Ready for "K.K.'s Priest?"

corplhicks wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

My only issue is the name. I don't think he has to call it KK's Priest. There's 2 former members of Priest, yes, but just come up with different name and put out some bad ass tunes. I'll buy.

Yeah, now that you mention it, that's itching my nerves too! It almost feels passive-aggressive, like he's (or he and Binks?) flipping his old mates the bird.

That's my only issue too and he has done it a lot recently. I actually idolised the guy as a kid but I think he's acting poorly. Through all the shit they have gone through the band have always kept family business within the family.

Boris2008 wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

My only issue is the name. I don't think he has to call it KK's Priest. There's 2 former members of Priest, yes, but just come up with different name and put out some bad ass tunes. I'll buy.

Yeah, now that you mention it, that's itching my nerves too! It almost feels passive-aggressive, like he's (or he and Binks?) flipping his old mates the bird.

That's my only issue too and he has done it a lot recently. I actually idolised the guy as a kid but I think he's acting poorly. Through all the shit they have gone through the band have always kept family business within the family.

I wonder what Halford’s biography will reveal? Now that KK has already aired some dirty laundry.

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

I'm definitely up for buying this group's music, it looks really interesting and I loved Ripper in Priest and him as a singer in general - the only thing that really sucks is what was already pointed out earlier, the fact the Glenn is sick, so we likely won't have any "real"/original Priest guitarists playing with the band live, so from that narrow perspective it would seem like a no-brainer to have KK rejoin the band.

Honestly? I'm at least open to this having potential.

Unless he's totally lost the plot, I doubt K.K. thinks this thing will print money. It's not the '70s, '80s, or even '90s anymore. If he wants to cash checks, it's going to be in road warrior mode.

For a guy his age, I'm left to assume he's doing this because he actually misses the music. Based on his book, things were always a bit unbalanced in the band and completely impossible by the end, so more power to him for finding a way to keep doing his thing. It'll be nice to have Ripper back on vocals for some Priest stuff. Much as I love Rob, Ripper is one of the few guys who managed to be as good as the guy he replaced in an established band.

Just hope the material on their album is high quality...

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

I don't think there was ever one particular "incident" that sparked it. If you read KK's book it sounds like he was dissatisfied with the way the band was doing business for a long time.  He also seemed to resent the fact that in most fans' minds, Glenn and Rob were the "go-to" people in Priest when it came to interviews/etc.

...by the same token, it sounds like he didn't speak up very much about any of it when he had the opportunity. There were quite a few places in the book where he said something to the effect of "I would've done so-and-so this way, but nobody asked me," or "I didn't agree with how we did so-and-so, but I kept my mouth shut for the sake of the band."

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time, he would've been happier.

Mglaffas81 wrote:

...the fact the Glenn is sick, so we likely won't have any "real"/original Priest guitarists playing with the band live, so from that narrow perspective it would seem like a no-brainer to have KK rejoin the band.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time he would've been happier.

It's also interesting to note that Glenn is a better guitarist than KK. Actually I should rephrase that--Glenn worked super-hard on his technique in the 80's while KK remained content with his blues-rock style, and Glenn surpassed him by miles--possibly alienating him a bit. That last bit is total speculation, but listen to their discography and notice how the dual solos begin to separate in terms of melody and virtuosity, even craft. Makes me wonder if Priest's music became more of Glenn's mind and KK just kind of phased out.

Don't get me wrong, KK is an exceptional axeman (his lead on Victim of Changes is searing to say the least) but in terms of the heavy metal direction Priest was going, Glenn was up to task as an appropriate shredder while KK remained complacent.

The name is very lame. But I hope the music turns out good.

corplhicks wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

My only issue is the name. I don't think he has to call it KK's Priest. There's 2 former members of Priest, yes, but just come up with different name and put out some bad ass tunes. I'll buy.

Yeah, now that you mention it, that's itching my nerves too! It almost feels passive-aggressive, like he's (or he and Binks?) flipping his old mates the bird.

