During an appearance on the “In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie” video podcast, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about the band’s recent announcement that it would embark on the next leg of its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] called me up and he said, ‘Falcon, would you be able to handle all the guitar parts on your own without a second guitar player?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I probably would be able to handle them. It would probably take a bit of moving around and doing things a bit differently — a couple of more pedals and stuff like that.’ ‘Cause he was thinking… I think one time PRIEST were a four-piece and he was thinking about going back to that and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST’s longtime guitarist who is battling Parkinson’s disease] coming out when he could. I think that was the idea in his mind. And I said, ‘Whatever you wanna do, boss. If that’s what you’re thinking, if everyone else is on board with it, whatever you wanna do.’ So I went and bought… I think I bought three harmonizer pedals to try some stuff out. Long story short, we went back on the decision.”

According to Faulkner, PRIEST probably would have been able to pull off most of its material with only one guitarist.

“The set we’ve got at the moment, apart from the rhythm guitar underneath the solos, there’s not a lot of harmony stuff going on,” he explained. “‘Victim Of Changes’… I’ve been playing THIN LIZZY in cover bands all my life with one guitar. You work out both parts anyway.”

On January 10, JUDAS PRIEST revealed that it would perform as a four-piece when it returns to the road in early March. A few hours later, the band’s touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the group’s 2018 album “Firepower”, released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was “incredibly disappointed” by PRIEST’s decision to carry on as a quartet and thanked the Halford-fronted outfit for the “mind-blowing” opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands. Meanwhile, PRIEST fans were understandably upset about the band’s decision to forgo its classic twin-guitar attack sound and made their feelings known on social media. Some even called for the return of guitarist K.K. Downing, who joined PRIEST in 1970 and remained in the group until 2011.

On January 15, JUDAS PRIEST released a statement announcing that it was reversing its decision to tour as a four-piece, explaining that the bandmembers “decided unanimously” to continue their live shows “unchanged” with Rob, Faulkner, Ian Hill (bass), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy.

“I understand what the fans were saying,” Richie told “In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie”. “I think we all understood what the fans were saying in the end. It’s not PRIEST — that’s the bottom line. I think if we did a new album, if Glenn, for whatever reason, couldn’t play on it, or if we did it for one guitar, and then we toured the album that was one guitar, it would be a different thing… I think everyone saw that we listened and we saw the reaction and we discussed it within ourselves. And I think Rob’s come out a couple of days ago and he said that it was his idea and it blew up in his face.”

Earlier in the month, Halford told Billboard about PRIEST’s short-lived plan to embark on its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet: “That all came from me, it didn’t come from the band. Of course, that blew up in my face, didn’t it? To have done something like a four-piece now would’ve been just not right, ridiculous, insane, crazy, off my rocker, have a cup of tea and relax. It’s kind of water under the bridge now. I think my heart was in the right place, but I’m not the first musician to have a crazy idea.”

Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT, began touring with PRIEST four years ago after Tipton — who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of “Firepower”.

Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Downing parted ways with the band more than a decade ago and was replaced by Faulkner.

Last month, Downing said in an interview that it was “very, very strange” for PRIEST “to even think about” the possibility of going out as a quartet. “I’m like everybody else. I’m totally bemused,” he told the “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen” classic rock show. It was just so extreme and insulting in a way, I guess, and insulting to Glenn as well. It was kind of a slap in the face, saying, ‘Okay, you two guys did it, but we think just one guy could do what…’ It kind of made us and everything that we’ve done and created, saying it was all superfluous, really, and didn’t really have the value that… I’m sure Glenn will agree with me that it does have a value.”

Last November, JUDAS PRIEST announced the rescheduled “50 Heavy Metal Years” North American tour dates for March-April 2022. Support on the trek will come from QUEENSRŸCHE.

