Judas Priest
By: David E. Gehlke
 Time is running short, and Judas Priest realizes this. The eternal time clock of metal only has so many ticks, many of which have expired for some of metal’s most legendary acts. Reuniting with Rob Halford was always a forgone conclusion, it was simply a matter of when. That time is now, and Priest is returning with a new studio effort titled Angel Of Retribution. Reportedly a mixture of vintage and modern Priest, the band hopes to recapture the heavy metal throne it vacated upon Halford’s departure in the early 90’s. Last year’s incredibly successful Ozzfest stint demonstrated the metal public still has a thirst for Priest, so there is no better time than the present. Founding member and inventor of synchronized headbanging KK Downing phoned in amidst a brutal snowstorm that blanketed his native Scotland. Still, the axeman seemed as jovial and excited as ever.
Blistering.com: Do you have same feeling upon the completion of Angel… as you did for British Steel or Screaming For Vengeance?
KK Downing: Yeah, a bit of anticipation, a bit of nervousness. Its like giving birth but you can’t see the baby (laughs). I kinda have a feeling…. I hope it’s a record that restores everyone’s faith and confidence in not just us, but heavy metal as well. Timing is very important. We’ve said that our whole careers. We’ve felt we’ve had records that we really felt would be the big one, but it didn’t happen. It’s funny though, I think when we’ve had records like Screaming… or British Steel, I just think it’s timing. I think now is the time really, I think it will all be too late. There aren’t that many of us left standing.
Blistering.com: With Rob back in the fold, were there any cobwebs that needed to be dusted off during the songwriting process?
KK: Luckily it wasn’t that difficult, everyone had a lot of ideas, so it came together pretty quickly. The studio is still hard work; we all know music is subjective. Even when everyone is on the same track you’ll still end up debating about the minute details.
Blistering.com: How does (producer) Roy Z compare to the other producers you have worked with?
KK: He was great to work with. He was Rob’s guy because he’s been a Priest fan for a while. He’s a diehard Priest fan and he’s a great guitar player. He’s a hell of a guy, such a modest, cool dude. To be honest, I hope the record is successful if nothing else just for him because he worked really hard and we was dedicated.
Blistering.com: The record label to combat all of the Internet downloading is heavily guarding the new album. What is your stance on this?
KK: Not really, but the release date is always the release date. I know for a fact when I was a fan, I would get the buildup and it was great to hit the record store and run home with the vinyl and just have a blast. As far as we are concerned, we want to release the record, hit the road, and have it all be exciting. Not to have the energy and excitement diffused, its all the better really. As a person, I don’t know too much about downloading, but I know the fans want to go to the record shop and get the article, the one the band wanted you to have in your hands. I can’t say that I’m really that bothered if people get the thing for free over the Internet.
Blistering.com: Are you guarding your own copy?
KK: (laughs) I’ve got one copy and that’s it. I’m busy relearning the songs and getting ready to play live.
Blistering.com: What can we expect from the upcoming tour?
KK: We start of in Scandinavia, then we go to the UK and we’re going to have the Scorpions with us, which is going to be fantastic. Then we go back to Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and then we go the States, then Canada.
Blistering.com: What kind of stage design do you guys have planned?
KK: With Priest we’ll take out as much as we can, but the main thing is putting the set list together which is getting harder and harder. We’ve got to bring back some stuff that was enjoyable to most people but we dropped them because we played them too much. Some of these haven’t been heard for 20 years live, obviously we’ll check out what we fancy doing.
Blistering.com: The Ozzfest set list was primarily hits, so what was your impression of doing a tour package like the Ozzfest?
KK: I liked it a lot. I was very enthused because having Sabbath and Priest at the top of the bill with so many young guns says that we still have a livelihood. The guys from Slipknot would come back all the time, and they were really polite. A band like Slipknot is doing as good as they can, carving a niche out for themselves. You can’t expect them to stand out there and look like Maiden or Priest; they have to do their own thing. The new Priest record will appease a lot of old fans that think there isn’t anything there for them anymore, so hopefully we can get their bums back (laughs). Hopefully a lot of people like youngsters will come out and get into the band.
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