During a new interview with The Entertainment Outlet, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner revealed the status of the band's next studio album, which is the long awaited follow-up to 2018's Firepower record. 

Faulkner: "We're getting there. The first obstacle was the pandemic, because we couldn't get together and do it as a group. And then, when the pandemic restrictions were lifted, we could go out on tour, so the next obstacle - if you wanna call it that -  was the tour. So we had to record bits and pieces in between the tour legs. We've got drums done, we've got guitars done, we've got the bass done. I think the main thing we have to do now is vocals. We've got the US leg of the tour coming up, so Rob's gotta protect his voice and use his voice sparingly before that. Maybe in the New Year we can start working on vocals."

Check out the full interview below.

Postponed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Judas Priest is celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2022 and is delighting fans all over the world with a sensational concert tour. Reason enough for St. Kilian Distillers to dedicate another heavy metal edition with two exceptional bottlings to the legendary band from Birmingham.

The "50 Heavy Metal Years" Anniversary Edition, limited to 12,300 bottles, got its unique character from barley malt that was gently smoked over beechwood fires. The four-year- old, smoky single malt was largely matured in ex-bourbon casks and was married with whiskies from ex-rye and ex-brandy Jerez casks, which contribute a creamy fruit sweetness to the wood smoke.

For the strictly limited "Angel of Retribution" edition, on the other hand, ultra heavily peated barley malt with 91 "parts per million" (ppm) was used, which comes directly from the Scottish Highlands and embodies heavy metal in its purest form. A total of 950 bottles were filled of this four-year-old single malt, which received a unique full maturation in French 300-litre ex-Pineau des Charentes casks and offers a true taste explosion of peat smoke, fruit and spice.

These two special Judas Priest Heavy Metal Editions are available now.

Andreas Thümmler has been a fan of the British heavy metal band since his youth. "Songs like Turbo Lover, Metal Gods and Breaking the Law remain unforgettable for me even after 50 years. Therefore, it was immediately clear that there had to be a St. Kilian Heavy Metal Edition to celebrate Judas Priest's 50th anniversary," says the founder and owner of St. Kilian Distillers.

Thümmler didn't hesitate for a minute when Global Merchandising Services Limited, one of the world's largest exploiters of merchandising rights in the music and entertainment industry, approached St. Kilian Distillers about licensing Judas Priest whisky. After the great success of the first St. Kilian Heavy Metal Edition, Grave Digger, metal fans and whisky enthusiasts alike will once again get their money's worth.

Find the St. Kilian Distillers online shop here.