I read KK's book last year and he basically says that although he was a founding member, Rob, Glenn and the manager (who Tipton was shagging) took control and he was outvoted since the early to mid 1980's. I feel as though he never really stuck up for himself and the whole drama in the bio was very passive-aggressive,

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

I don't think there was ever one particular "incident" that sparked it. If you read KK's book it sounds like he was dissatisfied with the way the band was doing business for a long time.  He also seemed to resent the fact that in most fans' minds, Glenn and Rob were the "go-to" people in Priest when it came to interviews/etc.

...by the same token, it sounds like he didn't speak up very much about any of it when he had the opportunity. There were quite a few places in the book where he said something to the effect of "I would've done so-and-so this way, but nobody asked me," or "I didn't agree with how we did so-and-so, but I kept my mouth shut for the sake of the band."

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time, he would've been happier.

Agreed. It (the book) felt a little like revisionist history. There was a lot of "in hindsight, it wasn't the best decision, but it wasn't "my" idea, you would have to ask "others" why we did that" type of explanations. Ever since the Maiden incident in the early '80's, it feels like KK has felt Priest should have been bigger and sold more records.

I just saw this on another forum:

Now BOTH Priest bands have members (KK and Hill) who played on Judas Priests first 1971 recording! Both have two classic era members (KK and Binks)+(Halford and Hill) AND both bands have well known members who joined Priest in the 90s (Travis and Owens)...and both also now include some others guys not really a part of any of Priest's classic moments...so in reality...one Priest is just as much Priest as the other Priest is!

Something to think about.

corplhicks wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

...the fact the Glenn is sick, so we likely won't have any "real"/original Priest guitarists playing with the band live, so from that narrow perspective it would seem like a no-brainer to have KK rejoin the band.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time he would've been happier.

It's also interesting to note that Glenn is a better guitarist than KK. Actually I should rephrase that--Glenn worked super-hard on his technique in the 80's while KK remained content with his blues-rock style, and Glenn surpassed him by miles--possibly alienating him a bit. That last bit is total speculation, but listen to their discography and notice how the dual solos begin to separate in terms of melody and virtuosity, even craft. Makes me wonder if Priest's music became more of Glenn's mind and KK just kind of phased out.

Don't get me wrong, KK is an exceptional axeman (his lead on Victim of Changes is searing to say the least) but in terms of the heavy metal direction Priest was going, Glenn was up to task as an appropriate shredder while KK remained complacent.

No real way of knowing how accurate this is, but K.K.'s book makes it sound like Glenn intentionally marginalized K.K. on the studio records early on after K.K. got some recognition for his lead playing - hence, he never got room to shine as a player.

In any event, I think it's fair to criticize K.K. for never speaking up in his own defense "for the good of the peace." He's pretty open that he never made waves even when he was really opposed to whatever was going on at the time.

Moving away from whatever their studio music will be like. Let's think live:
If KK's Priest plays Ripper-era songs live I'll be all over them, should they come to Scandinavia.

Imagine Cathedral Spires! Feed on Me! Very underrated era of Priest's history.

Also, Stained Class gems would be very welcome. They've got the original drummer. I think Ripper could do them justice, and we know Binks can. Les Binks might just be the best drummer Priest ever had. I'd love stuff like Savage and Invader off of Stained Class.

corplhicks wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

...the fact the Glenn is sick, so we likely won't have any "real"/original Priest guitarists playing with the band live, so from that narrow perspective it would seem like a no-brainer to have KK rejoin the band.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time he would've been happier.

It's also interesting to note that Glenn is a better guitarist than KK. Actually I should rephrase that--Glenn worked super-hard on his technique in the 80's while KK remained content with his blues-rock style, and Glenn surpassed him by miles--possibly alienating him a bit. That last bit is total speculation, but listen to their discography and notice how the dual solos begin to separate in terms of melody and virtuosity, even craft. Makes me wonder if Priest's music became more of Glenn's mind and KK just kind of phased out.

Don't get me wrong, KK is an exceptional axeman (his lead on Victim of Changes is searing to say the least) but in terms of the heavy metal direction Priest was going, Glenn was up to task as an appropriate shredder while KK remained complacent.

