Richie Faulkner isn’t sure if Judas Priest will make another album after Invincible Shield: “You never know what the future holds”

Richie Faulkner onstage with Judas Priest in 2023

(Image credit: Nelson Anderson/Billboard via Getty Images)

Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has said that he doesn’t know if the British metal legends will make a follow-up to their upcoming album, Invincible Shield.

The 44-year-old made the comments on a new edition of the Audio Ink Radio podcast, when he was asked if Priest have “many more” albums left in them after their 19th comes out on March 8.

Faulkner answered (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “That’s a great question. You never know.”

He later added: “You never know what the future holds. I mean, if the guys wanna do it, I’m all for it. And if they choose not to do another record, then I’m all for that. Whatever they wanna do.

“I’m not saying [there won’t be another album after Invincible Shield],” he continued. “I’m definitely not saying [that]… never say never.

“And then you’ve gotta think, what are we gonna do from here? We can’t do a record like this. Which way is it gonna go? And again, the album normally dictates where it’s gonna go, but we don’t wanna repeat ourselves ever, so what would we do next time? It’s all good conversation.

“If we ever got to that stage again about doing another record, it’ll be an interesting one, for sure.”

Faulkner joined Priest in 2011, following the departure of the band’s founding guitarist, K.K. Downing. He’s appeared on two studio albums since, Redeemer Of Souls (2014) and Firepower (2018), as well as the forthcoming Invincible Shield.

Following his parting with Priest, Downing started K.K.’s Priest alongside the band’s former vocalist, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens. The project has released two albums, Sermons Of The Sinner (2021) and The Sinner Rides Again (2023).

The frontman of Judas Priest, Rob Halford, is the cover star on the brand-new issue of Metal Hammer. The Metal God tells the magazine all about Invincible Shield, and there are also interviews with Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, While She Sleeps, Dragonforce and more. Order your copy and get it delivered to your doorstep now.

Judas Priest will tour Europe from March 11 to April 8 to promote Invincible Shield, then play North American dates in April and May. The full list of shows is below and tickets are now available.

Judas Priest 2024 tour dates:

Mar 11: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Mar 13: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Mar 15: Dublin 2 Arena, Ireland
Mar 17: Bournemouth International Arena, UK
Mar 19: Birmingham Resorts World Arena, UK
Mar 21: London OVO Arena Wembley, UK
Mar 24: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Mar 25: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
Mar 27: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Mar 29: Prague O2 Arena, Czechia
Mar 30: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
Apr 01: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Apr 03: Basel St Jakobshalle, Switzerland
Apr 05: Lyon Halle Tony Garnier, France
Apr 06: Assago Mediolanum Forum, Italy
Apr 08: Paris Zenith, France

Apr 18: Wallingford Toyota Oakdale Theatre, CT
Apr 19: Newark Prudential Center, NJ
Apr 21: Reading Santander Arena, PA
Apr 24: Bangor Cross Insurance Center, ME
Apr 25: Boston MGM Music Hall at Fenway, MA
Apr 27: Youngstown Covelli Center, OH
Apr 28: Indianapolis Everwise Amphitheater at White River, IN
May 01: Rosemont Rosemont Theatre, IL
May 02: Minneapolis The Armory, MN
May 04: Kalamazoo Wings Event Center, MI
May 05: Maryland Heights St Louis Music Park, MO
May 07: Huntsville VBC Propst Arena, AL
May 09: Daytona Welcome to Rockville, FL (festival show)
May 11: Alpharetta Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, GA
May 12: Mobile Mobile Civic Center Arena, AL
May 14: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC
May 17: Evansville Ford Center, IN
May 19: Washington, DC The Theater at MGM National Harbor
May 21: Albany MVP Arena, NY
May 22: Syracuse Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview, NY

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.