Judas Priest are already working on their next record.
Guitarist Richie Faulkner confirmed in a new interview with The Metal Voice that the band spent a full month in the studio in February recording the foundation of their 20th studio album — the follow-up to Invincible Shield, which dropped in March 2024.
"We've started recording it," Faulkner said. "Yeah, we were in the studio for a month in February laying the foundation. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, but I've said it."
The confirmation comes alongside discussion of The Ballad of Judas Priest, the upcoming documentary co-directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello — which will receive its North American premiere at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto from April 23 to May 3. The film received its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where Priest's history from early Aston club shows to their current status as one of the defining bands in heavy metal was documented with input from multiple members.
Faulkner's studio admission wasn't the focus of the interview, but it's the most significant piece of news to come out of it. Bassist Ian Hill had signaled in October 2025 that new material was on the way and that Faulkner had already accumulated a strong collection of ideas. The February recording sessions confirm the band moved from the writing phase into active production sooner than most expected.
Invincible Shield was Judas Priest's 19th studio album and their second with guitarist Andy Sneap alongside Faulkner following the departure of Glen Tipton from live duties due to his Parkinson's diagnosis. The record debuted at number one in the UK and entered the top five in multiple European markets — a commercial return that confirmed the band's continued pull with a global audience more than five decades into their career.
The album was supported by a substantial world tour, and the critical response positioned it as one of the stronger late-career records in the classic metal canon. Songs like "Panic Attack" and the title track drew comparisons to the band's definitive output from the Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith era — high praise for any metal record, and especially for one arriving when the band is well past the point where most acts have either retired or become nostalgia products.
Richie Faulkner joined Judas Priest in 2011 to replace K.K. Downing, initially as a touring guitarist and later as a full member and primary contributor to new material. His cardiac event during a live performance in September 2021 — where he suffered an aortic dissection mid-show at Louder Than Life and survived — marked one of the more dramatic medical emergencies in recent metal history. He has spoken about returning to the band with a different perspective on the work since then.
His description of his role in Priest is characteristically understated. "I say all the time, I'm part of a team," he said in the same interview. "They've been doing it for 50-odd years. I'm part of the team now." The dynamic between Faulkner's generation and the original members — Rob Halford, Ian Hill, and Scott Travis — has produced two strong studio albums in Firepower (2018) and Invincible Shield. A third in that run would put Priest among the most productive acts of their generation in terms of consistent late-career output.
Faulkner offered no release window, no title, and no additional details beyond the February sessions. "We were in the studio for a month in February laying the foundation" is the full extent of what's confirmed. Given that Invincible Shield was announced in late 2023 for a March 2024 release, the band moves quickly once the material is in shape. A 2027 release would fit the pattern — though nothing has been ruled in or out.
The interview also touched on the upcoming documentary The Ballad of Judas Priest, co-directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello — Morello's directorial debut. The film traces the band's history from early shows at working men's clubs in Aston, Birmingham to their current status as one of the defining acts in heavy metal. It received its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and will have its North American premiere at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto from April 23 to May 3.
Faulkner said of the film: "It's really well put together, and it goes through the story, obviously, of where they started and what they went through and everything like that and talks to different people about Priest's influence on them." He acknowledged his own screen time is appropriately limited — the documentary is about the band's half-century history, most of which predates his involvement. "I'm in it for a couple of minutes, which is more than I should be, really."
The combination of a new documentary arriving in spring and active studio recording in 2026 positions Judas Priest as one of the more active classic metal operations right now — relevant, productive, and showing no signs of coasting on catalog.
For more on Judas Priest's recent output, see our Ballad of Judas Priest documentary coverage and our metal news archive. Find Judas Priest's catalog on Amazon.
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