Andrew Epstein of A Journey Of Musical Things recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On the songwriting process in JUDAS PRIEST:
“You should never really sit down and contrive a mood or a character of your next album. You should let it flow from you naturally. As soon as you try and do something, then it’s taking away the spontaneity and the excitement and the creativity. When we go into a writing session now, it’s exciting, ‘cause we never know what we’re gonna end up with. At the end of the day, we might have another PRIEST classic under the belt. You let it run — that’s what we do — and when the room lights up, we know we’re on to something.”
On the pressure new JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner felt stepping in for founding PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing back in 2011:
“It was a very difficult role. And Richie is so talented, he’s just gone out there and he’s doing what’s necessary. But he’s also put his own stamp on it. So it’s still unmistakeably PRIEST; the band is just the same as it ever was. But Richie does his own thing. I mean, he’s such an incredibly talented guitar player that he can do that. As I’ve said many times, it’s a miracle. I don’t think we’d be out there if we hadn’t found Richie.”
On whether he had to coach Richie to get him to live up to people’s high expectations:
“I wish I could say I had coached Richie, but I haven’t. He came to the band and he not only delivered what people want in the live way, he contributed to the writing; he brought a lot to the table on this album [2014’s ‘Redeemer Of Souls’]. It’s just wondrous, really, the way he’s slotted straight in there.”
“Redeemer Of Souls” was released in July 2014. The follow-up to 2008’s double-disc concept album “Nostradamus” was billed as a return to JUDAS PRIEST’s heavy-metal roots.
“Redeemer Of Souls” sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Source: Blabbermouth
