Heavy Metal supergroup KK’s Priest will release their debut album in 2021, in a post revealed on Facebook. The band features former Judas Priest members K.K. Downing (guitar), Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals), and Les Binks (drums), will release its debut album in 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group. The group will also play select shows next year to mark the 50th anniversary of KK’s old band. Their set will focus on new music and classic hits from the band.
Royalty Exchange, the brand that administers rights of bands and artists’ future rights is offering a portion of Slipknot’s future royalties on their 20089 platinum album All Hope Is Gone (Roadrunner Records). Previously this was owned by the producer of the album. You will need deep pockets to win, as the current bid was $758,000, with bids set to end on Monday, May 4 at 3PM MDT. The first distribution payment will come on Sept. 30, 2020, with future distributions being paid biannually. For additional details and to get in on the bidding, check out the Royalty Exchange auction at the link below. The winning bidder will have the opportunity to own a slice of the group’s music whenever it is played, which is all the time. Royalty Exchange has revealed that the total earnings for the All Hope Is Gone album grew 20 percent in 2019 over the previous year. Streaming subscriptions have also helped drive the growth, resulting in 73 percent of last year’s earnings. That marks a 40 percent increase over the prior year in that area. All five of the top-earning songs in the catalog earned more last year than in 2018, with four of them growing by double-digit totals. In addition, the Royalty Exchange producer royalties auction not only includes Slipknot’s All Hope Is Gone, but also Simple Plan’s self-titled 2008 record. The winning bidder will collect royalties generated from any sales, streaming, and sync fees for either album, as well as the individual singles contained on both. Sales and streaming, in particular, pay a greater share of revenue to sound recording royalties over composition royalties. Thsi may seem weird, but it is commonplace in the industry. Famous musicians who have sold off part or all of their royalties include David Bowie, Eminem, Nirvana, and KK Downing of Judas Priest. Continue reading
Judas Priest is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with a world tour coming to the US in the fall. The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will also feature Sabaton as openers and is being fueled by the highest-charting album of Priest’s career ‘Firepower’ which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200. Judas Priest originally formed in 1970 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). The original nucleus of musicians – Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, KK Downing and Ian Hill (along with several different drummers over the years) would go on to change the face of heavy metal. The band has made some of the greatest albums in music history. Judas Priest’s lineup also includes Scott Travis on drums, and Richie Faulkner on lead guitar. Andy Sneap has been touring with the band on rhythm and lead guitar since 2018. In 2017 (and again in 2019) Their latest studio album Firepower (produced by Sneap and Tom Allom) which received global success and critical acclaim and released via Epic Records in 2018. The band was nominated for the 2020 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Continue reading
A former car factory, KK’s Steel Mill sits at the heart of industrial Wolverhampton and is owned, as the name suggests, by former Judas Priest guitarist and general all-round local legend KK Downing. This latest West Midlands rock venue opened its doors last year and, apart from the impressively sized stage area and the massive wall banner showing the artwork to Priest’s 1986 album Turbo, looks to have changed very little from when it was built back in 1903.Continue reading
Bloodstock Open Air 2019 takes flight in three weeks and the fest just dropped their final addtions to the bill. KK Downing (performing with Ross The Boss) The Wildhearts (replacing Code Orange), Lotus Eater (replacing Shvpes), Pemphigoid, Black Falcon, Crimson Tusk, Jackals Backbone who fill out Sunday’s line-up. Other additions to the bill and ticket buy links are listed below. Continue reading
With people on social media proudly sharing photographs of their recently purchased or newly patched up tents, or cirrhosis-inducing beer supplies during the days and even weeks leading up to the event itself, by the time the big day actually arrives, anticipation for Bloodstock 2018 has already turned into a Christmas-like level of excitement.Continue reading
Yesterday K.K. Downing released a statement saying that he was “shocked and stunned” that Judas Priest didn’t approach him to replace Glenn Tipton on their upcoming tour. He also insinuated that producer Andy Sneap was covering Tipton’s parts on the band’s new album, and Rob Halford has responded to that notion saying that it is “a thousand percent false.” Continue reading
Former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing said he was “shocked and stunned” that no one approached him about replacing Glenn Tipton on their upcoming tour. Continue reading
Former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing spoke about creating Metal For Men and Metal Pour Femme, during a recent interview. Watch the interview here.
Watch fans reactions to it during a recent testing here.