The new release schedule is starting to peck up, so our boy Waldo takes on some well-established acts and one Glen Benton-inspired newcomer.
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Ted Nugent has released “American Campfire”, the second single from his upcoming album called “Detroit Muscle”, which is due on April 29 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018’s “The Music Made Me Do It” was recorded with Ted’s current band, which includes bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

In regards to “American Campfire”, Nugent says: “Family campfires have always soothed the soul and brought people closer together. America needs our Spirit Campfire now more than ever. Fan the flames!”

Produced by Michael Lutz and Nugent, “Detroit Muscle” features the following track listing:

01. Detroit Muscle
02. Come And Take It
03. Born In The Motor City
04. American Campfire
05. Drivin’ Blind
06. Just Leave Me Alone
07. Alaska
08. Winterspring Summerfall
09. Leave The Lights On
10. Feedback Grindfire
11. Starspangled Banner

Last November, Nugent released the LP’s first single, “Come And Take It”. At the time, he stated about the inspiration for the track: “Being the all-time gonzo progenitor of love songs that I am, it is only fitting that I unleash the All-American defiant battle hymn from we the people to punks who dare tread on us. Do you feel the love! Come and take it at your own risk.”

In recent months, Nugent has been selling hats emblazoned with the words “Come And Take It”, a slogan which originated in the Texas Revolution in 1835 and is now used as a symbol of gun-rights advocates and the NRA.

Nugent has repeatedly said that he is “very proud” of his new album as well as the LP’s “musical integrity and the spirit and the attitude.”

In December, Ted told Digital Journal about “Detroit Muscle”: “What Greg Smith and Jason Hartless did was great. They put their heart and soul on every song, every lick, and every performance. I am just the luckiest guitar player in the world.

“I don’t write songs,” he explained. “I play my guitar every day and I escape the music so thoroughly with my hunting, fishing, my farming, and other activities. I plunge my fists into the good Earth each day, so I return to such a pure, primal connection with God’s miraculous creation. Quite honestly, I immerse myself in my outdoor lifestyle. It’s a martial art.

“You have to dedicate your entire being to the mystical flight of the arrow so music is really the ultimate escape for me,” Nugent added. “When I get done with my outdoor activities each morning, I come in and I wash my hands and the next guitar lick is coming from such purity and such a cleansed life that it literally is just primal. All of my songs that I have ever composed are an instinctual ejaculation of my guitar riff dreams.”

In a brand new interview with the “Goldmine” podcast, founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, who is promoting the debut album from his KK’S PRIEST project, spoke about the circumstances that led to his departure from PRIEST more than a decade ago. Regarding the initial announcement that he was retiring from playing music, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “That was a myth. That’s complete misinformation. And this is why I’m so unhappy with the rest of the guys in [JUDAS PRIEST], because they told you and all the fans something that’s complete misinformation. But they only told you that because they don’t wanna get into the details.

“In December 2010, I decided not to do the farewell tour — the tour that we all said we were gonna retire; we were gonna retire the band. It was gonna be the end of the band. And so we’d been asked to put together press releases, which we did, and I have, about the of the band and all of us retiring JUDAS PRIEST. When we were gonna do a farewell tour, we were being asked by the management to think of a name for the end of the band, the farewell tour. And it was gonna be called the ‘Epitaph’ tour, which I wasn’t particularly keen on. It was gonna be the end of the band.

“So, what was it that I was gonna not do that everybody else was gonna do? There was only one thing that I was not gonna do. It was do the farewell tour, which was the retirement tour, and I said, ‘I’m not gonna do it.’ I didn’t know they were gonna carry on for another 10 years; I thought they were gonna do the retirement tour, which I didn’t do.

“This is why I’m disgruntled about the whole thing — because it made me look like a deserter; it made me look like I jumped ship and deserted the fans. ‘Oh, Ken, he’s retiring to look after his golf course.’ Well, thanks a lot.

