There was a lot of history before guitarist Richie Faulkner joined Judas Priest, and their amazing catalog is one of the reasons that the guitarist has enjoyed playing with the band since taking over for K.K. Downing in 2011. So during a recent chat with Rock Sverige, Faulkner tackled the daunting question of naming his favorite Priest album in the band's expansive catalog.
What did he choose? "My favorite Priest album is Defenders of the Faith," said Faulkner, pointing to the band's 1984 effort.
"We were talking about how we perceive things differently," says Faulkner. "For me, it was that experience of being taken somewhere else. What the songs were about. 'The Sentinel,' it took you to a different place. You could almost see some of these songs and the stories they were telling."
That feeling is one that means something to the guitarist, who added, "I like that experience and I got that from Somewhere in Time from Iron Maiden and Master of Puppets from Metallica.
He went on to clarify, "For me, it's always been Defenders of the Faith, obviously I've got a different relationship with the songs on the albums I've created with the band."
READ MORE: Richie Faulkner Names Judas Priest Song He Most Enjoys Playing Live
The choice of album should not be too much of a surprise for longtime Faulkner fans, as the musician has previously proclaimed to be a "defender of the faith" on social media.
In a 2015 interview with The Rockpit, Faulkner proclaimed, "We’re all defenders of the faith; Priest has always been defending the faith of heavy metal and have never shied away from the title. In the 90’s I remember people, it wasn’t fashionable to be heavy metal, ya know, and Priest never shied away from that. Again a lot of Priest’s message that I got from their music was ‘Stand up for what you believe in!’ Do what you do to the best of your ability and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise."
He added, "Defenders of the Faith pretty much summed that up for me as an album and as a sentiment. And when you look out to the tens of thousands of metal heads out there at a Priest show, they’re all Defenders of the faith, I’m a Defender of the Faith so are they, it’s a community. And we are all Defenders, and as silly as that sounds, it’s a family feeling. And we’re all Defenders of the Faith, that’s why I use that on social media and everything like that."
These days, you can see Faulkner and the rest of Priest playing songs from Defenders of the Faith and the rest of their catalog. Be sure to get your tickets to see them live here.
