Bryan Reesman from Grammy.com spoke with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner about Redeemer Of Souls, their 17th studio album and first in six years, due out next week. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Grammy.com: The new album has a very yin and yang feel to it, with half of the songs being stripped down and the other half sounding more epic. Was that intentional?

Faulkner: "I think the only thing that was intentional was to do what the band does and has been doing for 40 years, which is not have any sort of concept or rules. And if it sounds good, we'll go with it, whether it's an epic-sounding song or a straightforward song."

Grammy.com: This is Richie Faulkner's first album with Judas Priest. What was the songwriting dynamic like this time?

Halford: "It's different but it's the same in the respect that it's always been two guitar players and a singer pitching in together. There's no doubt that Richie's input has been incredibly energizing. Just to have a different perspective from Richie's ability as a guitar player [as] well as a songwriter did bring some very unique and exciting moments to the writing sessions."

Tipton: "It was great. Richie was thrown in the deep end. The first show he did was "American Idol" [in 2011 in front of] 30 million people, then we went to a massive festival in Europe, so he had a lot of challenges initially on the live side of things. He came through with flying colors, but we never knew how [the] writing was going to work out. And it was like we've always been together. It was just a very natural thing. … He's put his own stamp on [the music]. That's the remarkable thing."

Grammy.com: How are you feeling lately, Rob? I recall you were in a wheelchair last year when you were promoting the live Epitaph DVD.

Halford: "It was a bit of a glitch. I had a back operation. It's fixed. I'm still not 1,000 percent, but I don't think I ever will be, quite frankly. At this point, who is? I went under the knife screaming in pain and woke up pain-free. I think whenever you're dealing with physical challenges, it really sorts out your personality and what you want out of life. I just wanted to get back to my job as a singer in a metal band as quickly as possible."

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