ROB HALFORD Hasn't Read K.K. DOWNING's Book, Still Hasn't Listened To JUDAS PRIEST's TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS-Era Albums

In a new interview with Cleveland.com, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford, who just put out his autobiography "Confess", was asked if his book was affected at all by the release of "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", the 2018 autobiography of his former bandmate, original PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing. He responded: "I haven't read it. I wonder why I haven't read it? I have no clue. [chuckles] He probably won't read mine, y'know, because we know so much about each other. I may read [Downing's] at some point. It's the same way I haven't listened to 'Demolition' or 'Jugulator'," referring to the two albums PRIEST made with singer Tim "Ripper" Owens during a period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Halford was out of the band. "Never listened to them. To be brutally honest, I'm just not interested."

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

Two years ago, 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 guitarist Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease six years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in February 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower".

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 after being discovered when the group's drummer, Scott Travis, was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cover band BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Halford.

In a 2000 interview, Halford explained why he was reluctant to hear "Jugulator". "It's just too difficult for me to listen to the band when I'm not in it, and that's nothing to do with taking a shot at Ripper," he said. "I just can't listen to it. It's just psychological. I should just put it on and listen to the fucking thing, but then if I do, [interviewers] will say, 'Well have you heard it?', and I'll go, 'Yeah', and then you'll go, 'What do you think?', and I don't want to do that. I don't want to be put in that situation. I just love all the things that I've done with the band and I'm happy to be a part of that great legacy and that's all. You want to treat it with respect because that's what it deserves."

"Confess" was released on September 29 via Hachette Books.