K.K. Downing retires from Judas Priest

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From Blabbermouth, which badly needs a copy editor:
British metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have announced that original guitarist K.K. Downing has formally retired from the band and will therefore not be joining them on their forthcoming Epitaph Tour. The remaining members of the group respect his decision and naturally all wish him well. Having thought long and hard about how to proceed, singer Rob Halford, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis unanimously agreed that they should go ahead with the tour and not let fans around the world down. Fate also stepped in and delivered the perfect replacement — 31 year-old British guitar player Richie Faulkner (LAUREN HARRIS, DIRTY DEEDS). He has blended into the band perfectly and is a great talent who is going to set the stage on fire, according to a press release.

The Epitaph Tour will include songs from every PRIEST studio album and also tracks that they have never before performed on stage plus all the old favorites.

With a new album due to be released next year, the "metal gods" are preparing to tour the planet once more. Heavy metal at its best complete with lasers, lights, bikes and hellfire! It's a show not to be missed!

When questioned about his plans for the future after PRIEST completes its previously announced farewell tour, Downing recently said, "To be perfectly honest, I have not given any thought as to possible case scenarios after the final tour. At the moment though I feel that PRIEST has played its part in music history and feel very proud to have achieved what we have. So there is a good positive feeling inside me and, of course, I feel very indebted to the fans all over the world. As for the future, we probably need the help of Nostradamus."
Surely this doesn't mean Halford is going to sing Ripper's material (the tour "will include songs from every PRIEST studio album"). Surely it also doesn't mean something on the order of a three-hour set, if they're playing a song (at least) from each album "plus all the old favorites."

No one here has seen a Priest show in recent years, right? I'd probably go if they actually showed up in my town (no chance), though the Nostradamus album certainly went a long way toward killing my geekiness over the band.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Re: K.K. Downing retires from Judas Priest

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Priest and Iron Maiden were two bands that for whatever reason I never paid any attention to back in my metal days. God, they've gotta be pretty old by now, how does one put on a 3 hour set when one's 60?
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: K.K. Downing retires from Judas Priest

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priest's latest album is awful. the one before that was good. stating the obvious - they're past their prime. i don't begrudge KK one bit. i've seen them several times. i most recently saw halford's Fight with queensryche, iron maiden... that was what, 8 years ago now? wow.

but yeah, what are the positives for any of them to continuing this? zero. you made your money, enjoy a quiet life finding a new hobby. teach guitar if you want. just please don't put out another album like the last one.

Re: K.K. Downing retires from Judas Priest

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I remember hearing about that Halford/Maiden gig from you, and I'm pretty sure I was in Pennsylvania at the time — so, it was something like 10-12 years ago.
how does one put on a 3 hour set when one's 60?
If you're in Maiden, quite nicely, though you also cut it down to a tidy 2 hours. Our only complaint about last summer's Maiden gig was they focused heavily on their post-reunion material and gave short shrift to the oldies. (Some guy behind us complained, "Maybe the NEXT song will be something we all fucking know.") I know us superfans all say we want our favorite bands to change up their setlists and play lesser-known songs, but... it was our first time at a Maiden show and we WANTED to hear the familiar songs. Sue us, I guess.

But Priest... it would seem silly to let a bad 2-disc concept album spoil all the fun, but it did.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.