KK's Priest

W

hen guitarist KK Downing left Judas Priest in 2011, after playing with them for some 40 years, he was 59 and many people dubbed it as a retirement, but as more news came out this may not have been the whole story. He clearly wanted to keep playing and has since done quite well for himself. Downing got the idea of forming KK's Priest after doing a one-off show billed as MegaPriest in 2019 with ex-Megadeth's David Ellefson on bass. The "Priest" in the name, a nod to his past in Judas Priest. KK's Priest's sound is somewhere between a conventional old-school heavy metal, complete with anthemic tracks. It is essentially a supergroup project of sorts featuring Downing and a reunion with his former Judas Priest bandmates vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens and drummer Les Binks. Binks would leave the band just before the making of their debut Sermon of the Sinner (2021) because of health issues leaving the revised membership of Downing and Owens along with Tony Newton (bass), Sean Elg (drums) and guitarist A.J. Mills who was an original member with them in MegaPriest to complete The Sinner Rides Again (2023). Although the act is listed as from the UK, it actually shares both US and UK membership.