Judas Priest’s Richie Faulkner Reveals Stroke Led to Lasting Brain Damage

Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has opened up about the serious health battles he’s faced since his near-fatal aortic aneurysm in 2021. The incident took place during the band’s ‘Louder Than Life‘ performance, where Faulkner collapsed onstage and was rushed into emergency open-heart surgery. What many fans didn’t know, however, is that the aftermath included multiple strokes—one of which left permanent damage.

In a new interview with Premier Guitar, Faulkner, now 45, revealed that only a few close friends and family members knew the full extent of what happened in the months after that terrifying night.

“About a month after the surgery, we were out walking the dog—Mariah had our daughter Daisy, and I had the leash. I felt it coming,” he recalled. “My face went, I couldn’t talk. Mariah had to hold me up. The neighbors were running out. I didn’t want to go back to the hospital—‘F—k hospitals’—but we did. They thought it was a TIA, a mini-stroke. Later, we found out it was a real stroke.”

According to Faulkner, there were warning signs—episodes of confusion and brief blackouts that followed—but he brushed them off. Then another stroke occurred after a second open-heart surgery to correct a leak, leaving him with subtle but noticeable differences in his playing.

“I started to feel something off with my right hand and foot. At first, I thought it was my rings or maybe the guitar pick, but it didn’t go away,” he said. “We did some tests, and they found brain damage on the left side—which affects the right side of the body. That’s when it hit me. This was real.”

Despite these setbacks, Faulkner pushed through and returned to the stage, though his confidence has taken a hit.

“I didn’t want anyone to know,” he admitted. “There’s this fear that if people find out, they’ll lose faith. Guitar companies, string companies, fans… I felt like I was letting everyone down. I’d go out and play with Priest, thinking, ‘How’s it going to be tonight?’ I felt like a fraud some nights.”

The guitarist said his rhythm work, in particular, became harder to lock in—something he felt was critical when performing with a band of Priest’s caliber.

“There are days I get off stage and call home and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ It used to come so naturally. Now I struggle with parts I’ve played a thousand times.”

So why share this now?

“There are two reasons. One is I want people to know they’re not alone. There are musicians out there who feel like they’re not good enough anymore because of health or mental struggles—this happens to us too. And the second is just to release it. I don’t have to hide it anymore. It’s not an excuse to slow down—believe me, that’s not in me—but people should know the truth.”

Though Faulkner continues to write and perform with Judas Priest, he’s now doing so with a deeper sense of resilience—and vulnerability.

“This is the collateral damage,” he said. “But I’m still here. Still playing. Still pushing.”

[via Blabbermouth]

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