Richie Faulkner Says Judas Priest is Already Talking About an Invincible Shield Follow Up
Whenever the legendary Judas Priest puts out a new record, the question of whether it’s their final release or not always seems to creep into the conversation. After Halford left in 1992, people wondered how the band could ever move forward (spoilers: they did). Then most recently, we’ve had people wonder out loud if 2018’s Firepower and then last year’s Invincible Shield came out was the band’s final release.
Yet it seems like we won’t be rid of the metal titans that easily. During a recent interview with Chile’s PowerOfMetal.cl (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner revealed that he and his bandmates have already begun discussing their 21st full-length album.
“Yeah, we are always working on ideas and what we could do next. And if we did it, what would it sound like? What would we want to achieve creatively? So we always talk about that sort of stuff. We’ll have to wait and see. I can’t tell you too much at the moment. We’ll have to wait and see. [Laughs]”
As it stands, it might be a while before the band actually start committing riffs and rhythms to actual finished songs for a new record, as they’ve got a lot of touring on their itinerary this year. According to Faulkner, their collective eyes are on performing around the world for the foreseeable future. And that means a new album will be put on the backburner until at least 2026.
“So we come down to South America, as you know, in a couple of weeks. And then this summer in Europe, we are playing what we call the ‘Shield Of Pain’ tour. So it’s the 35th anniversary of [JUDAS PRIEST’s 1990 album] ‘Painkiller’ this year. So we are celebrating that record and we’re also still celebrating the ‘Invincible Shield’ record. So that’s the ‘Shield Of Pain’. We’re taking that through Europe. And then we’re looking at some opportunities after that in 2025. And in ’26 — who knows? We’re always looking at opportunities, whether it’s a new album or a new tour. But for now we’re focused on South America. We are coming down to Chile, and we’re gonna rock hard ride free, man.”
So there ya have it. They’re not talking about hanging it up just yet, but any real work on a new record will have to wait until at least next year. If they can keep the energy up like they have in their last two releases, I’m all for Judas Priest riding this wave until the wheels fall off.
Judas Priest ‘Shield of Pain’ tour
6/14 Oslo Tjuvholmen Arena, Norway [Tickets]
6/17 Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany [Tickets]
6/18 Hessentag Festival, Frankfurt, Germany [Tickets]
6/25 Viveiro Resurrection Fest, Spain [Tickets]
6/27 Lisbon Evil Live Fest, Portugal [Tickets]
6/29 Barcelona Rock Fest, Spain [Tickets]
7/1 Ferrara Summer Festival, Italy [Tickets]
7/3 Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland [Tickets]
7/5 Hannover Niedersachsenstadion, Germany (supporting Scorpions) [Tickets]
7/7 Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland [Tickets]
7/10 Rattvik Dalhalla, Sweden [Tickets]
7/13 Munich Olympiahalle, Germany [Tickets]
7/15 Carcassonne Festival De Carcassone, France [Tickets]
7/17 Sion Sous Les Etoiles, Switzerland [Tickets]
7/19 Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg [Tickets]
7/20 Oberhausen Rudolf-Weber-Arena, Germany [Tickets]
7/23 Scarborough Open Air Theatre, UK [Tickets]
7/25 London O2 Arena, UK [Tickets]