KK was not that far behind Tipton in skill. Sure Glenn started using some tapping, arpeggios and sweeps on Painkiller, but that was already old news in metal by then. KK was the “whammy bar” guy. He is a Hendrix fan and came from that bluesy approach. But to some people, it’s preferred. I think they complimented each other perfect, like King/Hanneman or Holt/Hunolt.

Troublezone wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

...the fact the Glenn is sick, so we likely won't have any "real"/original Priest guitarists playing with the band live, so from that narrow perspective it would seem like a no-brainer to have KK rejoin the band.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

In a nutshell, what exactly is/was the issue between KK and his former band?

Maybe if he'd opened his mouth once in a while instead of keeping the proverbial stiff upper lip all the time he would've been happier.

It's also interesting to note that Glenn is a better guitarist than KK. Actually I should rephrase that--Glenn worked super-hard on his technique in the 80's while KK remained content with his blues-rock style, and Glenn surpassed him by miles--possibly alienating him a bit. That last bit is total speculation, but listen to their discography and notice how the dual solos begin to separate in terms of melody and virtuosity, even craft. Makes me wonder if Priest's music became more of Glenn's mind and KK just kind of phased out.

Don't get me wrong, KK is an exceptional axeman (his lead on Victim of Changes is searing to say the least) but in terms of the heavy metal direction Priest was going, Glenn was up to task as an appropriate shredder while KK remained complacent.

KK was not that far behind Tipton in skill. Sure Glenn started using some tapping, arpeggios and sweeps on Painkiller, but that was already old news in metal by then. KK was the “whammy bar” guy. He is a Hendrix fan and came from that bluesy approach. But to some people, it’s preferred. I think they complimented each other perfect, like King/Hanneman or Holt/Hunolt.

You're right. I still don't think I worded that correctly. I guess in the end one could say their likeness in technique began to drift apart as Glenn began to pick up in the virtuosity department (which is hella impressive!) and it became a little apples and oranges. Regardless, they worked extremely well together during any phase--I think the exchange in The Sentinel is a pivotal example, or the pinnacle, you could say. They duel back and forth on that one like freaking gunfire.

I would have preferred if Judas Priest would have asked K.K. Downing back for their upcoming 50th anniversary tour than K.K. new band, while usually against this thing of having two bands with the same name, or similar names, I think it would be cool to see K.K. 's Priest because it seems they might play deep cuts that will appeal to die hard Judas Priest fans.

K.K. Downing's book was not filled with that much dirt, outside his bitching about what he felt was Glenn Tipton's dominance over the creative process, which I am sure there is some truth to it, but I doubt K.K. would have hung in there for over 30 years or Halford would have agreed to comeback if it was as bad as he made it seem.

I am just happy that KK is back.

Can't wait to check out the new material .

George Lynch wants to join Priest.

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/george-lynch-on-judas-priest-i-wish-they-would-call-me-up-and-hire-me/

Probably not serious. More like a compliment. But Lynch joining Priest and replacing Sneap would put them over the top, seriously.

I'd hire Lynch immediately !

That'd be like Rickey Medlocke leaving Blackfoot for Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Would love to hear what they would come out with Lynch.

Why didn't he call this band Painkiller or The Sentinel or Electric Eye or The Hellion or Sin After Sin or Hell Patrol? Fuck, even Turbo Lover would have been a better choice that KK's Priest. Jesus. Haha.

Eyesore wrote:

Why didn't he call this band Painkiller or The Sentinel or Electric Eye or The Hellion or Sin After Sin or Hell Patrol? Fuck, even Turbo Lover would have been a better choice that KK's Priest. Jesus. Haha.

My vote is for Jawbreaker!

The debut album by KK’s Priest: “Last Rites”

Eyesore wrote:

Why didn't he call this band Painkiller or The Sentinel or Electric Eye or The Hellion or Sin After Sin or Hell Patrol? Fuck, even Turbo Lover would have been a better choice that KK's Priest. Jesus. Haha.

BRITISH STEEL!

(that was also the name of Ripper's Judas Priest tribute band, pre-Winters Bane)

Update from KK:

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/k-k-downing-says-kks-priests-debut-album-is-sounding-incredible/

I am very excited about hearing the new album .