Elegant Weapons' 'Horns for a Halo' - Album Review

Whilst it is always good when a new band releases their debut album after years of hard graft, I have learnt to be a bit wary of supergroups. There have certainly been some good supergroups over the years, but often they end up being a bit of a disappointment. The best bands are such because they are more than the sum of their parts, and are built upon genuine chemistry, whereas supergroups are often just about the parts - and often lack the necessary chemistry to shine. It also does not help that there are labels out there like Frontiers Records, for whom a large part of their business model relies on teaming up an ever-increasingly random selection of musicians under various names to record fairly generic-sounding albums. It was with scepticism, then, that I approached Horns for a Halo - the debut album from Elegant Weapons which was released back in May. Elegant Weapons were formed last year by guitarist Richie Faulkner (Deeds; Voodoo Six; Lauren Harris; Judas Priest), as an alternative creative outlet from his Judas Priest day job. Considering the age of the rest of the Judas Priest members, Faulkner probably realises that his days with that band are numbered. Whilst Judas Priest are not currently showing any signs of slowing down, they cannot realistically have too many years left together - so it seems that Faulkner is preparing for the day that Judas Priest retire by setting up his own band. Elegant Weapons is that band, and it appears to be very much his creation. Whilst he has become a very respected guitar player in recent years, he has never really had a band to call his own - so with Elegant Weapons he can now lead the charge and set the goals. That being said, though, Horns for a Halo is very song-based. It does not sound like a solo album released by an ego-driven guitarist, filled with endless soloing with melody and songcraft being afterthoughts, but instead like a proper hard rock/heavy metal release with a strong focus on big riffs and vocal hooks. As such, then, a few listens to Horns for a Halo saw that initial scepticism fade away - and I have been having some fun with the album over the past month or so. The fact that Faulkner brought in Ronnie Romero (Lords of Black; Rainbow; The Ferrymen; Vandenberg; Michael Schenker Group) fuelled that scepticism, too, but Romero does a great job here - and turns in one of his best vocal performances to date in my opinion. I really liked Romero when I first saw him with Rainbow back in 2016, but I started to go off him after he became the go-to singer for essentially everyone for a while - as well as his tendency to sound quite nasally. He has gone up in my estimations again more recently, though, and he has proved to be a good foil for Faulkner here - despite not contributing to the album creatively. Filling out the line-up, on the album at least, is Rex Brown (Pantera; Down; Crowbar; Kill Devil Hill) on bass and Scott Travis (Raver X; Fight; Judas Priest) on drums - although neither have been touring with the band. Bassist Davey Rimmer (Zodiac Mindwarp & Love Reaction; Monument; Uriah Heep) and drummer Christopher Williams (War Within; Blackfoot; Accept) have been playing with Faulkner and Romero live - with the latter also credited with some additional drums and percussion on the album.

The album opens with Dead Man Walking, a strong mid-paced hard rocker which sets the tone for what is to come. The song opens with some busy guitar riffing from Faulkner, before the rest of the band crash in and the track lumbers forward with a strong drum groove and some creative riffing. Despite the grooves and pace, parts of the song actually have a bit of an atmospheric depth which may not be expected. When Romero starts singing, the song drops away a little briefly to leave him with a sparser backing - but this vibe is short lived, with the track generally being pretty hard-driving. As mentioned above, Romero sounds great here. He sounds full-bodied and powerful throughout the album, and rarely stumbles into the heavily-accented, nasally territory which he has been prone to do in the past. As such, he leads the charge here perfectly - whilst Faulkner makes his presence felt with lots of excellent riffing and a number of impressive lead breaks between the vocal lines. His lead and solo work is always tasteful, and his first of many excellent guitar solos here is packed full of melody - and it evolves nicely over a number of movements, before Romero returns for a final reprise of the simple chorus. The song is perhaps not as hooky as some of the others here, but as a strong hard rocker to kick the album off Dead Man Walking works well - and it brings the best of out of both Romero and Faulkner early on. Do or Die ups the pace, and, in my opinion, takes the album up to the next level. Faulkner's riff is very much out of the Judas Priest school, but the tone is slightly more bluesy overall - meaning that the song has more of a classic rock strut than Judas Priest's more metallic approach. That being said, though, the song is still pretty heavy. Double bass drumming drives everything, whilst Brown's bass has quite a prominence in the mix which allows it to really boom through and add an additional edge to the guitar riffing. Romero also lets rip here. He held back a little during parts of the previous song, but he goes all out here - including a few aggressive screams at times to add further depth. The chorus is very hooky, too, with the overall pace helping the snappy melodies to shine - but Romero's performance also helps the hooks to really jump out. Perhaps some subtle gang vocals would have added more punch, but in truth the chorus works well as it is - and Faulkner's later solo is busier than the one in the previous song to introduce more of a shredded approach. Another standout cut for me is Blind Leading the Blind, which is another more mid-paced track - but there is another strong classic rock strut throughout, and there is also a surprising amount of swing. This helps to set the song apart from those which have come already, and showcases that Faulkner has not wanted to just steam ahead with fast-paced metal here. If anything, Faulkner has generally indulged in his 1970s influences here, whilst also injecting a little metal when needed. This song certainly has a strong 1970s vibe despite the metallic guitar tones and occasional double bass drum patterns, but the grooves and slight atmospheric depth at times is very old-school-sounding - and the chorus is one of the album's hookiest moments thanks to a raspy and powerful Romero vocal. Working with Michael Schenker seems to have improved Romero's vocal power in my opinion, and this song shines due to his performance - as the overall riffing throughout is not as prominent as it is on many of the others due to the big focus on swing and grooves.

