The iconic KK’S Priest featuring Judas Priest alum and GRAMMY Award musicians K.K. Downing (guitar) and Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals), along with A.J. Mills (guitar), Tony Newton (bass) and Sean Elg (drums) have finally unveiled their new sophomore offering, ‘The Sinner Rides Again‘ (review here), to the masses today!
The album is already being praised by critics around the world as an impressive follow up to the band’s acclaimed 2021 debut. “The Sinner Rides Again is an absolutely ripping metal record, with a huge, gleaming production job and performances that crackle with passion and intensity,” offers Blabbermouth, while Metal Hammer UK lauds the album as “…tapping into the fist-pumping energy of classic heavy metal like it’s 1983 all over again.”
In celebration of today’s release, the band has revealed another blistering new music video, this time for the menacing track ‘Hymn 66‘. The weighty riff-fest boasts slow and low, metallic-soaked punches of heavy metal fire!
K.K. Downing says about ‘Hymn 66’ and today’s album release:
“It’s time to take a look into another world – a world where the most powerful have to succumb to enduring their penance for all eternity. So best beware, as those of the highest power may one day gather to summon you as their victim, and be certain there will be no escape as your presence will be demanded by singing ‘Hymn 66’!
I am truly excited that the time has come to release our second album, ‘The Sinner Rides Again‘. I hope that fans all over the metal world will enjoy it, and I am looking forward to playing these songs for you on our upcoming world tour.”
With ‘The Sinner Rides Again‘, KK’S Priest double down on the ripping melodic force of their debut, ‘Sermons Of The Sinner‘ – which Metal Hammer UK dubbed “hugely enjoyable” and Metal Injection cited as boasting “catchy hooks and plenty of guitar wizardry”. ‘The Sinner Rides Again‘ wields nine tracks of pure hellfire, produced and written by Downing and mixed/mastered by Jacob Hansen.
After stepping out of the Judas Priest spotlight, the return of K.K. Downing was uncertain. Nearly ten years after its onset, the genre-defining guitar icon returned from his hiatus with proof that he was nowhere ready to cease writing classic metal songs or to put away his famous Flying V guitars – taking part in acclaimed international comeback performances (including with his former Judas Priest bandmates when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022) that would act as harbingers of the formation of KK’S Priest.
Downing was recently quoted saying, “We’ve lost a lot of great people – Dio, Lemmy, for example – but this amazing and unique style of music must be preserved for as long as possible and I feel it within me to continue to play my role, as I always have, and to defend this metal genre, which we all know and love.” ‘The Sinner Rides Again‘ is a testament to this call for the classics while speeding full force into the future, delivered by some of heavy metal’s most essential performers.
Make sure to catch KK’S Priest on their upcoming headline tour of the UK, with support from former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno and Napalm Records labelmates Burning Witches! See below for all confirmed tour dates:
KK’S Priest w/ Paul Di’Anno & Burning Witches across the UK in October:
07.10.23 UK – Birmingham / O2 Institute
08.10.23 UK – Glasgow / SWG3
10.10.23 UK – Nottingham / Rock City
11.10.23 UK – Manchester / O2 Ritz
12.10.23 UK – London / O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
KK’S Priest live one-offs:
02.-07.03.24 US – Monsters of Rock Cruise
Line-up:
Tim “Ripper” Owens – Vocals
K.K. Downing – Guitar
A.J. Mills – Guitar
Tony Newton – Bass
Sean Elg – Drums
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