Ex-JUDAS PRIEST Guitarist K.K. DOWNING Isn't Interested In Forming New Supergroup

Kenneth "K.K." Downing has revealed that he is tentatively ready to start making music again. In a brand new interview with Eonmusic, the former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist said everything was "ready to go", for a return to music.

Downing, who was a member of JUDAS PRIEST from the band's formation until 2011, has remained largely inactive, musically since parting ways with the British heavy metal legends. In the interview, however, he revealed that he's had more than one approach about launching a new project.

Said K.K.: "There's been quite a lot of [offers], and I'm still talking to some people. A lot of people out there are thinking, 'Oh, yeah, this would be great; I'm from this band, my good mate is from that really well-known band, if we get K.K.'… We're talking about the formation of a supergroup, which doesn't really work these days."

Clarifying why he isn't interested in the idea of the supergroup, Downing said: "You get four or five guys from different bands. What songs are you going to play? What is the image of the band? There's no real credentials. You've got a bit from this band, that band and the other band, but collectively, it doesn't really have substance."

Without revealing names, Downing said that approaches were still ongoing about his involvement in such a project. "I'm still talking to some people", he said, before admitting; "I've kind of dismissed it, and that's kind of where people are going with it. It's so difficult. I've been doing this a long time with one band, and I'm far too seasoned now to, one, want to start over again, and two, to be in a hybrid band."

He continued: "It doesn't really work for me, so I'm having to tread very carefully. Some of these guys think we could make a great sound together — and I'm sure that we would — but you have to think. a lot of the people, they're in different countries. When me, Ian [Hill] and Rob [Halford] got together, everybody was from the local area. Even Glenn [Tipton] was from Halesowen, which is about seven miles from where I was born, and Glenn was the furthest one away. That's the way it was in those days. Now one's in Nashville, one's in Germany, so how this all works is quite difficult, really."

However, Downing admitted that he is thinking about music again, saying: "I have recently set up my music room and everything is poised, ready to go."

Regarding his reluctance up until now, to return to making music, Downing said: "I'm a bit fussy. If I played with another guitar player, I'd like to play with someone who's really quite well-schooled musically."

Read the entire interview, where K.K. discusses recording "Rocka Rolla", his favorite PRIEST songs and his career with the band, at this location.