Ghost of You slows the pace down again, and acts as something of a ballad whilst also injecting a bluesy edge. The drumming throughout is slow, and Faulkner creates lots of textures throughout with clean guitar melodies and the occasional lead break. This approach, then, helps to create quite a lot of atmospheric depth - but this is done in quite an old-school manner. Keyboards are not used in a big way at all on this album, so the atmosphere is created by the layers of guitar - with warm, clean melodies forming the basis of the song's musical approach, whilst occasional weightier chords are used occasionally for effect. Despite this, there is still a rock edge to the piece. It does not feel like a true ballad at times, but it is certainly closer to that feel than anything else. I generally prefer this album when it rocks harder, but the atmospheric approach here does help to add a different dimension to the album - and Faulkner's bluesy leads and solos here are excellent. Bitter Pill returns to something more typical of the band's sound, with a drum barrage and a big riff kicking off another mid-paced, groovy track. The riffing here is much more doomy than anything else on the album - and there is a strong Black Sabbath influence at play here. Faulkner's riffing grinds away throughout the song to great effect, whilst an opening lead guitar break adds a brief moment of pace. The soloing here is not as slow-burning as the doomy song otherwise is, which helps to create a bit of a dynamic arrangement, but the song is general is slow and punchy - which allows Romero to really stretch out and indulge in his Ronnie James Dio influence. There is a strong Heaven and Hell/Mob Rules feel to this song at times as a result, and the chorus is another strong moment which sees a more aggressive vocal compliment a busier drum arrangement despite the slower pace. Subtle keyboards are used here occasionally for depth, particularly during a later bridge section - which then morphs into an extremely melodic guitar solo. Up next is a cover of UFO's Lights Out - which Romero is more than familiar with having sung it live with Schenker a number of times over the past couple of years. It is a song which always goes down well in my opinion, and Elegant Weapons' cover here is a strong one. It feels more metallic than the original, but it does not really do anything different arrangement wise. Romero turns in a strong vocal performance, whilst subtle organ helps to recreate the 1970s hard rock of the original. Faulkner's guitars are weightier, though, but his solo certainly channels Schenker's neo-classical approach whilst also injecting some metal shred. It is a well done cover, then, which is just heavier enough to make it fit in with the rest of the songs here. Continuing the Black Sabbath vibes of Bitter Pill, the album's title track ups the pace somewhat - whilst still retaining a bit of a doom feel. This song is not as doomy as the previous song, but there is still quite a lot of Tony Iommi's approach to riffing to be found throughout - and there is certainly more urgency here. Faulkner's riffing dominates throughout, and really drives everything, but Romero does his bit with an aggressive vocal display which perfectly suits the song's hard-driving, yet doomy, approach. The snarling chorus is brought to life by this vocal approach - and it is the attitude that keeps everything ticking here as the vocal melodies are not as strong as some of the album's other examples.

Dirty Pig ups the pace again, and returns to a punchier sound more akin to the album's early cuts. Faulkner drives everything here with a snappy, staccato riff that creates a strong identity from the off - and the punch of this riff gives the song more of a metallic edge. This album constantly straddles the line between hard rock and heavy metal - and this is a song that certainly leads more in the metal direction than a rock one - and it helps to add to the album's overall toughness. The chorus has a snarling quality thanks to Romero's vocal approach, which feels rough around the edges but it works in the context of the song's heaviness, whilst there are a lot of guitar breaks throughout, too. More than once the rest of the band pull back to essentially allow Faulkner to shred - and these melodic injections add a lot to the song overall, as they create little changes of tone to break up the endless riffing. A slower-burning bridge section adds some further doomy elements to the album, but this moment is fairly short lived and essentially builds up to another big guitar solo. White Horse opens with some rumbling organ, and the song is more keyboard-heavy than anything else here - as when Faulkner's guitar riff kicks in the organ doubles it, adding a retro depth to the song's opening. The keyboard playing is not credited in the album's booklet sadly, but the organ helps to transport the listener back to the 1970s briefly, although the song in general is a bit heavier than it might initially seem - with the album's metallic side again getting an airing here. The pace throughout is pretty varied, too. Much of the riffing here is quite slow-paced, again leaning on a doomier approach, but there are sections which speed things up quite considerably - and the song feels quite dynamic as a result. Generally the songs on this album stick to one overall vibe from the off, but White Horse is a bit more varied arrangement wise. It does not change drastically as it moves along, but the variations in pace are welcome - and it helps to add some variety to the album's back end, particularly towards the end of the song when it slows down quite considerably and becomes much more atmospheric for a brief period with a strong keyboard presence. The album then comes to an end with Downfall Rising, which again has a bit of a Black Sabbath vibe at times thanks to a slower, heavier pace and a bit of a bluesy approach. Early Black Sabbath is channelled this time, though, with a good mix of clean guitars creative depth and big, slab-like riffing bringing the weight. Generally the song sits at the heavier end of the spectrum, but there are occasional atmospheric sections to break up the riffing - which often feature whimsical bluesy guitar leads for additional melody. As the song acts as the closing moment here, it is fitting that there is a big focus placed on melody - as both the song's big chorus and main guitar solo are packed full of hooks, which mean that the melodies stick in the brain as the album comes to a close. Overall, then, Horns for a Halo is a strong album on the whole which showcases that Faulkner is certainly a strong songwriter in his own right and that he and Romero work well together. I get the impression that Faulkner intends for Elegant Weapons to be a going concern, and I am certainly interested to hear more from the band - although I imagine that whilst Judas Priest still record and tour the band's activity will be fairly sporadic.

The album was released on 26th May 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Do or Die.