In 2011, Richie Faulkner joined Judas Priest as the band's newest guitarist for the Epitaph World Tour, announced at the time as the group's farewell to the stage. This did not materialize, and fifteen years later, Priest continues to perform, release new albums, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In an interview with 100 FM The Pike, Faulkner responded to whether there is a "timeline" for how much longer the British group will be active. The guitarist stated that he doesn't have that impression, and that in his view, Rob Halford and company "will still be around for a good while."
“I don’t get that impression. I mean, I joined the band on a farewell tour, and that was 15 years ago. So, if I know anything about these guys, it’s that they live for it too. We’re recording another album. We’re going on another tour this year. And I’ve seen how the cycle works. We make a new album and we get excited to play live. Then you do shows and you get excited to record some more songs in the studio. You make the album and you get excited to hit the road again. And they’ve been doing this for 50 years. So, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. So, yeah, I mean, if history teaches us anything, it’s that they’ll still be around for a long time,” he declared [transcription via Blabbermouth].
According to Faulkner, Judas Priest is recording a new album
In an interview with The Metal Voice, guitarist Richie Faulkner revealed that the band spent about a month in the studio during February, working on the foundations of new material. “We started recording. Yes, we were in the studio for a month in February, laying the groundwork. I don’t know if I can say that, but I already have” [transcription via Blabbermouth]. The musician didn't go into detail about deadlines or a release date, but made it clear that the initial sessions focused on building the structures of the songs.
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