Album review: ELEGANT WEAPONS – Evolution

April 17th, 2026 by jason

Exciter Records [Release date 24.04.26]

Album number two from Elegant Weapons, the band formed around Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG), with bassist Dave Rimmer (Uriah Heep), and drummer Christopher Williams (Accept) making their recording debut with the band. Fellow Judas Priest member Andy Sneap again handles production duties.

“This record represents growth in every sense,” said Richie Faulkner. “When the four of us come together, we sound like Elegant Weapons. We’ve spent time on the road, we’ve developed a chemistry, and you can hear that evolution in the performances. I’m proud of what we’ve built, and I’m excited to begin this next chapter with Exciter Records.”

‘Evil Eyes’ is what we can now call a typical Elegant Weapons tune – melodic metal with plenty of pace and guitar. The lead single ‘Bridges Burn’ treads a similar musical path and is one heck of a catchy slab of melodic metal.

The band’s take on the evils of social media ‘Generation Me’ has a Sabbath swagger about it. Ronnie Romero is the perfect fit for this type of metal.

There is a ballad too, in the bluesy ‘Come Back to Me’ where Richie shows off the blues side of his playing and Adam Wakeman pops up to add some tasty Hammond organ backing.

Rising star Jared James Nichols duels guitar solos with Richie on ‘Thrown to the Wolves’, a proper old school hard rocker. There is plenty of air guitar action to be had on this one!

The instrumental ‘Rupture’ loosely inspired by Faulkner’s open-heart surgery in 2021 and you can hear a heartbeat rhythm at the song’s start. Proof that Elegant Weapons have more to their musical armoury that just melodic metal.

Adam Wakeman guests on the album’s epic track, ‘Keeper of the Keys’, with a grandiose keys intro to complement the guitar solo. Wakeman also sees out the song with some more classy playing.

Credit to Dave Rimmer Christopher Williams who keep the rhythms watertight throughout the album.

Elegant Weapons find their sound on album number two, and they are perfect for those after a hard rock meets metal fix. A band in the proper sense that records and tours together, Elegant Weapons are on the up and up. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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HARSH Back To Life (Fireflash Records)
KING KRAKEN Call To War (indie)
HIGHWAY QUEEN Bring Me Home Tonight (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 13 April 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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