K.K. Downing Talks New KK’s Priest Album, Judas Priest Memories, Iron Maiden’s Rise, and State of Metal
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The post K.K. Downing Talks New KK’s Priest Album, Judas Priest Memories, Iron Maiden’s Rise, and State of Metal appeared first on Consequence.
For over four decades, K.K. Downing served as one-half of the guitar duo of Judas Priest — and in the process, helped make them one of the world’s leading (and most influential, both musically and visually) metal bands of all time. After exiting Priest in 2011, Downing kept busy with several ventures, including penning his 2018 autobiography, Heavy Duty: Days and Nights with Judas Priest, and forming a new band, KK’s Priest.
Featuring onetime Priest singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, KK’s Priest have issued a pair of heavy-duty LP’s – 2021’s Sermons of the Sinner and the just-released The Sinner Rides Again – and are currently touring the UK in support of both albums.
Downing spoke with Heavy Consequence just prior to the arrival of Sermons of the Sinner, and discussed how it compares to its predecessor, the similarities and differences between Ripper and Rob Halford, and some of his past history. Read the interview below, and pick up the new KK’s Priest album, The Sinner Rides Again, here.
How does The Sinner Rides Again compare to Sermons of the Sinner?
Just because they’re separate albums doesn’t really mean to say that they are separated in any way to me. It’s just a “continuation of.” For me, it could be a double album. I think there’s a continuity there, and a flow through. I’ve just gone on like that. I just sat down to write even more songs for the next album – the second album.
I guess the production is a little bit different. It’s slightly more edgy and a bit more “metallized.” That’s because it was a little bit intentional. With the first album, I was thinking, “I’m happy for this to sound retro. Maybe this could have been me playing guitar in the ‘70s.” I was quite happy with that, because I think that we never want to forget that real kind of classic… I guess it was called “heavy rock” back then. I still have an affinity to that era.
But on the new album, I thought, “OK, let’s up the ante a little bit and do kind of what [Judas Priest] did after Ram It Down with Painkiller.” We just kind of went a bit more full-on with it. So I think there’s a little bit of that with the second album. But otherwise, I think if the production was the same on both albums, they would be just like a double album to me.
And let’s discuss the single and video “Strike of the Viper” …
I think it was always in the pipeline when we came to do that video, was to do that type of video where we rock out in a studio setting, but also incorporated with live stuff. Because by then, we would have done some live shows – hurrah! – at long last. So to celebrate the live show’s performance as well, and kind of give people an indication around the world the spectacle and the energy of the band. We wanted to do that, to get KK’s Priest out there – just like the “Strike of the Viper,” we’re gonna hit hard and sink the talons into everybody’s neck as deep as we can in our live performances!
How would you compare working with Tim “Ripper” Owens to Rob Halford?
Well, it would be wrong to say that there aren’t some similarities, because the two guys, I mean, really, are such incredible vocalists. Obviously, Tim, if anything, he’s absolutely in his prime. Because to me, he’s singing better than ever – and it’s out there now on YouTube for everybody to check those live performances out. He’s really quite astonishing.
Both great performers, and they’re strong, and so resilient. Rob is older now, and Tim is just, if anything, in his prime at his age. Because he is singing better than I’ve ever, ever… and he said to me, “You know, I think I’m singing better now than I ever have.” And I said to him, “I think you are.” But Tim has just lost like 60 pounds in weight or something like that – I don’t know whether that’s got anything to do with it at all. I don’t think it has. But Tim now fits into my clothes, so he’s like a small guy. Except for the fact he’s quite a bit taller than me. But yeah, there are comparisons, but I’m glad to have Ripper because obviously he’s got an awful lot of good years left in him yet.
Which classic Priest tunes do you think Ripper sings best live, and which are your favorites to perform?
This band … we could go out and do a Judas Priest set – including the Ripper years, which is important, because Ripper was a big part of Judas Priest for all that time – and then we could go out and close the show with KK’s Priest songs. We could certainly do that. Which seems everything we do sounds the way that I like it to sound. And I’m really, really pleased.
It was so hard to choose a setlist. You can imagine, can’t you? I mean, when we played in 2019, when we had kind of that jam gig with David Ellefson, we were doing quite a lot of stuff we’re not doing now – like “Before the Dawn.” And there was a bunch of other songs, “Riding on the Wind,” and stuff like that.
And it was so enjoyable to do. But it’s so hard to choose songs. But inevitably, the more people get familiar with this band, the more I want to infuse it with KK’s Priest songs. So just about to put one or two more songs in for these October dates, that we didn’t play recently at the festival.
