Elegant Weapons Is A New Band Feat. Judas Priest, Pantera & Rainbow Members

Elegant Weapons is the brand new band featuring Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), bassist Rex Brown (Pantera), drummer Scott Travis (Judas Priest), and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow). The band will drop their debut record Horns For A Halo in 2023 which was produced by Judas Priest live guitarist (and legendary producer) Andy Sneap.

On the new band, Faulkner said it’s a “mix of Jimi Hendrix, Priest, Sabbath, solo Ozzy, and Black Label Society” and has been in the works for quite some time.

“It’s exciting to be part of a label like Nuclear Blast that has such a rich history and level of respect among fans and the music industry. Monte Conner [Nuclear Blast VP A&R] knows Andy Sneap well, and Andy has always held Monte and label in very high regard. Monte has loved the record from the very early demo stages. It’s very valuable and important to me that the label I sign with understand and connect with the music. This record represents for me more of my DNA as a guitar player and a songwriter. Heavy, but moving slightly outside the realms of ‘heavy metal.’ Those roots are obvious, but I wanted to reach in a bit and see what else came out that wasn’t necessarily ‘expected’.”

As for the band’s lineup, Faulkner added he couldn’t ask for a better group of dudes.

“I’ve always wanted to make a record with Scott outside of Priest. Add to that Rex Brown’s unmistakable tone and attitude is something special. Having those guys as the rhythm section is a guitar player’s dream. The icing on the cake was Ronnie Romero. One of the new breed of instantly classic vocalists, Ronnie brought a character and a swagger to the songs that is instantly iconic, making these songs his own.”

I think the real question here is when these guys found the time to make this album – Faulkner and Travis have been super busy with touring and recording for Priest, while Brown has been gearing up for the upcoming Pantera shows. Yet here we are.