When Richie Faulkner stepped in for legendary metal shredder K.K. Downing in 2011, he couldn't have possibly known what was in store for him. And he certainly couldn't have imagined that 12 years later, he'd still be holding down the fort as one of Judas Priest's two lead guitarists.

“When I first joined Priest, they were at a point in their career where it would be their last tour,” Faulkner tells Guitar World. “And I remember having a conversation with Glenn Tipton when I joined the band about the fact that Judas Priest weren't going to be around in 20 years [Laughs]. Fortunately, that was 12 years ago, and Priest is still rockin' and rollin'. But when I replaced K.K Downing, that wasn't the plan. And since then, it's always been on my mind that I'm going to have to do something after Priest.”

Read more at GuitarWorld.com.

Judas Priest recently announced "Metal Masters 2024" tour dates for Europe. They'll be joined by special guests Saxon and Uriah Heep for the dates, with Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons appearing on the date in Milan, Italy.

Tour dates:

March
24 - Festhalle - Frankfurt, Germany
25 - Olympiahalle - Munich, Germany
27 - Westfallenhalle - Dortmund, Germany
29 - 02 Arena - Prague, Czech Republic
30 - Tauron Arena - Krakow, Poland

April
1 - Stadthalle - Vienna, Austria
3 - St Jakobshalle - Basel, Switzerland
5 - Halle Tony-Garnier - Lyon, France
6 - Mediolanum Forum - Milan, Italy
8 - Zenith - Paris, France

Judas Priest previously announced dates for the UK and Ireland, also with special guests Saxon and Uriah Heep.

UK/Ireland dates:

March
11 - Glasgow, Scotland - OVO Hydro
13 - Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
15 - Dublin, Ireland - 2 Arena
17 - Bournemouth, England - International Arena
19 - Birmingham, England - Resorts World Arena
21 - London, England - OVO Arena Wembley