K.K Downing Reacts To Judas Priest’s Announcement To Tour As Quartet: “It Was Kind Of A Slap In The Face”

K.K Downing reacted to Judas Priest’s announcement to perform as a quartet on their tour with Richie Faulkner as their sole live guitarist. According to Loudwire, the move was reversed within the week, but K.K Downing still did not take kindly to the news. 

Downing told the Rock of Nations Podcast, “I’m like everybody else. I’m totally bemused. 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,” Downing continued. “I’m sure Glenn will agree with me that it does have a value.”

According to Loudwire, when reflecting more on the quartet announcement of Judas Priest, Downing dubbed it “very, very strange” and found it hard to understand. “There must be, obviously, something behind the scenes that we don’t know. It’s kind of awkward for me, guys, because with myself and Glenn, that’s Judas Priest to me. I think I’ve got a license to say that after spending a lifetime in the band. And the image and everything and all the shows and all the work and all the albums and everything… everything revolves around that. I mean, if you don’t see Glenn’s red pants on stage, it’s not Judas Priest, right?”

Back in November, Judas Priest announced a new graphic novel titled, Screaming for Vengeance, based on the group’s 1982 album release. 

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

Aswath Viswanathan: Currently a student at Carleton College graduating in 2023 from the Chicago area. I love playing tennis, making music, listening to music, and reading. Some of my favorite artists are Smino, King Krule, and Isaiah Rashad but I'm always looking for new music and I'm open to pretty much anything.
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