K.K. DOWNING Praises TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS-Era JUDAS PRIEST Albums

June 23, 2021

K.K. Downing has reflected on the albums JUDAS PRIEST made with singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, saying that fans have grown to appreciate them more in the two decades since they were released.

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.

Downing discussed Owens's time with PRIEST during a new interview with Rodrigo Altaf of Sonic Perspectives. After Rodrigo noted that "Jugulator" and "Demolition" were "unfairly" criticized upon their original release, K.K. said: "I think lots of bands release things either too late or too early. Timing is very, very important, and maybe the timing wasn't quite right. But it was a big thing, obviously, for Ripper to step into. It wasn't so much that Ripper was there; it was the fact that Halford wasn't there, I think. It was the familiarity of the voice, which I know and I understand. But Rob left and formed three bands — not one, not two but three. And playing PRIEST songs as well. But, yeah, I think things have turned around now and fans revisit [those albums]. Yeah, there's a lot of guitar parts on those [records] — apart from the vocals — a lot of guitar riffs and a lot of guitar work, which, obviously, we're immensely proud of."

A couple of years ago, Tim said that he was a little miffed by the fact that fans cannot find the music that he made with PRIEST on any of the music-streaming services or other online retailers. "My issue is I would like to buy the records," he said. "I'd like to buy some to even sell when I'm touring solo, but you can't when they're kind of gone. And that's only the thing I talk about… If they were out there, I could maybe buy 'em at cost and sell 'em at my concerts. That would be kind of cool. Then I'd have my whole catalog."

PRIEST bassist Ian Hill concurred, saying in a separate interview: "There's some good material on both of those albums. And Ripper is a terrific vocalist, and he did a tremendous job on 'Jugulator' and 'Demolition' .And why they're not for sale has got nothing to do with us — put it like that. Whether it's a contractual thing between Sony and whoever owns the copyrights to those albums, I don't know. But it is a shame, because there's some good material there. And as a band, it's still JUDAS PRIEST. I know it wasn't the trademark lineup, but it was still JUDAS PRIEST nonetheless. So, it's disappointing — if that's true that the material is not available. It really is."

Downing and Owens are reunited in a new band called KK'S PRIEST in which they are joined by guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST will release its debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", on August 20 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Find more on Judas priest
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).