Judas Priest – interview met Richie Faulkner (guitars)
Richie Faulkner: “The sentiment of the invincible shield is the heavy metal that we will stand by. We hold that banner high and defend it till the end. It is our music, it is our community and it is invincible. And we love it and it never goes away, so that is the invincibility of the music that we love.”
Meer dan een halve eeuw is Judas Priest een bekende en alom gerespecteerde naam in ons favoriete metal wereldje. Toch is de band nog zeer actief, zowel op de podia als met het schrijven van nieuwe songs. Een verse collectie ideeën heeft de laatste jaren vorm gekregen en is gerijpt tot het negentiende studioalbum ‘Invincible Shield’, een album dat opmerkelijk fris en bevlogen klinkt. Daar wilden we met hen over spreken, vandaar dat we gitarist Richie Faulkner een maand voor de release aan de lijn kregen om te vertellen over de derde schijf waar hij mee aan de doopvont staat.
Vera Matthijssens Ι 11 maart 2024
Hello Richie. It is still morning with you in the USA I think… pretty early…
Indeed but we have a three and a half years’ old daughter who wakes us up at the crack of dawn anyway, so I have been up for a little while. I am still tired obviously, it is still early, but we have to get up for other things, you can imagine.
That fits well so early, I understand. We talked with each other last year, in 2023 for ‘Horns For A Halo’ of Elegant Weapons, and then you were already busy with the new album of Judas Priest. So can you tell me a little bit about how things went and how you recorded and when was it written?
It started with me, Glenn and Rob. We were able to get together before the pandemic. Obviously we did not know that the pandemic was going to happen. We were fortunate that we were able to get together and put down the demos to the basic tracks of these songs. Next we could not tour due to the pandemic, we could not get together to record them, but it gave us a little bit more time to develop the songs. During the pandemic we could not do anything, so we developed the songs into what they are now. When that was lifted, we were back on the road touring. So we had to fit the recording around the touring in North America and when we had a break. During the break we did the guitars and the drums for example. We went out to Europe and after that we did the bass. We actually did some bass guitar recordings on the road in hotel rooms. Fortunately we had the producer playing guitar with us, so the producer Andy Sneap looked over the recordings on the road in a hotel room. I don’t know if it was keeping people up at night, I don’t know, but me and Ian and Andy were get together and put the bass down. So when Andy got back to the UK, he could do his magic and hear it through the amplifiers. So we did it like that really. We did it in sections and the producers did a great job. Andy Sneap and Tom Allom on some of the tracks. They are great in putting those things together and making it a strong album.
That was like the former album ‘Firepower’ I think, the producer’s team of Andy Sneap and Tom Allom…
Tom Allom and Andy Sneap did the entire ‘Firepower’ record. Andy did most of this one with Tom Allom coming in on a few tracks. So it was mainly Andy on this record, but both have their parts of play and some of the tracks that Andy did, are produced by Tom as well with Andy. So they are a great team together.
How did you decide on the title ‘Invincible Shield’?
Well, it is something that Rob came up with quite a long time ago. He told me on the phone. He sent me a voice message and that was the chorus of ‘Invincible Shield’. It was just a vocal. It was a melody and a phrasing and it stayed the same really, so I put the music to the chorus and then the song went from there. So it has been around for a while. There were a few other suggestions for the album title, but that one kept coming back. I think it is important. The sentiment of the invincible shield is the heavy metal that we will stand by. We hold that banner high and defend it till the end. It is our music, it is our community and it is invincible. And we love it and it never goes away, so that is the invincibility of the music that we love. And the title track is kind of related to that sentiment.
It is your third studio album with Judas Priest, but the band itself has been around for a very long time. Nevertheless they sound more battle like than ever on this new album I think…
I think you cannot do anything for over fifty years without having an absolute love and a passion for what you do. I think that is probably why. I think the other part is obviously the fans over those fifty years. They have given the lifeblood to Priest. There are other bands, but they are still true to Priest. We love what we do, they love what they have done for fifty years and the fan base has loved them as well and kept them inspired to put out new stuff, better stuff than before. That is the goal. So I think the fan inspires them, they also inspire me when I am with them to do something better than the last time.
What is – for instance – a guitar part on this album that you are really proud of?
(thinks) I don’t know. I just try and do my best. I kind of try to do my best in my ability, the song writing or the lead guitar playing or textures in a song… it is all part of it. There is a lot of guitar. It is not the solo playing only, it is the composition, it is the rhythm playing, the pace and the riffs. So there is a lot to go into it really. Obviously I am proud of the album, I am proud of what we all played on it, but I am just happy to be there as part of Priest and just giving 1000% to the ‘Invincible Shield’, you know.
A firm amount of tight heavy metal songs, but ‘Escape From Reality’ seems to have a kind of psychedelic touch I guess. Can you go a bit deeper into that?
