Richie Faulkner Discusses the Status of New Judas Priest Music

Judas Priest have always understood what it means to be heavy metal: show up loud, stay sharp and never pretend the fire’s gone out just because the calendar says it should. They’ve been doing this long enough to coast, but that’s never really been their style. Even now, there’s a sense the best it yet to come. It’s some perfect collision of riff and attitude that hasn’t quite been nailed down yet.

So, Rob Halford and company are after it. They’re making new music, and guitarist Richie Faulkner has confirmed that to Meltdown of WRIF in Detroit.

“We were recording new music in February for a new record coming out,” Faulkner told Meltdown, adding that he doesn’t know when it will be out, but the guys of Judas Priest are “still making music and they “couldn’t be better.”

“We got together in February just outside Nashville… we got together and did the drum tracks together, which we didn’t do on Invincible Shield because of the restrictions with Covid and the tour, so we had to fit the recording around that, but we got together and recorded the grounds for the record outside of Nashville,” he added. “So, the drums, bass, followed by guitar. It’s moving along and it sounds really good.”

Part of the appeal of Judas Priest is how they’re unbothered by trends. They don’t pivot, and they don’t go after relevance. They just keep building on that steel frame they locked in decades ago, tightening bolts and finding new ways to make it hit a little harder. The edges are worn in places, but that’s character, not decay.

So, hearing they’re working on another record feels right. It’s less a victory lap and more business as usual. There’s something reassuring about that kind of stubborn momentum. You don’t need them to reinvent the wheel, but you do need keep creating.