K.K. DOWNING Hopes KK'S PRIEST Album Will Encourage Musicians To Continue Playing Heavy Metal

Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, who is currently promoting the debut album from his new band KK'S PRIEST, discussed the future of the heavy metal genre during a brand new interview with Chile's Radio Futuro. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The album 'Sermons Of The Sinner' is a big kind of message. There's things in there. We need to heed the warning that us dinosaurs… I'm actually gonna be 70 years old this year. And you never know what's gonna happen in life. And one thing's for sure, that we've had so many great decades of so many great bands with so much great music. And hopefully 'Sermons Of The Sinner', the album, can encourage young and old musicians alike to continue to write and play songs and play music like that. And hopefully we can go forward into the future and keep the music alive. Because one day all the people that played their very important parts in the '60s, the '70s and the '80s, we will no longer be here. And hopefully our music won't just be a page in the history book in the future; hopefully there'll be lots of bands. So let's see other bands, a new wave of heavy metal bands. I know there's lots of good bands down there in South America, Central America. So hopefully when the COVID disappears we'll have a new energy with lots of new bands and lots of great tours, making lots of great albums. And we can continue on from there and be as strong as ever."

KK'S PRIEST also features former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

"Sermons Of The Sinner" will be released on October 1 (postponed from the previously announced August 20) via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's upcoming 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.