“I think I just woke up one morning and thought of the word ‘metal’ and I thought ‘metal for men’ and I thought, straight away, I thought, ‘What could that relate to?’ And I don’t know why I thought about it, but I thought there’s nothing out there on the market that’s associated with rock and metal fans in respect to fragrances and stuff. And I guess that, combined with my mum asking me continually what I want for Christmas and stuff, and it just came about. And it just so happens I had a friend who had associations with fragrances before, and it came about very, very quickly.”
The Astbury Fragrance Co. has made available a number of special-edition versions of both Metal For Men and Metal Pour Femme which are personally signed by K.K. Downing says:
“These fragrances both look and smell fantastic and I think that they are the ideal gift for all rock and metal fans this Christmas!”
“Metal” fragrances are now available to pre-order as limited editions, are all individually signed by K.K. and are available from the Planet Rock shop as a 100ml Eau de Toilette for men and a 50ml Eau de Parfum for women, with the gift set for men also containing the Eau de Toilette and a luxury shower gel.
It has been 40 years since Judas Priest released their debut album, Rocka Rolla, a kitsch rock album that showcased little to suggest the career that was to follow. Just take a minute to take that in. Forty years. Four decades in which Priest have, along with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, formed an unholy British triumvirate that has influenced every single metal band, bar none, between them. Unlike Maiden, who are at the peak of their popularity in their later years, and Sabbath, who since reuniting with Ozzy are world-wide festival headliners, the Priest never quite received the same level of consistent commercial success, despite tracks like ‘Breaking The Law’ being universally known, and their Painkiller album being one of the greatest metal albums ever released.
It has been strongly suggested that Ruby anniversary album Redeemer Of Souls (Epic/Columbia) is going to be their last foray into the recording studio, and that should come as no surprise. Not only has Redeemer been over 3 years in the making, but iconic vocalist Rob Halford and bassist Ian Hill are 62, while guitarist Glenn Tipton is 66. Despite such a lengthy career, his foil and lead sparring partner KK Downing has stepped down from the band due to a breakdown in relationships and doesn’t feature on a Priest album for the first time, unobtrusively replaced by Richie Faulkner.
So, against the backdrop of both their own incredible legacy, a confusing and underwhelming last album (2008’s Nostradamus), and recording without a long-term member for the first time, Judas Priest are releasing their swansong.
The first thing to point out is that they were never going to re-record Painkiller, itself nearly a quarter of a century old and THE most “metal” album of all time. So, if you’re expecting raging drums, pinch harmonic squeals, full on aggression, this isn’t the Priest album for you. The intention after Nostradamus was to release a more straightforward, down the line summation of what Priest is, does and stands for and what Redeemer Of Soulshas is a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel, not too dissimilar to the vibe embraced by Angel Of Retribution and highly reminiscent of a Sad Wings Of Destiny or Sin After Sin;
While Rob Halford’s ear-splitting attack has been toned down to a more mid-range delivery, he is still distinctive and stately over a series of strong rock songs that takes you through the dynamic range of what Priest have offered over the years. Opening triad ‘Dragonaut’, ‘Redeemer Of Souls’ and ‘Halls Of Valhalla’ bring the quick, single note, spiky riffs synonymous with tracks like ‘Nightcrawler’ or ‘Freewheel Burning’ and raise the horns, arms pumping, choruses soaring, an approach that serves ‘Down In Flames’ and the Hill driven ‘Hell & Back’ equally well.
But where Redeemer…really works is in the more mature, considered material like ‘Cold Blooded’, that amalgamates ‘Blood Stone’ with a downer, Heaven & Hell darkness, and ‘Sword Of Damacles’, ‘Crossfire’ and ‘March Of The Damned’, with their looser, head-nodding 70’s vibes. A very consistent album is finished strong with the epic ‘Secrets Of The Dead’, brother-in-arms to ‘One Shot At Glory’ the marvellous ‘Battle Cry’ before a very brave and interesting choice of closer ‘Beginning Of The End’, a reflective number in the vein of ‘Before The Dawn’ or Black Sabbath’s ‘Solitude’, finishes things.
Redeemer of Soulsfulfils the role of final chapter capably, as JudasPriest release a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world. I sincerely feel honoured and saddened to be writing about final release from one of the best there’s ever been; a true great that is signing off with a fitting epitaph.
8.5 / 10
STEVE TOVEY