Yes, you are absolutely right. ‘Escape From Reality’. That was one of Glenn’s ideas that he brought to the table and we needed a mid section. That song was almost done, but we needed a mid section and a solo section and stuff like that. So we worked on that together and when we were playing the mid section, it had a psychedelic kind of feel to it. Sometimes a song or an album takes on its own character and you have to recognize what it is and go with it. Rob recognized that as well and he put down a vocal that matched that texture. It is a kind of Black Sabbath psychedelic Birmingham type of vibe. I think it worked really well. It is a really strong song.
I agree. And Judas Priest is also from Birmingham, just as Black Sabbath…
There is something in the air or in the water that they were drinking back then. Sabbath and Priest, they come from the same area and they have both been responsible for the invention of heavy metal as we know it today.
Another special song seems to me the one that occludes the album ‘Giants In The Sky’, like a kind of anthem. What was the idea behind that song?
Well, it is really dedicated to all the heroes, the musical heroes, that we lost. Rob doesn’t name anyone specifically. We all have our heroes, we all have our idols that we have lost, but the music lives forever. It is a continuing thing within the invincibility of music. It will be around long after we have gone. It is truly invincible and it is kind of dedicated to all those heroes in music, that we have loved and lost and listened to the music still and that goes on forever. That’s what it is all about.
The part with the narrative chants is really moving…
It is! It is very nice. The mid section with the beautiful part by Rob when it comes down with acoustic guitar – it is a Spanish classical guitar – and then Rob comes in, I think it is one of the most beautiful passages that he has ever sung. I love it. The melody is great, the phrasing is great, the emotion is great. Rob did a fantastic job. Not only the singing, but connecting the enigma with emotion and he makes it yours. Rob sings it, but he makes it your song. It is one of my favourite parts that he sang on the record. It is a beautiful part.
There are four songs you have made video clips for, but for every song a music video and a lyric video. What was the reason for that?
I don’t really know (laughs) but I think one of the reasons was because we announced the album last year in October. That is a long time before the album comes out. It is usually about three months, leading up to a record and this was a little bit longer than that, so I think that is why they kept on bringing out something on regular basis to keep the interest, to keep bringing stuff out, to keep letting the fans know that it is coming. Coming soon, thanks for waiting so long but it is coming soon. Now it is only a month away, so we are excited to see what will happen when it will be unleashed onto the world.
Yes, it has been six years since the last album ‘Firepower’…
Yes it has been six years and as I said these songs have been around in an early form since around 2020. Due to the pandemic and other circumstances it was pushed back for months. We had the 50th anniversary tour. We had the ‘Firepower’ tour as well for the ‘Firepower’ record. It was not like we have been lazy I promise. We did it because we couldn’t have done it earlier and it is coming out soon. So it is a relief to bring it out now.
I guess with the artwork artist Mark Wilkinson you also have a very close bond, because he is always working for you…
Yes he has been working with Priest I think since ‘Ram It Down’ if I am not mistaken. So it is a long time. It is nice to have a relationship like that with an artist, because when you put an idea forward they can translate that like no other artist can. Another guy, that we used on ‘Firepower’ is a friend of mine, Claudio Bergamin, and he did a great job, but we just took Mark for this one. It is that kind of simple emblematic imagine, because metal is pure. It is simple but powerful. I think that is exactly what it needs to be.
I see a lot of touring is coming up…
Yeah we have been off the road now for about a year, obviously apart from that day in California that we did with Power Trip festival. So we are all ready to go. We put a new set list together, we have a new stage set ready to go. We are looking forward to rehearsals in about a week and a half time. So we can rehearse these songs, put a set list together and then we start in the UK and then we come to Europe, as well to Holland I think not long after that. So we are looking forward to be on the road and play some heavy metal!
I see you will be playing at Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium too in June…
That is always a great festival. I was there last year with my other band and we will be there this year with Priest. It is a great festival, a great community, I think it is amazing what they put together over there. It is like another city. So it is amazing to be a part of that and we cannot wait to go over there.
Thank you very much, that is very nice to hear about my home country. To occlude, is there a kind of memory of the making of this album that will always stay in your mind?
Yeah, I mean every album has its own story and the circumstances around the record are going to complete that story, so the whole circumstances around it: the pandemic, the recording schedules fitting in around the touring, I had a medical emergency so we had to stop a little bit there… every album has its own story. I remember when we were kids, we did not have the money for the studio, so it was a real challenge to get enough studio time to get it done and I think everything has a challenge. Every album is a challenge, but you work through it. I don’t think of anything specific, but all the things I mentioned add to the story of the record and will always be there. It will always be part of what made the record a great experience for us. We had to work through that challenge of that schedules and put it together in the best way that we could. That’s why you still have to give 1000%. This shows the invincibility of the metal: no matter what happens around you, the metal is invincible.
Indeed, it was striking that the metal scene remained one community during the pandemic…
I remember the first show that we did after the pandemic. It was in Bloodstock in the UK. And it was the first time I have been to a concert after the pandemic and a lot of people as well. It was just like a massive relief and celebration of music and the ability to have live music in our life, because that had been absent for a while then. We could not go to see live music or experience live music, so it was an enormous relief to do that again and be part of it. Hopefully it will be around for a long time and we don’t have any bloody pandemics anymore, you know. The metal community stays strong. The metal community never dies, as I said it will go on forever.
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