JUDAS PRIEST guitar legend Glenn Tipton spoke with Jeb Wright from Classic Rock Revisited recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Classic Rock Revisited: You played with KK for forty years and I am sure you two had mental telepathy between the two of you. How hard has it been to get on the same page with Richie (Faulkner), concerning the solo switching and the harmony lead playing that you do?

Tipton: "That is the amazing thing; Richie has just blown us all away. Last November, Ken told us that he wanted to retire because he had problems with his wrist. We thought that was it, really. We didn’t do anything for three months. We knew that there were a lot of kids that wanted to see Priest play, one last time. We decided to do it, if we could find the right guy. We found Richie and he just blew us away. He blended straight into the band. He has the essence of what’s necessary for Priest and he does his own thing as well; he really is extraordinary. I have said it before, but I think if we had not found him, then we wouldn’t be on the road now."

Classic Rock Revisited: Is this the end of Priest or is this just the last time Judas Priest will do a huge world tour?

Tipton: "It is the end of the huge world tour. If a string of dates makes sense, and it was offered to us, then we would consider it. We’ve definitely got at least one, maybe two, albums left in us. It is not the end of the band by any means; it’s just our last tour of the planet."

Classic Rock Revisited: Has any new Priest music been written?

Tipton: "Rob and I did some writing in January and February. We have actually done eight to ten songs. We’d like to sit down with Richie, as he has already presented a few ideas that are very Priest-like. That is a whole new option that we want to pursue. The thing that we need more than anything else is time. We have a very heavy touring schedule and then we will need to rest a bit before we get back in the studio."

Read the entire interview here.

Sony Music has released a unique Judas Priest album. The Chosen Few is an album curated by Judas Priest’s contemporaries in the music world – each artist picking their own favourite Priest track and explaining why it is special to them.

Included are legends such as OZZY OSBOURNE, METALLICA's James Hetfield, ALICE COOPER, DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott, SLASH, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy, SLAYER's Kerry King and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR). All build an album from the very best of Judas Priest – from 1977’s 'Diamonds And Rust' through to 1990’s 'Painkiller'.

Some of heavy metal's elite weigh in on their selections on The Chosen Few:

Lars Ulrich (Metallica) on 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' - “The blueprint for the epic rock ballad. Copied thousands of times, never eclipsed.”

Ozzy Osbourne on 'The Ripper' - “This has always been one of my favorite Judas Priest songs… I just want to know what the fuck that note is that Rob Halford hits in the beginning of the song. Fucking hell!! That note is probably just below what only dogs can hear.”

Alice Cooper on 'Living After Midnight' - “For a metal band, Priest has always used tons of melody... when you have a singer as great as Rob Halford, you have to write great riffs WITH great melodies, you can’t just have riffs. 'Living After Midnight' is the perfect example…”

Slash on 'Screaming For Vengeance' - “Judas Priest have put out their fair share of great albums to be sure. But my all time favourite is 'Screaming For Vengeance'. It was and still is, one of the best metal records ever produced and the title track is in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time.”

Corey Taylor on 'You've Got Another Thing Coming' - "“Judas Priest: the blueprint for the ultimate heavy metal band...”

The Chosen Few tracklisting:

'Diamonds And Rust' (1977) - chosen by Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD)

'Dissident Aggressor' (1977) - chosen by STEVE VAI

'Exciter' (1978) - chosen by ACCEPT

'Beyond The Realms Of Death' (1978) - chosen by Lars Ulrich (METALLICA)

'Delivering The Goods' (1979) - chosen by Kerry King (SLAYER)

'The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown)' (1979) - chosen by David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE) & Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD)

'The Ripper' (1979) - chosen by OZZY OSOBURNE

'Victim Of Changes' (1979) - chosen by James Hetfield (Metallica)

'Breaking The Law' (1980) - chosen by Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)

'Rapid Fire' (1980) - chosen by Vinnie Paul (PANTERA, HELL YEAH)

'Grinder' (1980) - chosen by Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)

'Living After Midnight' (1980) - chosen by ALICE COOPER & Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH)

'Screaming For Vengeance' (1982) - chosen by Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)

'You’ve Got Another Thing Coming' (1982) - chosen by Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS) & Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT)

'The Sentinel' (1984) - chosen by Chris Jericho (FOZZY)

'Turbo Lover' (1986) - chosen by Jonathan Davis (KORN)

'Painkiller' (1990) - chosen by JOE SATRIANI