was called to join JUDAS PRIEST as lead guitarist.
“Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death” track listing:
01. The Portent (4:29)
02. Charles The Great (6:23)
03. The Siege (7:09)
04. Massacre Of The Saxons (5:41)
05. Dawning Of A New Age (4:40)
06. Let Legend Mark Me As The King (5:45)
07. The Betrayal (5:02)
08. The Devil’s Advocate (4:54)
09. The Ultimate Sacrifice (5:09)
10. Judgement Day (3:41)
Singers:
* Christopher Lee as Charlemagne (Ghost)
* Vincent Ricciardi as Young Charlemagne
* Phil S.P as Pippin The Short
* Mauro Conti as Pope Hadrian
* Lydia Salnikova as Hildegard
* Gorgon Tittsworth as Roland
* Aaron Cloutier as Duke Lop
* Daniel Vasconcelos as Oliver
Musicians:
Electric Guitar: Hedras Ramos Jr.
Bass Guitar: Hedras Ramos Sr.
Drums: Ollie Usiskin
Vocalist Rob Halford and guitarist Richie Faulkner of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST were interviewed on the May 15 edition of the nationally syndicated radio show “Rockline” with host Bob Coburn. You can now listen to the chat at RocklineRadio.com.
JUDAS PRIEST is celebrating its 40th anniversary as recording artists this year with the release of the live concert “Epitaph”. A unique live career retrospective, “Epitaph” was made available on Blu-ray and separate DVD on May 28 through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. This release precedes a new studio album by JUDAS PRIEST which the band are working on now.
Heavy metal historians will regard “Epitaph” as the most far-reaching live concert recording in the band’s career. The set revisits the climactic closing date of the 50-week “Epitaph” world tour, captured live at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo on May 26, 2012. Adding to the drama is the fact that this was JUDAS PRIEST‘s final large-scale world tour ever.
“Epitaph”‘s 23 tracks represent at least one song from every one of the band’s 14 studio albums, from 1974’s “Rocka Rolla” (“Never Satisfied”) to 2008’s “Nostradamus” (“Prophecy”). In the special case of “British Steel”, four songs are featured: “Rapid Fire”, “Metal Gods”, “Breaking The Law” and perennial set closer “Living After Midnight”. Others exempted from the one-song-quota are the LPs which appeared before and after “British Steel”. The first of these is 1979’s “Hell Bent For Leather” (U.K. title: “Killing Machine”) which lends the title song as well as “The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)”. The other LP is 1982’s “Screaming For Vengeance”, source of “The Hellion”, “Electric Eye” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”.
Legendary JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke with Billboard about Epitaph, their career-spanning concert-turned-long-form video that is out this week on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats.
About the recent cinema screenings the Metal God laughed: “It was wonderful to go into a movie theater full of metal maniacs eating popcorn and it seemed like they all slipped a flask in because you smelled (the alcohol) going down the aisle. The only thing was they couldn’t get the volume up to the required level because there was some other movie playing next door. As far as it being on the big screen, it was a really cool thing to do. The thing about the Epitaph DVD is that you almost have that rockumentary/documentary thing, but the music is speaking for us. It’s a very direct, emotional way to convey the life of the band.”
Check out more of the conversation at Billboard and check out a Q&A video HERE.
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?”
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’:
Video footage of an extended five-minute jam from guitarist Richie Faulkner of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST in which he demonstrates the new 57 and 66 pickups from EMG can be seen below. Also available is a previously released clip of Faulkner introducing the new EMG pickups.
In a 2011 interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Faulkner stated about the task of replacing original PRIEST guitarist Kenneth “K.K.” Downing, “First of all, it was a huge honor just to be even considered. I’ve been a fan of the band for years, and so it was a bit of a double-edged sword, really; it was a great opportunity for me as a guitar player and as a fan, but at the same time he was one of my heroes and didn’t want to do it anymore. It was a double-edged sword, really, but I’ve always said to people, as a fan myself, I know what fans expect. JUDAS PRIEST wanted to carry on and they were asking me to join to be able to carry on, so it was a no-brainer in my mind. One of the guys who was my idol had left, and you have to respect the guys’ decision. The band wanted to carry on, and again it was a great honor to do it and it was a great honor to be put forward. I’m not there to replace a forty-year career; Ken‘s career was influential, and before those two guys came out and did that style of guitar, there weren’t many people doing it. He was a guitar hero idol of mine, and I’m not there to replace any of that. I know as a fan what the fans expect, and I’m just there to do the best I can for the band and the fans.”
When asked about the fan reaction to his addition to JUDAS PRIEST, Faulkner said, “Initially I think people were sceptical, which is natural, really. I think I would’ve been sceptical because right up until Ken‘s departure, it was like that for forty years, and if something changes, people’s first reactions tend to be an unsure one. When people are unsure, they’re fearful of the outcome. We’re through the worst, and as I said, people are skeptical, but we knew that as soon as we got out and did the first couple of shows and went from there that the fans would see with their own eyes and their own ears that the band is fine and that it’s a good fit. Hats off to the fans, really, for giving it that chance; they still got their tickets and gave the band a chance, and hopefully they weren’t and won’t be disappointed. They’ve been fantastic, and with every show that we do, the more of an amazing welcome reaction I get. A big thank you to them really for giving me the chance and the band a chance.”
