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Judas Priest guitarist finishes solo after suffering a ruptured aorta

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin.

Richie Faulkner of the heavy metal band Judas Priest was performing on stage when he felt something strange in his chest. It turned out to be serious. His aorta was rupturing - a condition only about 1 in 5 people survive. But that didn't stop Faulkner from shredding a lengthy guitar solo. Faulkner made it to a nearby hospital afterwards, where he had surgery. He's now recovering - and the song he was playing on stage - "Painkiller."

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.