Judas Priest’s esteemed guitarist Richie Faulkner has shared more details about his notorious health scare at a show  in Louisville on September 21, 2021. At the Louisville show, taking place at the Louder Than Life festival headlined by fellow metal giant Metallica, Faulkner felt shortness of breath and moderate pain in his chest, the result of his aorta rupturing. While the musician was taken to the hospital to receive emergency heart surgery to save his life, we now have learned just how lucky Faulkner was to receive treatment in time.

Faulkner began feeling pain while playing Judas Priest’s 1990 hit “Painkiller,” during which the musician powered through the song before deciding to leave the stage. Loudwire quotes the artist explaining how Metallica’s scheduled performance allowed Faulkner to feel able to leave the performance: “I needed to finish the song, but I had the presence of mind to come back from the edge of the stage just in case I passed out from fatigue…”

The guitarist goes on to note how he would have acted if he knew how severe his condition was during the show, explaining that “If I had known my heart had split open and I was bleeding into my chest cavity, I might have handled it a bit differently. But I had no idea, I got my jeans and T-shirt on. I didn’t think it was anything really serious and I didn’t want to make a fuss. I probably would have kept going if we did an encore.”

In fact, Faulkner had originally intended to go home to spend time with his family, rather than seeking medical attention: “The original plan before the show was to drive home and have a few days off at the house to spend with our new baby, then I was going to fly to Denver to meet the band and carry on with the tour. I figured I could still do that. I’d been healthy before the show, so I was like, ‘Obviously, it’s not a big deal. Let’s just get in the car and go back home. It’s going to be okay.’ There’s no question I would have died in the car on the way back home if I even made it to the car.”

Luckily, medics and Faulkner’s girlfriend, Mariah Lynch, ended up convincing the musician to receive medical attention, saving his life. The musician recalls being surprised about the serious medical issue, describing it as “out of the blue,” stating that “there was never any indication of any problem before I got halfway through ‘Painkiller.'”

In the end, Faulkner was able to receive the necessary open heart surgery, and was back to shredding shortly after.

Judas Priest have recently announced their 50th anniversary tour for Fall of 2022.