Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF
In the last decade, there seems to be a trend of band members who can’t get along and someone ends up leaving and creating another version of the same band: Great White and Jack Russell’s Great White. L.A. Guns and Riley’s L.A. Guns. Ratt, Stephen Pearcy’s Ratt and Bobby Blotzer’s Ratt Experience (three versions!). Yes and Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman. Queensrÿche and Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche. So, does Judas Priest and KK’s Priest fit the criteria?
Kenneth Keith Downing Jr., professionally known as K.K. Downing, had been in Judas Priest since the beginning (1970). It’s easy to say that it is all he knows. Having quit Judas Priest in 2011, the only other band Kenneth has ever been in is KK’s Priest, his current band which he started in 2020. K.K. is also not the only one who left Judas Priest. In the late 90’s, they lost their iconic singer Rob Halford, who was replaced with Tim “Ripper” Owens, who had previously sung for a Judas Priest tribute band. Fast forward two decades, and in that time, Halford replaced his replacement, and K.K. recruited Ripper to sing for his KK’s Priest.
Suffice it to say, with this history, it’s no surprise that KK’s Priest has many similarities to Judas Priest… which undoubtedly leads to discussions such as this one that Spinning Platters had with an associate (who shall rename nameless) while editing photos and writing these words.
KK’s Priest is honestly just how Judas Priest sounds but even more menacing. Ripper’s voice was impeccable, and he can still hit all the high notes! Of course, the dual guitar sound of K.K. Downing and Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton have been a major influence on all sorts of heavy metal bands for decades, and current KK’s Priest guitarist A.J. Mills does a great job when riffing together with Downing.
Despite releasing two excellent albums, 60% of KK Priest’s setlist was Judas Priest songs. Obviously, he has every right to perform those songs that he had a hand in writing, and the fans definitely wanted to hear them, but it would also have been nice to see this solo band survive on its own merit for more of the setlist. It definitely did not diminish the intensity of the show, and the crowd was pumped up from start to finish regardless!
1. Hellfire Thunderbolt – KK
2. Strike of the Viper – KK
3. One More Shot at Glory – KK
4. The Ripper – JP
5. Reap the Whirlwind – KK
6. Nightcrawler – JP
7. Sermons of the Sinner – KK
8. Burn in Hell – JP
9. Hell Patrol – JP
10. The Green Manalishi – JP
11. Before the Dawn – JP
12. Breaking the Law – JP
13. Sinner – JP
14. Raise Your Fists – KK
German O.G. heavy metal band Accept opened the show. Everyone currently in Accept has been in the band since 2010, with original member Wolf Hoffmann still leading the charge since the formation of the band in the late 1970’s.
Having no other opener to warm up the crowd, Accept did a fantastic job at that, and they came out swinging with two brand new songs and then kept mixing the old classics with the new. Their use of the triple threat of guitar players was really killer. Not many bands outside of Iron Maiden successfully utilize three guitar players simultaneously. Of course, the biggest single that they ever had in America was saved for last… Balls to the Walls indeed!
1. The Reckoning – 2024
2. Humanoid – 2024
3. Restless and Wild – 1982
4. Straight Up Jack – 2024
5. Midnight Mover – 1985
6. Southside Of Hell – 2024
7. ‘Riff Orgy’ (featuring four songs from 1981-83)
8. Princess of the Dawn – 1982
9. Metal Heart – 1985
10. Teutonic Terror – 2010
11. Fast as a Shark – 1982
12. Pandemic – 2010
13. Balls to the Wall – 1983
This also being the final show of the Full Metal Assault Tour, where end-of-tour pranks are always expected, instead, K.K. simply brought Accept back out on stage for a dual-band rendition of Breaking the Law!
