It is close to two and a half years since Elegant Weapons made their live UK debut at Steelhouse Festival. MetalTalk also caught them at that year’s Hellfest. Two superb sets backed up their debut album Horns For A Halo, and now, with their second album Evolution due in April, guitar maestro Richie Faulkner and MetalTalk’s Steve Ritchie met to discuss this superb sophomore. Here is Part One.
Given the schedules of the musicians in Elegant Weapons, the opportunity to spend some time together and run around some stages was one that all four embraced.
“That’s what it’s about, really,” Richie Faulkner said. “If you speak to 90, 95% of musicians, they say live is what it’s about, getting out there in front of people, creating that connection with the songs and the people, and building a relationship that can last a lifetime with the fans. We know hard rock and Metal fans are for life, and it’s from the stage I think that those relationships are forged. So we were stoked to get out there.”
Evolution is an album. The energy across the eleven tracks is infectious, and I had such fun listening to the tracks in the order intended. Much like when, back in the day, I discovered those first two Dio albums and thrilled at Vivian Campbell’s occasional outro solos, Evolution songs such as Thrown To The Wolves have that natural drive to their conclusion.
This is a long way of saying that yes, there is plenty of Richie Faulkner axe work across the album, but it is the songwriting that is very much to the fore.
“I think that you hit the nail on the head there,” Richie says. “Obviously, I’m a guitar player, but we’re all concentrated on the song, though. As far as songwriting’s concerned, it’s got to be the song. Not everyone’s a guitar player or a drummer, and I think a lot of people consume music from a totally different perspective than musicians do.
“The vocal, the melody and the message behind the song I always try to keep in mind. That’s the priority when writing a song, and not just a guitar solo. The ballad on the album doesn’t really have a guitar solo, just as you said, some stuff at the end, because I didn’t think it called for it. It was stronger. It was more about the song and the sentiment behind the song that’s paramount really.”
Bridges Burn and The Devil Calls fit into that style with the solo towards the end. But it is not just this aspect that had me so invested in the album. Evolution opens with Evil Eyes and an awesome riff. Drummer Christopher Williams (Accept) pushes the track along, making a fantastic opening for the album. As we find out later, the order of the tracks is all-important.
“I think it’s a good introduction to the album,” Richie says. “It’s a good introduction to people that haven’t heard the band before, I think, and it’s a good introduction to fans of the band who liked the first one and are interested in this one. It opens up the album nicely and introduces the new members as well.
“I say new members, they’ve been with us a few years now, but Christopher and Davey [Rimmer (Uriah Heep)] have been with us for a couple of years, but it’s their first time on record with the band. The rhythm section on this record, I think, is fantastic, and it’s a great introduction to that out of the gate. We hope people are going to dig it.”
Evil Eyes gives Richie the first opportunity to deliver an impressive guitar solo. I ask if it is a drill or a hair dryer I could hear before the solo kicks in.
“It does sound a bit like that,” Richie laughs. “It was something on the guitar. It’s one of those things where it was a sound effect that I got out of the guitar. I tried to do it again and couldn’t do it. So I kept that one. I think it’s a pull-up on the tremolo arm or something like that. It just had that kind of industrial drill-type vibe, and it seemed to go really well, so we kept it in there. I’m glad you noticed that. I just can’t do it again, that’s the only problem.”
The first single is Bridges Burn. If you think there is something special about Ronnie Romero’s vocals on this track, wait until you hear the rest of the album. Romero has pulled out something special here and, for Richie, the opportunity to create with Ronnie is “a dream.”
“Great vocalist. I say it all the time, he’s not just a singer. He’s a bit like Rob Halford, really, in the sense that he doesn’t only sing. He fronts the band, he performs, and he connects the audience to the song, which is a skillset in itself. I think I can sing in the shower, but there are people out there who can sing and emote and present a song in an emotional way, and he’s one of those.
“We produced him a lot more on this record as well. We did a three-way, me, Andy Sneap, the producer, and Ronnie, on a Zoom call in Ronnie’s studio and produced the vocals from the ground up. So if there was a different technique that we wanted to use or a different mic or a different vocal line or melody or harmony, whatever it might have been, we really built it out from the ground up, which we didn’t do on the first record. So I think there’s more Ronnie Romero on this one, and I think Ronnie would agree.”
