Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner recently provided an update on his personal life and ongoing recovery journey following his severe medical emergency four and a half years ago. During an appearance on the “Rock ‘N’ Blues Experience” podcast with host Tim Caple, the musician highlighted the crucial role his family has played in his physical and mental rehabilitation.
In 2021, the guitarist suffered a highly publicized aortic aneurysm and complete aortic dissection while performing onstage at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Surviving the ordeal required a 10-hour emergency open-heart surgery. Reflecting on the aftermath, he emphasized how having a stable family life, specifically raising his young daughter, Daisy Mae, has provided an essential foundation for his recovery.
“I think it’s incredibly helpful. If your base is secure, you can build on that. At the end of the day, that’s your base and you can kind of retreat to that and everything’s fine. If your base is shaken or it’s not secure, then that can go against you. But [my daughter] doesn’t know half of what went on [with my health]. We’ll tell her one day. She knows surface-level stuff. But she’s happy. She’s smart, she’s learning lots of new things. Her life isn’t affected by it as much as it could have been. So we are grateful for that,” he said regarding the importance of family support during his medical problems (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He shares his daughter with Mariah Lynch, the daughter of former Dokken guitarist George Lynch. Unsurprisingly, the heavy metal lineage has already influenced the almost six-year-old’s interests.
“She’s a drummer, she’s a singer. She loves it all,” he noted. “She loves the drums, she loves the guitar. She likes to sing. She just started doing acting classes, so, yeah, we’ve got our hands full. But she’s great, man. She’s a colorful character. She’s almost six, so she’s got a big life. She’s got a big heart, and she’s a good girl. So, yeah, she’s beautiful. So, coming home to that after a tour is a big relief.”
The initial 2021 medical emergency forced Judas Priest to postpone the remainder of their “50 Heavy Metal Years” anniversary tour, eventually returning to the road in early 2022.
However, the guitarist later disclosed that the initial trauma also resulted in a stroke, leaving him with permanent brain damage. This secondary complication directly affected his coordination, particularly in how he uses his right hand to play the guitar and perform daily tasks. Despite these immense physical hurdles, he has adapted his playing style to remain an active touring and recording member of the legendary British act.
“I’ve had a bit of collateral damage on my right side with stuff connected to what happened. So I have to work at that,” Faulkner explained in a 2025 interview with Albany’s Q105.7 radio station. “We have a physio on the road, and I work with him three times a day: once in the morning… on coordination — before the show and then after the show as well. We do that three times a day. So that sort of stuff I have to work on.”
“I got lucky, really,” he continued. “There’s a lot of people around the world with a lot more serious conditions than I have. So I consider myself lucky to be here talking to you… As far as I’m aware, [my health is good], but you never know what’s around the corner. You’ve gotta live each day to the fullest.”
Richie Faulkner originally joined Judas Priest in 2011, stepping in to replace founding guitarist K.K. Downing.
Three days ago, Faulkner confirmed that Judas Priest is currently recording their next studio album.
“We’ve started recording it. 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,” Richie said during an interview with Canada’s “The Metal Voice“.
Speaking about his role in the band, he said:
“I say all the time, I’m part of a team. They’ve been doing it for 50-odd years. I’m part of the team now, and it is the crew and the management and everyone that pitches together to make that machine roll. And I can see how they’ve been doing it for that long. I’ve said to you guys before — they love it. And we’ll do a tour and then we’ll get excited and do an album, and then you get excited for the album and do another tour. So I can see how it happens. And we’re doing another album, and we’ll probably tour that.”
