TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS On KK'S PRIEST: 'When People Watch The Concerts, They're Amazed'

In a new interview with Australia's Metal Mal, former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens spoke about his involvement with KK'S PRIEST, the band led by another ex-PRIEST member, guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "It's really great 'cause the material is so good. This last record we just put out [2023's 'The Sinner Rides Again'], I just absolutely love it. It's been great. The shows are really good. I'll tell you what's great about is I think that the band's so good and the sound's so good and the shows are so good. When people watch it, when they watch the concerts, they're amazed. They like to hear that songs played right for a change. So it's kind of nice."

Asked if KK'S PRIEST is performing JUDAS PRIEST songs during its live shows that JUDAS PRIEST itself doesn't play or has never played before, Tim said: "Oh, we did do, yeah. We did 'Before The Dawn'. We do 'Before The Dawn', and PRIEST never played that, ever. Ken said he's 100 percent [sure] they never played it live ever.

"Yeah, we did some changes [to KK'S PRIEST's setlist]," Owens explained. "Earlier in the year, we did 'Beyond Realm Of Death' and 'Victim Of Changes', and this time we did 'Diamonds And Rust', the version that I did with the band, that version with the high notes at the end, 'Before The Dawn' and 'Sinner'. So we did it a little bit different.

"I would like to [play more songs PRIEST has never performed live]," Tim added. "The problem is we kind of split it half and half. The biggest complaint we actually get is that we don't do more [songs] of my era [of PRIEST]. We do one song, 'Burn In Hell'. So that's actually what we get the most, is how come we're not doing more of [the material I recorded with PRIEST]. But it's a hard thing. The problem is we're not an old, established band. We get together and we learn these songs. We have the screens that go to it in the background. You just can't change your setlist and learn new songs while you're on the road and doing it. Other bands can. Like JUDAS PRIEST, they've been touring with that lineup for — what? — 12 years now. So they have all these songs that they can kind of rehash and just throw in the setlist. But it's a good setlist we have."

In a recent interview with TalkShopLive, Downing spoke about KK'S PRIEST fall 2024 North American co-headlining tour with ACCEPT. He said: "Yeah, it was fantastic, to be out there with the guys. ACCEPT — I met those guys, I think it was '82 or maybe '83. I think they came on board as a support [act] when we [JUDAS PRIEST] were on the — I think it was 'Point Of Entry' tour; I think it was, yeah, the album after 'British Steel'. And so we became good friends, and, obviously, I'm very proud of the guys. And they literally did stick to their guns, and they are literally metal through and through, so it was great to hook up with Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist] and the guys again. Actually, just prior to that, we'd been playing some some big festivals in Europe, and so we ran into the guys there and, obviously, we were talking about the tour that we were about to embark on in the States. And it went fantastic. We had some great times, going back to a lot of the old stomping ground, the cities — so many great cities. Obviously, America's a big place, a very big place, and we didn't play everywhere, but we did 28 shows. So, it was good to be back and undoubtedly we will return again."

Downing also touched upon the first two KK'S PRIEST albums, 2021's "Sermons Of The Sinner" and "The Sinner Rides Again", and the possibility of a follow-up, saying: "We got extremely busy — did two albums in three years. Hopefully we can make it three albums in four years. But, obviously, the touring schedule — we have been very busy for the last 18 months, and we're looking forward, at some point, to get out there again and look at South America and Australia. And I don't know where people are tuning in from today, but hopefully there's people out there that live in those territories. So I'd just like to say, please be patient and we'll get there. We'll get to you."

In addition to Downing and Owens, KK'S PRIEST features guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST's North American tour with ACCEPT began on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

KK'S PRIEST's first-ever U.S. headlining tour, which featured support from L.A. GUNS and BURNING WITCHES, kicked off on March 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and concluded on March 24 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

KK'S PRIEST's sophomore album, "The Sinner Rides Again", came out in September 2023 via the Austrian label Napalm Records.

KK'S PRIEST made its live debut on July 6, 2023 at Downing's KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

KK'S PRIEST released its debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording "Sermons Of The Sinner" and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the 1980s.

Downing was reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

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 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.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.