“[What I told the band and the management was], ‘I will do this tour, this farewell tour, but things have gotta change. People can’t get pissed on stage. People have got to give a hundred and one percent if we’re gonna do this. I’m not gonna do an EP, like you’re telling me to do, because I’m not gonna end my career on an EP.’ All of these things that I was saying — ‘I need to have a voice’ and ‘Everybody needs to listen to K.K. If we’re gonna end this, it needs to be done in the way I think it should be done.’ But no, they weren’t having it. So I went, ‘Right. I’m not doing it.'”

Downing continued: “What the world doesn’t know as well, in April 2011, I changed my mind, because people were telling me, ‘K.K., you were there in the beginning. You started it. You should finish it.’ And so I was speaking to Ian [Hill, bass]; I called Ian up. And I was talking to him about it. And I told him, ‘I should do the tour, really.’ And I asked him, ‘Can you send me the setlist over?’ Because that was always a bone of contention. He sent the setlist over. And the very next day, they released a press release that I retired. Because after he sent the setlist over, I called him back and said, ‘Ian, it’s really good. It’s exactly what I was suggesting back in December.’ This should be a chronological, it should be a taster of the successful songs from each album. It should take people on this lovely journey, chronological journey through the setlist. And that’s what the setlist was. So instead of me getting a phone call the next day, thinking, ‘Okay, Ken, we hear that you’re thinking about doing the tour.’ I didn’t get that. They released the press release.

“So that’s when I got really angry and sent in my second letter — that same day. And I gave the guys my real reasons for not doing that final tour. The first letter I sent in was a retirement letter, saying, ‘I’m not doing the tour. I’m out now.’ But I didn’t give them the real reasons. But in the second letter, I did.”

According to Downing, he should have been asked to return to PRIEST when guitarist Glenn Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST’s latest album, “Firepower”, due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

“If I had retired, why shouldn’t I be allowed to step back out of retirement?” Downing asked rhetorically. “Bands always come out of retirement. Guys always leave bands and rejoin. Bands self-combust — GUNS N’ ROSES or whatever — and come back together. It’s par for the course. But when I sat there expecting to step back in the role when there was a place for me — ’cause they obviously wanted to go forward with Richie [Faulkner], who they’d found and become friends with — so when there was an opportunity when Glenn retired and I didn’t get the call…

“I should have elaborated more in my [2018 autobiography ‘Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest’], I should have gone more into detail, but that’s not why I wrote the book. I wrote the book for a lot of different reasons and didn’t think it was… But it’s important — these details are really important.

“I feel as though I was ousted out of the band,” K.K. added. “And after 40 years… I mean, if you take the guys individually, Rob [Halford, vocals] left the band for 14 years and I was instrumental in getting him back. Glenn left for six years to do two solo records. He was allowed to do that. No problem. If that’s what you wanna do artistically, I can’t stop you. And Ian, bless him, we went to kindergarten together, me and Ian. But he was never a writer in the band. He comes along with his bass guitar, and he’s done a great job. But without the songs, there is no band. I provided the songs all of those years, which was a livelihood for Ian, and now he’s saying he’s voting me not to come back in the band. Can you see the irony and why I’m angry about it all? The three guys, and I was the loyal guy. I was the guy who never wanted to play with other people, because my focus only was JUDAS PRIEST.”

Addressing his decision to call his new band KK’S PRIEST, Downing said: “And that’s why I’m a ‘PRIEST’ now, because I’m not gonna give my life’s legacy and my creation up. And that’s why I decided to carry on and call this KK’S PRIEST and not THE FLYING TORNADOES or THE PINK WILLIES or something else obscure. Because my legacy and my heritage and this whole thing, I’m not gonna say ‘belongs’ to me, but it does. A massive, massive part of this is in my veins — nobody else’s.”

Downing is joined in KK’S PRIEST by former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals), along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

Decibel is happy to present the video for the thunderous new song from the Philadelphia black metal alchemists in IATT.
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