Judas Priest Guitarist Suffers From Aortic Aneurysm During “Painkiller”

During a performance last week, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner nearly died onstage after suffering an aortic aneurysm – an often fatal heart disease that occurs when the artery dissects or ruptures.

The 41-year-old musician miraculously lived and has now spoken about his near-death experience publicly performing the band’s 1990 song “Painkiller” at the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky.

“Looking at footage from the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky, I can see on my face the confusion and angst I felt while playing ‘Painkiller’ as my aorta ruptured and started to spill blood. in my chest cavity… Whatever the circumstances, looking at these pictures, the truth is, knowing what I know now, I see a man dying, ”he told Rolling Stone in a statement written a few days ago only after the September 26 incident. “I had what my doctor called an aortic aneurysm and complete aortic dissection. From what my surgeon told me, people with the condition usually do not make it to the hospital alive.

Despite the anguish in his bowels, Faulkner managed to finish the show, before being rushed to the Rudd Heart and Lung Center at the University of Louisville nearby. There he underwent emergency open heart surgery and parts of his chest were “replaced with mechanical components.”

“I’m literally made of metal now,” said the heavy metal rocker.

The band, which was formed in 1969, subsequently postponed the remainder of their tour to the United States and rescheduled the 50th anniversary tour “50 Heavy Metal Years”, but Faulkner says he’s just overwhelmed by the gratitude for being alive.

“I have always been grateful for the opportunities presented to me. I’ve always considered myself to be the luckiest man ever – to be able to play my favorite music – with my favorite band – to my favorite people around the world, “wrote Faulkner, who joined the band in 2011. . “Today just being able to type this for all of you is the greatest gift of all.

“We would be lost without him,” wrote Faulkner’s partner Mariah Lynch in an Instagram post.

Had the show’s set been longer, or the heart hospital further away, Faulkner isn’t sure he would have lived to tell the story. “We can still drive ourselves crazy with these things, but luckily I’m still alive,” he said.

Faulkner, who had no history of heart disease, is now encouraging fans to get checked out for unknown heart issues so they can avoid what he’s been through – or worse.

“I don’t even have high cholesterol and that could have been the end for me,” he wrote. “If you can get checked out, please do it for me.”