One of the pleasant surprises about Judas Priest's new album 'Redeemer of Souls' is how seamlessly Richie Faulkner has fit into the band on his debut recording with them. In a new interview, he revealed that it's a moment he's been waiting for pretty much his whole life.

"All those riffs that you developed as a teenager which you can’t play in your own band, because it sounds too much like Priest," he told Guitar International. "Now you can bring it all forward. I listened to twin guitar bands like Priest, [Black] Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and [Iron] Maiden for inspiration, to learn how write and convey emotion.I was learning how to write Priest songs long before I joined the band. So when I did join, it was a very natural process. The band came from progressive blues, and I’ve always been true to that music when I started playing guitar. So it was a very natural meshing."

Faulkner co-wrote all of the songs on the album with Glenn Tipton and Rob Halford. Although there's nothing in the liner notes that details which guitarist played which solo, Tipton clued the world in on how they made those decisions.

"If Richie came up with an idea for a song," he said. "Then normally he’d take the lead, or he’d take the first part of the lead break. It would show me the feel he has for it, so I could reflect on it if I’m answering him. Neither of us is selfish. I want to play, but I’ll be quiet and let Richie play which is fine by me. So it’s just a sixth sense now, we already have what it takes some players a long time to get. We found that we work well together."

Judas Priest will begin a U.S. tour in October. Earlier today (July 14), they announced 13 more shows that will keep them on the road through mid-November.

Judas Priest Discuss 'Redeemer of Souls' 

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