When guitarist K.K. Downing left Judas Priest in 2011, he initially announced it as a retirement. At the time it wasn’t clear whether he was just talking about Judas Priest or a complete retirement from music, but for some time it looked like the latter. He spent time on other ventures and it took a while before he returned as an artist.
Downing eventually made his live return in 2019 when he performed with former Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss at the Bloodstock Open Air festival. He was quick to underline what a great experience this was for him, confirming that he was looking to return on a full-time basis. He signed a recording contract half a year later in early 2020.
A year and a half later, his first album outside of the Judas Priest umbrella was ready. Sermons of the Sinner was released on 1 October 2021 under the moniker KK’s Priest, indicating that he was still making music within the style he had always been associated with.
The album is hard to separate from Downing’s situation and/or history with Judas Priest. The way he left the band and the comments from the different camps afterwards could honestly have been an article of its own – and a lengthy and intriguing one at that. That situation becomes a clear and solid backdrop to this album.
Downing has been open about wanting to return to Judas Priest in recent years. He was disappointed that the band didn’t contact him when Tipton had to step down from touring due to Parkinson’s disease, and similarly when the band didn’t respond to his interest in being involved with the band’s 50th anniversary activities. Perhaps his criticism of the way Judas Priest is run and how he felt the band lacked energy on their last tour together isn’t forgotten? In any case, the door to a reconciliation has seemed firmly shut and there’s no sign of it opening. In the end, Downing decided to forge ahead with Judas Priest music in his own way.
And that’s exactly what he has done on the new album.
Sermons of the Sinner sounds so much like Downing’s former band that it could have been released with a Judas Priest logo on it. The band name is obviously also a Judas Priest reference. Several band members are Judas Priest alumni – vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (in Judas Priest 1996-2003) and drummer Les Binks (in Judas Priest 1977-1979) both have history with the band. While a wrist injury meant Binks couldn’t appear on the album, their involvement still takes KK’s Priest some way towards battling the official Judas Priest line-up for Priest credentials (especially now that long-time guitarist Glenn Tipton is no longer among the fully active Judas Priest players).
While KK’s Priest is fully intended to be its own thing, they are not exactly removing themselves from comparisons with the mothership by being so in-your-face Priest-y. It almost feels like there’s an air of petulance surrounding the project. By adding so many references (and related personnel) to the band, as well as playing music that is so decidedly Judas Priest in nature, it could seem like Downing is trying to make a point by doing Priesty things in the Priestest way possible.
On the other hand, this is the music Downing has always written. He is one of the two people who initially formed the original Judas Priest band (bassist Ian Hill being the other one). He has always been one of the main songwriters in Judas Priest. This has always been his music, which by nature of him being in Judas Priest for most of their active years, also has made his style Judas Priest’s music, and that band has benefitted from this for decades. He is not just entitled to keep playing that music – it is also exactly what fans of Downing (and Judas Priest) would hope and expect him to keep playing.
Which takes us to the band name. Any negative reactions to K.K.’s project has primarily been about his choice of moniker. This is not a new discussion in music. There are plenty of examples where people have left bands or split up, only to keep a version of the original name going in their new projects. Using a variant name is rarely a big issue, but it quickly gets confusing when bands split into two factions using the exact same name. In the past we’ve had several versions of Asia, Hawkwind, Queensrÿche, Yes, Sweet, L.A. Guns and several others, sometimes out touring at the same time. There are a variety of reasons behind these kind of situations. There is the branding element, the recognition value, and obviously the ownership people feel to what they started.
In the case of KK’s Priest, there’s no real chance of misunderstanding as the band names are distinctly different. There’s no similarity in logo use, nor will anyone think Judas Priest is coming to town when it’s KK’s band, and vice versa. Unlike some of the similarly named spin-offs of this world, Judas Priest and KK’s Priest can happily co-exist without confusion.
Then there’s the emotional aspect. The use of “Priest” in both band names definitely link the projects strongly together thematically, giving a strong recognition effect. This will be too much for some and fine with others. A name discussion will become less of a practical discussion and more of an emotional one. Judas Priest themselves have not signalled any issues and seem to be fine with it – or possibly (well, most likely) they are just trying to ignore it.
