KK's Priest | TheSocial.news

K.K. Downing co-founded Judas Priest in Birmingham in 1969 and remained the band's lead guitarist for over forty years, contributing to some of the most influential albums in heavy metal history — British Steel (1980), Screaming for Vengeance (1982), Defenders of the Faith (1984), and Painkiller (1990) among them. His 2011 departure from Judas Priest — attributed to growing dissatisfaction with the band's management and direction — ended a partnership that had defined classic British metal, and after years of relative inactivity he formed KK's Priest in 2020.

The band's debut album Sermons of the Sinner (2021) featured vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, who had served as Judas Priest's vocalist from 1996 to 2003 after Rob Halford's first departure, creating a lineup with deep roots in the Priest tradition. The music is unambiguously in the classic British heavy metal mode — Downing's signature guitar tone, twin-lead arrangements, and the kind of epic, galloping metal that he helped invent. For fans of the classic Priest catalog who want to see Downing playing this music live, KK's Priest is the closest available experience.

Upcoming Events