Obviously, “Strike of the Viper” is going to be one of those songs, and I’m doing another video for “Hymn 66.” So that may well go in the set as well, which I’m really looking forward to.
The band recently played a show with early Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno. What are some memories of when Priest toured with Maiden back in the day?
Little did we know then how Maiden would become such a huge, huge band. Because it was way back in 1980 when they came on tour with us. And because they were what was called a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal…we didn’t know whether that would have longevity for those bands or not. But I’m really pleased to say that all of the bands that came out of that – Def Leppard, Saxon, Venom, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head – as far as I know, all of the bands are still going on and they’ve done really, really well.
And some, like Iron Maiden, just went to the top of the tree. Literally overtook us – and deservedly so. Those guys have worked so hard. And even now, I can’t believe how many shows and tours that the guys do. Incredible work ethic.
It’s been five years since your book, Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest, was released. What do you think of it now, and would you ever consider writing a follow-up?
Yeah, I think I would consider a follow-up maybe, potentially. Because lots of things went unsaid. I suppose at the time I considered that there would still be an opportunity for me to step back into the band. Which I thought when Glenn [Tipton] retired that that would obviously be that opportunity. But, I never got the phone call. Glenn gave his guitar straight away to Andy [Sneap], without any consideration for me. But that is all writing on the wall now, I guess. Obviously, I asked the guys to consider having me stepping back in the role before I started this project. They knew I was going to do something if that didn’t happen. But they said no. And the door’s permanently closed. So, here I am.
On a happier note, next year marks the 40th anniversary of Defenders of the Faith and the 50th anniversary of Rocka Rolla.
They’re obviously very, very dear to me, very close to the heart. All of the albums are, because they represent a time…not just me, it’s the same for everybody, isn’t it, really? Because things change by the year, or certainly by the decade. Things do change. So, they represent a period when you’re maybe in your twenties, or in your thirties, in your forties. And they kind of document your life, these albums.
In the same way that a family album would from the ‘70s or the ‘80s, you listen to a record and you think, “Oh, I remember those times, good times.” But those two albums were a considerable period apart – at least a decade. And look how much things did change. But it’s all history. And like I said, they are all a part of your life and you wouldn’t change anything for the world. Even if you could, you wouldn’t change anything.
What are your future plans?
Lots and lots of gigs. Because now I’ve got, uniquely, two virgin albums that have not been gigged with. And right now, as I sit here, we’ve only done five shows, so we’re still honing our skills. As great as it was to get out there and do that, everything will get bigger and better, more elaborate. And I’m really looking forward to it, because I enjoy that, creating a live performance. A show. I’m definitely working on things. My mind is ticking over to really enhance the production and bring a proper spectacle to the world. So, lots more shows.
I’m liking the idea of bringing the band to the people as opposed to the way it is in the world now – that people have to come to a band. I mean, now, bands will go to, let’s say, Spain and just play Madrid and Barcelona maybe. Do you know what I mean? When you can play Valencia, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Seville. All these people have to spend a lot of money to go and see a band now. And it’s like, me, if I wanted to go and see a band…like I went to see Machine Head and Amon Amarth last year, and I had to go to Manchester. Come to Birmingham! Come to Wolverhampton! Even come to Worcestershire. But it wasn’t too bad – I went up there on a train. It was pretty cool.
What is your take on the current state of heavy metal?
I think it’s good, it’s healthy. So many shows now. I can remember festivals in Europe, you could probably count them on two hands – the entirety of Europe. And now there’s gazillions of festivals – which is good. And there’s so many venues and gigs happening, which is very, very healthy. Of course, artists now, they have to depend on a revenue from live performances. I guess it’s part and parcel. It’s the same with every band now. But it’s good in a way because I think the thing is a band, yes, we have to create music and record albums, but it can be such a…I mean, with me, I like to work fast. So, it’s not so bad. This second album could have been released a year ago, but I changed labels, so it got held up. Because originally, I was planning to release two albums in one year.
Because we did that in Judas Priest back in the late ‘70s, I think [in 1978 Priest issued Stained Class and Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather]. And I was kind of excited to do that. That was quite a challenge. I was on course to do that, as well. But I’m quite happy with two albums in two years. That’s not too bad. It’s pretty good. I like to work fast. Instead of locking the band away for several years in studios, we need to be out there playing shows.
K.K. Downing Talks New KK’s Priest Album, Judas Priest Memories, Iron Maiden’s Rise, and State of Metal
Greg Prato
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