Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner is giving fans an update on the band’s new record.

In a new interview, Faulkner explained, “We were very fortunate, in a way. Me, Rob [Halford] and Glenn [Tipton] got together just before the pandemic. I think it was early 2020, just before the major lockdown happened, and we did a big writing session…So we had the ideas there before the lockdowns shut down. When the lockdowns opened up again, we got back on tour. So the challenge was to get them recorded while being on tour. But it was 2021, 2022 now, so the technological advances with recording allowed us to be able to do that.”

“And I think now we just need to do the vocals and a couple of bits of guitar and stuff. The majority is the vocals that Rob needs to do, and I think we’re gonna do that early next year and get that finished and then it’s done.” Faulkner continued, “So we’re looking good; we’re in good shape. And hopefully it’s finished soon.”

The new album is the follow-up to 2018’s “Firepower.”