Were you more sad to see Priest without Rob or KK?

Title says it all

Both are important but Priest without Rob never interested me.

Without Rob was a bigger impact. It was a end of a era for JUDAS PRIEST.

For me, Priest is Tipton-Downing, so definitely without KK it is not fun as much.

Halford - was bummed when KK left, but Richie did a great job playing the part of KK

I was most bummed to hear about Halford splitting the band, of course... but I didn't mind Jugulator at all. Priest had been out of commission for so long that I was simply glad to see something new with their name on it!

Yeah, Owens wasn't Rob, and I'm sure deep down he knew he was in a losing position, but he gave it the ol' college try anyway.

Haven't heard what they sound like with the KK clone so I can't judge.

To me, the vocalist is the identity of the band. I thought Halford leaving was going to be the death knell for the band but they did find a capable replacement in Owens and put out a killer release in Jugulator. However, it still wasn't quite the same.

Although KK leaving is a bummer, I don't think it'll be as noticeable. (I have yet to hear the replacement play)

KK's replacement on the sample of "Epitaph" played on VH1 classic sounded good to me. Had the tone and vibe down pretty decent and seemed to be able to take off a lil quicker than KK. I wasn't sad when either split, a man has to do what a man has to do.

Wasn't mad at either really. Halford leaving just gave me two bands to enjoy. Love his stuff with Fight.

KK leaving is a bummer, especially this late in their career. Watching that Epitaph DVD, geez, you'd be hard pressed to even notice that KK isn't there. It's less noticeable than Tommy Thayer playing Ace and he's in makeup and costume.

ultmetal wrote:

Wasn't mad at either really. Halford leaving just gave me two bands to enjoy. Love his stuff with Fight.

KK leaving is a bummer, especially this late in their career. Watching that Epitaph DVD, geez, you'd be hard pressed to even notice that KK isn't there. It's less noticeable than Tommy Thayer playing Ace and he's in makeup and costume.

Yep - pretty much! When I saw the Epitaph show in NJ, everyone I was with all commented about what a great job Richie did. They really let him be out front and be himself. Even gave him a solo (I guess Glenn needed a break! lol!)

Richie done good. I think he's really earned his spot in the band. Isn't he on the upcoming record? That'll be cool.

Owens is a killer singer and they couldn't have found a better replacement for Rob. Only problem I had, judging from hundreds of youtube videos and others who were able to see him in concert, was his stage presence. He was a bit of a goof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2WvIE2kl9k


This is freakin' killer! And the sound quality is amazing

Priest didn't exist while Rob wasn't in the band. I was working at a CD store at the time the Ripper-led version of Priest released their first record, my co-workers and I jammed the album (after laughing non-stop for 15 minutes about Priest hiring a guy named "Ripper") and turned it off after a few songs.

Some bands can survive a change in lead singer...Priest ISN'T one of them.

Richie Faulkner is definitely a good guitarist, I have seen him live with Lauren Harris band, opening for Iron Maiden.

IMO Ripper Owens is a talented vocalist, and bought 'Jugulator' but I never grew to love the album. I did enjoy Halford's solo band and Fight, but not as much as I loved the Priest.

I can accept a change in a band, the problem with Halford-Less Judas Priest is the material just was not as good as their classic albums.

I wasn't sad at all. Obviously I was sad Rob had left and now KK, but by the time of the show I was excited to see the new Priest. I loved Jugulator and thought the band had a good thing going and was looking forward to Owens fronting the band for a long, long time. New direction, new sound, pretty cool.

I also like Richie Faulkner. I remember seeing him live when he played with Lauryn Harris, and thought he was awesome! Reminded me of Zakk Wylde. So seeing Priest with Faulkner was certainly something to be excited over.

This is not to dismiss Rob or KK, I've seen both of them multiple times with Priest and it's all good to me. Probably the best band ever, and it was never just about one man.

Jugulator is my favorite Priest album, so that tells you how I feel.

I'm a Ripper fanboy and I find that Jugulator rips holes in the paint.

Ritchie is more than capable as a replacement, but it just isn't the same... KK had a certain stage presence. Also, I was all for Rob returning to Priest for a long time. But after the two albums they did since he came back did nothing for me, I don't care either way...

Troublezone wrote:

Ritchie is more than capable as a replacement, but it just isn't the same... KK had a certain stage presence. Also, I was all for Rob returning to Priest for a long time. But after the two albums they did since he came back did nothing for me, I don't care either way...

That's fodder for another poll - Jugulator/Demolition vs Angel/Nostradamus

Definatly without Rob. You can't replace him.

Both their successors were brilliant but I think the loss was more felt with Rob. Tim was as good if not better on a technical level but Rob had a lot more character both in his voice and his stage presence.

As for KK and Ritchie I'm going to commit some serious heavy metal blasphemy and say based on the Epitaph DVD I actually prefer Ritchie. He's an amazing guitarist and in my opinion breathed new life into the band.

I wasn't sad to see either go.  Rob thought JP were a dinosaur rock band and wanted to do something more current to appeal to American "hard music" audiences.  Of course, he failed miserably and was forced into the inevitable reunion with JP.  When he came back he brought better lyrics and vocal melodies with him.

The new guitarist is amazing and I am glad he is with them.  He brings a lot to their live show and now JP finally has a "shredder" guitarist.  Now they have a guitar duo of one great songwriter/tasteful lead guitarist and one shredder.  This should make for a really interesting team on their future recordings.

Boris2008 wrote:

Both are important but Priest without Rob never interested me.

THIS

I bet, and I hate to say this, but if people didn't know it was JP with Ripper they'd have liked it more.