Crucially, the moniker is 100% descriptive of the contents. This is KK, and he is still playing Priest music. And ultimately, it is the contents that should matter the most for how the project will be judged. So on that note, let’s press play.
It all starts with a bit of heavy metal mythology in the form of an intro. Incarnation features a narrator telling the dramatic tale of the birth of “the chosen ones” amid sound effects of storms, lightning, chanting, and (of course) hellfire thunderbolts, setting the stage for the first full track Hellfire Thunderbolt.
The band comes charging out of the gate with intense energy, like starving hell hounds being let loose on the world. The riffing is intense, the drums fire like a machinegun with double bass pedal thunder, and Tim “Ripper” Owens deliver intense vocals with range, power and panache. “There’s metal in the air / It’s a hellfire thunderbolt” he screams, and nobody in their right mind could say otherwise. A scorcher of a track, and probably exactly the mission statement they wanted to go out with.
They don’t lose an iota of energy as they transition into the title track. Sermons of the Sinner is if anything even more intense, with riffs being fired left and right, the tempo fierce, and Ripper shredding his vocal chords Painkiller-style. This is one of the better tracks on the album, featuring suitable build-ups and ethereal backing choirs in select parts of the song which gives it something extra.
Is Downing writing about himself here? He was born in West Bromwich, known for its iron industry and metal trades, and went on to become an accomplished metal musician on the worldwide stage. Being aware of this as you take in the lyrics certainly makes you think. The song seems to chart Downing’s development, but who knows? It could just as easily be an archetypical metal legend. You tell me:
He came from molten metal
His furnaces ran red hot
Forged his way to glory
Should never be forgot
He raced across the planet
To every corner of the earth
He gave His life to metal
Sacrificed all his worth
As we get into the rest of the album, the style from the first part of the album is largely retained. This is a Heavy Metal (in capital letters) album through and through, with solid guitar riffs and soloing. There is enough variation in tempo and feel that the songs don’t bleed together, as demonstrated on next track Sacerdote y Diablo (or The Priest and The Devil). While also quite energetic at times, it has variation in moods as the song tells a story with varying degrees of dramatics and intensity. Owens shows that he is far more than a screamer, giving a solid performance with vibrato and panache. Use of atmospheric keyboards and melodic, percussive dual guitar soloing gives it a lovely. This is another of the highlights on the album.
The lyrics on the album generally taps into storytelling of the ‘metal mythology’ type – songs about characters that represent the spirit of metal (something Judas Priest have done numerous times as well), as well as songs about the metal community and a celebration of all things metal. Raise Your Fists falls squarely into the latter category, and is a more straightforward (but solid) metal track, designed to achieve the effect of its title when played live. The song is an ode to the fans, celebrating the coming together at shows and the bond that is shared. This theme continues somewhat on the next track Brothers of the Road, although that focuses more on the band and the act of slogging it out together on tour. The track is comfortably mid-tempo and with a nice and melodic chorus. The road symbolises freedom in this track, also containing reference to riding motorcycles (“don a heavy metal horse”).
The band has delivered a powerful and frequently fast album so far. With the next track being called Metal Through And Through it might appear that the band were trying to top themselves. Instead, a very pleasant surprise awaits. The track is moody, slow, almost brooding as it establishes a slow groove similar to Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell or Manowar’s Warrior’s of the World. The track does not stay in that pattern throughout, and contains a few faster sections which adds variety to it, but I always end up enjoying their return to that slow-paced rhythm.
The track is one of the longer ones on the album at over eight minutes. It is a true celebration of metal and the bond shared by band and audience. For such a basic premise, the band succeeds at creating quite a dynamic tale out of it with peaks and valleys both lyrically and musically, more rich on sentiment rather than content, but that’s more than fine. The only disappointing thing is to see the track needing a fade-out to wrap it up after spending so many minutes building it up. An awkward fade-out, at that. This track in particular would have benefitted from a proper outro.
On Wild and Free, the band adds another energetic track into the mix, once again celebrating the spirit of metal. Accompanied by an image of bikers, the lyrics feel more generally applicable, but it fits themes covered previously on the album. The track is solid, but relatively straightforward and (at least to me) less memorable than other tracks on the album.
