Meet the new supergroup from the renowned musicians of the metal scene. The band, called Elegant Weapons, consists of guitarist Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), drummer Scott Travis (Judas Priest), bassist Rex Brown (Pantera) and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group). The band is already signed to Nuclear Blast and will release their debut album, Horns For A Halo, in 2023 with Andy Sneap as producer. Says Richie Faulkner:
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. 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”.
And according to the guitarist, Elegant Weapons features his “dream line-up”:
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 players 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.
As for the music it as a mix of Jimi Hendrix, Priest, Sabbath, solo Ozzy and Black Label Society – heavy, catchy, and with melody. Sort of old school and modern at once if that makes any sense, and actually down-tuned a whole step. All told, there are a lot of guitar solos and the songs are on the heavier side. And even though there’s a lot of melody, it’s still going to shake your bones.
In general, the album will be released presumably in the spring of 2023. Stay tuned.
