Ex-JUDAS PRIEST Guitarist K.K. DOWNING On Being Replaced By RICHIE FAULKNER: I Felt Like I 'Was Being Cloned'

Ex-JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing says that he felt like he was "being cloned" when he first found out he was being replaced by Richie Faulkner.

Downing, who announced his retirement from PRIEST in April 2011 after nearly 42 years in the job, admitted to the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast that he was taken aback when he first saw his replacement.

"Richie, as far as I know, is a nice guy and obviously an excellent player," Downing said (hear audio below). "I was a bit disappointed when, basically… I think the idea was to replace me [with a lookalike], so I did feel as though I was kind of being cloned. But I'm not sure that was exactly fair to Richie. I mean, I could be off the mark here, but I think Richie had the right to bring himself to the stage with his own… portray his own image and ability to play the instrument the way that he does. But it is what it is."

He continued: "When Glenn [Tipton] retired from touring [earlier this year], the same didn't happen — obviously, [Tipton's replacement] Andy [Sneap] doesn't look anything like Glenn; he doesn't wear the same clothes, the red pants, guitars or anything like that. So I don't really know what's going on. But it is what it is.

"I know Andy quite well and worked with him before and consider him a friend and a great talent," Downing added. "And the guys seem to be pretty comfortable with what they're doing now, and I would encourage everybody to… if you get a chance to see PRIEST whenever they can, go out there and support the mighty PRIEST in whatever format they may be in."

Despite his initial reservations about Richie's visual appearance, K.K. never questioned Faulkner's playing ability, saying: "I know Richie is predominantly a Les Paul guy and he's looked up to Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker and players like that. That's what he says. I don't recall me being cited as an influence on Richie when he was in his young days. But it is what it is.

"To my mind, JUDAS PRIEST is certainly bigger and more legendary than any individuals in the band," he added. "So PRIEST will always put on a good show, and, obviously, I like to think they have great songs and, obviously, you've got Rob [Halford] up there who's the voice of PRIEST and does incredibly well, certainly at this time in his life."

In a 2011 interview with the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, Halford stated about Faulkner's physical resemblance to a younger Downing: "People are saying, 'It's a clone. You've got some of K.K.'s DNA.' It's just the way it turned out. We made, like, a secret search When we knew K.K. was not gonna be making the tour, we did a lot of secret, kind of, searching for another player. And Richie just happened to be the guy. And he just happens to look a little bit of the K.K. image, you know?! I think it would be silly to say, 'We looked for a guitar player that looks like Ken.' What we want is a very good metal guitar player, and that's what Richie Faulkner is."

Earlier this year, Downing — who is a founding member of the British heavy metal legends — released a statement in which he said that he was "shocked and stunned" that he wasn't invited to return to JUDAS PRIEST following Tipton's announcement that he would no longer be touring with the band due to his battle with Parkinson's disease.

Downing's autobiography, "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", was released on September 18 via Da Capo Press. The book was co-written by the Scottish author and journalist Mark Eglinton, whose previous collaborations include "Official Truth, 101 Proof" with Rex Brown of PANTERA and "Confessions Of A Heretic" with BEHEMOTH's Adam "Nergal" Darski.