Description:

Talk about Firepower.

That is, of course, the name of the Judas Priest record that represents guitarist Richie Faulkners finest moment with the legendary Birmingham band, one that Richiealso Britishhas been central to for 11 years now.

But that also describes the happenstance that is Elegant Weapons, with Faulkner being bolstered and emboldened by the regal presence of Ronnie RomeroRainbow, Vandenberg, Michael Schenkeralong with Dave Rimmer from Uriah Heep and on drums, Christopher Williams from German Metal veterans Accept.

But why Elegant Weapons?

In almost any endeavour, the craftsman needs the right tools for the job. For a musician, those tools are things like their instruments, their voices and the emotions that the right combination of all those can bring to the surface. You can also consider it a reference to the instruments we play, because theyre almost antiquities now. So yes, it references our instruments and also this kind of music, where were carrying on the tradition of the greats like Sabbath and Dio but also bands the guys are connected to, like Rainbow, Pantera and Priest.

Its inspiring that Richie is forming this new super-group, not to mention even being here to explain it. On September 26, 2021 in Louisville, KY, Faulkner suffered an onstage aortic aneurysm during the performance of the bands Painkiller encore. Somehow finishing the set, Faulkner was rushed to hospital and put through ten hours of emergency surgery. My other half actually got told by the surgeon to prepare herself that I wasnt going to make it and that it was the worst dissection hed ever seen. Im just lucky to be alive. And luckily we had a short set that day. We were playing before Metallica, so we had an hour set instead of an hour and 40 minutes, in which case I wouldnt be talking to you. I wouldnt have come off that stage alive. The stars aligned: that was the last song and we were four miles away from the University of Louisvilles Rudd Heart and Lung Center, which is one of the most well-renowned heart hospitals in the country.

Again, underscoring the sense of firepower in this intriguing new band, Richie speaks to its esteemed constructors, beginning with Rex Brown. Richie and Rex have been friends for years, so when Richie was recording the album during the pandemic, he called on his friend to record the bass for the album.

Well, Rex brings a sound, first of all, that is like no other bass sound, explains Richie. The way he plays bass is instantly recognizable. But I got involved with Rex, you know, as with a lot of things that we do, as humans, reallywe got involved as friends first. But Rex has got a great way of hearing the way the bass parts and the drums interact together. I mean, Rexs parts just breathe grit and life and dynamic into the songs. So its a pleasure to have him on the record and its a pleasure, obviously, to know him and have him as a friendhes a legend. When it comes to the live show, there was no one else even considered other than Uriah Heeps esteemed bassist Dave Rimmer. Davey and Richie go back over 20 years and they played the bars and pubs of London and England together, night in, night out for many years.

As Far as the drums, I always wanted to make a record with Scott Travis playing on it outside of priest. His technique and style are legendary but also his groove.When it came to choosing the drummer for the touring band, it was a no brainier for Richie to enlist fellow Nashvillian and good friend Christopher Williams on the tubs. Christopher had played and recorded the initial demos for the Horns for a Halo album, and was the obvious choice for the drum position. A phenomenal player, a great personality and a consummate professional.

And finally theres the new hotshot on the scene, Ronnie Romero, Chilean-born, now living in Eastern Europe. Ronnies got that heritage, says Richie, and he nailed his parts in a week, which was a testament, really, to how good the guy is and how perfect he was for it. And hes just such a lovely guy, and, I think, one of a dying breed. Theres not many people like him. Theres good singers, like Halford and Dio, but theres not many of them. Hes really something special. When he sings with Rainbow, he sounds obviously like Dio, but when he sings this stuff, theres something in there that comes out of himhes his own monster, with his own trademark quality, which is an important thing to have.

Producing is highly regarded Priest, Opeth, Megadeth, Saxon and Accept producer Andy Sneap, who has been respectful of Richies vision concerning a certain classic sound he wanted across the expanse of the records 11 songs (ten originals plus a cover of UFOs Lights Out), and that is a signature Flying V through a Marshall Plexi amp.

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. The Marshall Plexi basically does one thing, but youve got to crank it to 11 for it to have that distorted sound. It hasnt 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 theres a lot of melody, its still going to shake your bones.

Specific to the songs, Richie explains that, Me and acoustic dont really get along, so theres 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 thats about as acoustic as it gets. Im not really attracted to acoustic guitar in general. Its mainly kind of heavy and full-on, really. Theres a song called White Horse, plus Horns for a Halo, which is like Tony Iommi crossed with Alice in Chains. Thats 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. Then theres Rose Girl, which has a bit of a psychedelic 60s hippie vibe. Its about the rose girl who sells roses to the patrons at a strip club, and reflecting on what her life is all about.

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 Richies own band, Judas Priest.All four of us have got that original DNA in us, as does the new breed of traditional heavy metal fans. And so maybe a band like Elegant Weapons, hopefully weve got the credibility to make those original bands proud, because we were accepted by the members of those bands and by their fans. Thats really the idea behind Elegant Weaponsto keep flying the flag for this style of timeless heavy metal.