Across Evolution, some of the layers around the vocals are really impressive, and it is a big step up from Horns For A Halo.
“The first record, we had the vocals recorded already by another singer,” Richie says. “We gave them to Ronnie, and he sang them pretty much how they were, and that was it. But with this one, we could change stuff if we could get a better performance or a better vocal line, better melody, better wording or something. So I think we definitely got the best out of him, and best out of the vocals that we had.”
Bridges Burn is a really good track. The guitar is awesome, and I love the relationship between the main part of the song and the middle, where Richie has great fun with the solo. There is also that ripping outro. Elegant Weapons is your classic four-piece one-guitar band, and live, that track is gonna sound great. Is it a consideration when Richie is writing?
“Definitely,” he said. “As I said before, I think we live to play live, and whenever we’re writing songs either with Elegant Weapons or with Priest, it always goes through your mind when you’re writing a song and putting parts together, how is this going to translate live. Oh, this is going to be a great part live, or I can imagine this, or this doesn’t quite work live, and let’s change it to something that would.
“It’s always a consideration in your mind, because of the live aspect to it. It’s definitely a part when you’re writing the song. We’re out with Priest in the summer, and then after that, we’re looking at putting some Weapons dates together. So as soon as we do, we’ll let everyone know.”
Later, we discuss the other tracks on the album, but it is interesting to state that Come Back To Me is a great song. Richie Faulkner is not someone whom most people would associate with a ballad.
“No,” he smiles. “Part of the reason for the Evolution name is that I found it appropriate to show another side of the band on this record. It’s one of those songs that has been around for a long time in various forms, and seemed not to work. I had the chorus for a long time and hadn’t found a home for it.
“For some reason, I found a home for it on this one. It clicked. I thought it showed another side to the band. It showed an evolution in style, and I thought it was appropriate to put on. It might surprise a few people.”
Adam Wakeman’s playing here is superb, and Ronnie brings the song to life. Again, his layered vocals are superb, and the lyrics are authentic. This is another example where Ronnie brings everything to the song.
“That’s one of the secret weapons,” Richie says. “With Ronnie, the way his voice is, it’s a classic voice that we all love. He really connects the emotion of the song with the listener. I think it’s a universal theme. You might be in a relationship with someone, and you can feel it slipping away, and no one knows really what to do.
“Ronnie just pulls it off and connects that sentiment. It’s a heavy subject, but he connects the listeners to it really well.”
There is no solo, but Richie has melodic guitar parts across the track that make you feel like this is another voice. The chorus Richie had for almost 20 years. “Once you find a verse that fits it, those other little parts that you just mentioned, flow in by default, really. Once you find one connection, all the others fall into place, so I’m happy it did.”
Evolution is that classic album that makes you want to buy it on vinyl and play both sides. The songs and the journey across the whole album are really at the forefront. Each member gets their own chance to shine on the way through. Richie must be really pleased with the way it’s come together and the way it’s going to reflect the band.
“Absolutely,” he says. “As I said, I think it is an evolution of the band, and hopefully the songwriting and where we’re going on our trajectory. Bands like Priest, I’ve said before, started from nothing and made it into this huge thing that it is.
Hopefully, we get the chance to do the same. Whether it’s two albums or three or four albums, I’ll be grateful to create our own thing. Hopefully, we’re well on our way now, with the evolution and hopefully into the future as well.”
Elegant Weapons have certainly created their own thing. Evolution is an album that showcases the songwriting. When I first listened to it all the way through, I made a note that in “Come Back To Me,” Richie could have dropped a Slash solo in the middle to do the Axmen guitar-guru thing, but it would have totally ruined the track.
For now, we have just scratched the surface. The way everything fits together in Evolution is really, really cool. Part Two is out tomorrow.
Elegant Weapons release Evolution digitally and on CD on 24 April 2026 via Exciter Records, with a special edition vinyl pressing to follow later in the year. You can pre-save and pre-order Evolution from https://exciter-records.ffm.to/elegantweapons-evolution.
