Guitar Internationals has issued the following from Rob Cavuoto"

"Truer words could not have been spoken. Not many bands have shaped heavy metal like the British band JUDAS PRIEST. With Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing on dueling guitar, Ian Hill on bass and the Metal God, Rob Halford on vocals, they have forged the metal scene since the ‘70s. The band’s unique style of wearing S&M; leather and writing thunderous anthems have ignited and influenced four generations of musicians. With such hits as 'Breaking The Law', 'Living After Midnight' and 'Hot Rockin', it’s no wonder.

All the more reason it came as a shock to metal heads worldwide when the band announced they would be embarking on their farewell Epitaph Tour. Just as big of a blow to fans was the departure of lead guitarist and founding member K.K. Downing. Rumors circulated and fans speculated on what was going on in the Priest camp and if this was truly the end to one of the greatest metal bands of all time.

While on a break from their US leg of their tour, I had the chance to sit with guitarist Glenn Tipton and newest member Richie Faulkner (replacing K.K.) in New York to clear the air on all the rumors, what lie head for the band, and to discuss their latest release, a greatest hits CD entitled; The Chosen Few. Hopefully metal heads can now breathe a sigh of relief when they hear that their idols are re-energized and plan to make more new music."

An excerpt from the interview follows:

Q: Tell me about Richie Faulkner joining the band and the audition process involved?

Glenn Tipton: "We originally approached another guitarist and he was very honest and told us he didn’t think he fit the bill. So we asked him if he knew any great guitar players and he recommended Richie. We emailed Richie and he didn’t get back to us. In actuality, he thought our requests were a prank. We eventually got in touch with him and he came up to my house to show me what he could do. He started to play and straightaway I thought we had our guy. I asked him to work on a few Priest songs and to send me a tape to see what his take was. It couldn’t have been better. He does his own thing to our songs and it fits perfectly into what we do. I don’t know who would be here if we didn’t find Richie. I immediately liked him as a person, which is very important in this band. It’s not just about playing, but getting along as well."

Q: Tell me what Richie brings to the band?

Glenn Tipton: "We’ve only been playing together for less than six months but every night live, Richie changes the songs up a bit by adding his own licks here and there. We are still learning from each other. We are also learning visual things, so there is more impact on the audience. It’s not all about playing the guitar on stage; it’s about presences, being at the right place at the right time, giving the band visual strength."

Q: The auditions were an extremely well-kept secret, how did you manage to do that?

Glenn Tipton: "We didn’t do anything immediately when K.K. told us that he wanted to retire. We assumed he would change his mind, but he was adamant. At that point we already announced our farewell tour. Also, we didn’t ask that many guitarists to come down, maybe two or three people and we asked them to be discrete. Also, it wasn’t a process that went on for a long period of time."

Read more at this location.

(Photo: Rob Cavuoto)

Glenn Tipton is featured in a new interview with Terrie Carr at New Jersey's WDHA-FM 105.5 FM. Go to this location to check it out.

Confirmed Judas Priest North American dates with THIN LIZZY and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY include:

October

12 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T; Center
14 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Ampitheater
15 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
16 - Dallas, TX - Allen Event Center
18 - Tuscon, AZ - Ava Ampitheater
19 - San Diego, CA - Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
21 - Phoenix, AZ - AZ State Fair
22 - San Bernadino, CA - SAn Mauel Ampitheater
23 - Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock
25 - Bakersfield, CA - Rabobank Arena
26 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
27 - Concord, CA - Sleep Trail Pavillion
29 - Seattle, WA - WaMy Theater
30 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena

November

1 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Center
2 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center
5 - Denver, CO - 1st Bank Center
8 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
9 - Springfield, IL - Prairie Capital Convention Center
10 - St. Louis, MO - The Family Arena
12 - Chicago, IL - The Venue At Horeshoe Casino
13 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
15 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
16 - Rochester, NY - The Armory
18 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
19 - Johnstown, PA - Cambria County War Memorial
20 - Lowell, MA - Paul E Tsongas Arena
22 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
23 - Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
24 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
26 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
27 - Winston-Salem, NC - Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum
30 - Tampa, FL - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre

December

1 - Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre,
3 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Biloxi Hotel & Casino

The band has also announced a string of Japanese tour dates for February. The itinerary includes:

February

7 - Sunpalace - Fukuoka, Japan
9 - Cacifico - Yokohama, Japan
11 - Kokusai Hall - Kobe, Japan
13 - Alsok Hall - Hiroshima, Japan
14 - Prefectural Arts Theater - Aichi, Japan
16 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan

Judas Priest were guests on the Friday, October 7th edition of NBC-TV's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. They performed 'You've Got Another Thing Comin'' and 'Breaking The Law' as a web-exclusive video; footage of 'You've Got Another Thing Comin'' is available below: