Richie Faulkner has played on Judas Priest’s last two albums, 2015’s Redeemer Of Souls, and their 18th studio album Firepower, released this year. The albums hit hard and heavy with walls of blistering guitars as sturdy as ever.

“It’s a great thing to see, a great thing to learn that a band of that age can still put out great music and do it with such ferocity,” Faulkner tells Oil City News. “It’s an inspiring thing.”

Faulkner says the band collaborates heavily in the recording studio, and with Firepower he feels like they’ve found a new groove as a band.

The process starts with individuals bringing ideas and parts into the studio before meeting up. “We start showing each other those ideas and adding to them,” explains Faulkner. “So I might have a chorus that will go with (guitarist) Glen Tipton’s melody, then (singer) Rob Halford gets an idea for a vocal… and then you’re off! It’s amazing to see them take shape.”

Read the full interview at Oil City News.

The North American leg of Judas Priest's Firepower tour, with support from Saxon and Black Star Riders, runs through May 1st before heading to Europe for the summer. North American dates are listed below.

April
10 - Casper, WY - Casper Events Center
11 - Loveland, CO - Budweiser Events Center
15 - Kent, WA - ShoWare Center
17 - Portland, OR - Veterans Memorial Coliseum
19 - San Francisco - The Warfield
22 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater
24 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
26 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
28 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory
29 - Sugarland, TX - Smart Financial Centre

May
1 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum

Judas Priest debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Firepower, marking the group’s highest charting album ever.

The album surpasses the group’s previous chart high, logged when 2014’s Redeemer Of Souls debuted and peaked at #6. In the UK, Firepower landed at #5, marking the band's highest ranking since British Steel in 1980.