The intriguingly-titled Hail For the Priest is – as expected – a great track. It describes a nightmare scenario involving running blood, misty graveyards, rituals, evil, ghostly figures, and a demonic priest figure shrouded in darkness. The song is spinning the yarn very well, with very intriguingly-arranged musical accompaniment. The track has the widest musical scope on the album, with room for moments of pure ambience one moment, more intense metal moments the next. It features many lovely musical touches, including some really tasteful dual soloing courtesy of Downing and second guitarist A.J. Mills, sometimes alongside some very cool backing choir vocals.
The end of the song is without question made to link with the beginning of the next track musically, and possibly even thematically. Evil is in complete control in Hail For the Priest and all hope is lost. “We need someone to save us” sings Ripper, and salvation seems to come in the final track.
Return of the Sentinel ends the album, and the final track on the album was always going to be spectacular. It is the longest track at nine minutes, which gives plenty of time for a proper story to be told through several different musical passages. And what a story this is.
As the title indicates, this track allows us to say hello to an old friend from Judas Priest’s classic Defenders of the Faith album from 1984. The Sentinel is a much-loved track amongst Judas Priest fans, but it is a deep track, meaning this was dug out for hardcore fans rather than casuals. That makes the return of the character that much more emotional and meaningful to those who are familiar with the original song.
Guitars open the song with melody lines that take on the feel of a hymn, which helps establish it as something more than just the next track. It plays with measured pace, finding room for lead lines in the background that echoes the 1984 original. A short bridge also features the original guitar theme from the original. All of these touches add moments of familiarity and are exceedingly cool, but touches is all that they are. The song as such is totally separate from the original music. It feels like nods done out of respect or as tribute, smartly added in as flavour but separate to the new song itself.
The song describes the return of the Sentinel (duh!), who returns to the lands after an absence to save us once again.
Return into desecration
He smells death on the wind
Here to fight for the nation
The saviour of all mankind
Time to make ready his weapons of glory
Hope our children will tell the story
We may never see again the return of the Sentinel
He pledges death to avenge us
The tyrants they’ll go to hell
Weapons of black steel protect us
Feel the wrath of the Sentinel
The twist in the tale is that the Sentinel is unsuccessful. Outnumbered, the battle turns against him and he dies. With his dying breath he wows to continue his battles in the afterlife. This part of the song is performed as a quiet, ambient coda to the main song which picks up on the hymn aspects from the intro. It lasts for over three and a half minutes, though, making that part of the song curiously long. That also makes the album end on a very notable sombre note, which I am not sure was the intention. I do like this song quite a lot, but it doesn’t end with a bang, and consequently neither does the album.
I’m not sure it’s a big problem, especially if they do as I hope they will: make this story into a trilogy with a third song about the Sentinel on the next album, where the Sentinel chase down his enemies in Hell. Yeah, baby!
First and foremost I think it is brave of KK’s Priest to even attempt a song like Return of the Sentinel. It is ambitious, and I think it delivers, but it’s a dangerous exercise to make a ‘follow-up song’ to one that is so beloved and, well, classic. A new song can almost never live up to the original, which can make people think of it as a failure (or at least a ‘lesser’ song). Even though the song is great, I don’t think anyone is going to prefer Return over the original, but then again, is that the benchmark? In that case most metal albums since then would be failures, including a lot of what Judas Priest themselves have done in the interim. And that’s clearly not the case.
Sermons of the Sinner is a celebration of metal. Its message is loud and proud about the joy of playing this kind of music. It beams with joy about the great, friendly, inclusive metal community. It features characters that embodies the spirit of metal. It spins stories that the bravado, panache, and power of metal are especially well-equipped to deliver. It celebrates the metal lifestyle and freedom attached to it. Sometimes this is a more important and empowering message than people give the genre credit for, and KK’s Priest are far from the only ones creating music that celebrates these aspects. Manowar is a prime example, who has made a career out of those type of songs. Why can’t KK’s Priest?
It’s good to have K.K. back creating and playing music again. Sermons of the Sinner was the first thing this band did together. I hope they keep going, and look forward to how much better they are going to gel as a band once they have been able to tour together.
The album proves one thing above all: you can take the man out of Judas Priest, but you can’t take Judas Priest out of the man.
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