K.K.'s Priest, the band headed up by ex-Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing and featuring vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (Charred Walls of the Damned, ex-Iced Earth, ex-Judas Priest), recently released their debut single "Hellfire Thunderbolt". Listeners immediately noted that the single sounded very much like a Judas Priest song. To which Owens responded basically the equivalent of "that makes sense."
In an interview with 80's Glam Metalcast, Owens points out that Downing played with Judas Priest between 1970 and 2011. So the guy certainly has developed a very specific style of writing like someone that was once in Judas Priest.
"It's funny, 'cause, obviously, people complain about everything, which, I guess, is how the cookie crumbles nowadays," he said. "But I think it's one of the dumbest things that I hear people, who get mad at it, say that, like, 'Wow, it kind of sounds like Judas…'
"Well, K.K. Downing wrote Judas Priest songs since the 1970s, writing Judas Priest songs and only Judas Priest songs since then, so I think you can maybe also say that it sounds like K.K. Downing, because that's how he writes. And I think it's a fantastic thing that he didn't try to go off and invent the wheel again. That's the sound that K.K. has; he's written Judas Priest songs. And it's fantastic. It's got that classic sound. And no need to go away from that."
K.K.'s Priest will release Sermons Of The Sinner on August 20. Pre-orders are available here.
