KK’s Priest has gone back to the Judas Priest catalog and re-recorded “Never Satisfied” with vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens. The song first appeared on Judas Priest‘s 1974 debut album, Rocka Rolla. The new version is available as a free download, and a music video directed by John Psaras accompanies it.
For guitarist KK Downing, the idea was to take a look back across a career that now spans several decades and hear how the material sounds in the hands of the current KK’s Priest lineup.
“Yeah, it seemed like a good idea to, at this point in my career, in my life, span so many decades, just to turn the page back and look at how things might possibly present themselves many decades later,” Downing explained. “So, songs like “Never Satisfied” and other recordings that I enjoy connecting with again after so long.”
Business development also helped move things along. Reach Music recently acquired the rights to Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings Of Destiny, and both albums are getting remastered and reissued. Rocka Rolla is already out, while Sad Wings Of Destiny is slated for November.
“And obviously with a view to not just reinvigorating those songs by having KK’s Priest‘s current lineup record those songs,” Downing said, “it’s also, I’m glad to say, that Reach Music have now acquired the rights to those two albums, which has actually freed the whole thing up, and has brought about a willingness and a want to be able to bring the albums to the surface again.”
The new recording also sets up a comparison between two very different metal voices. Rob Halford sang the original, and Owens now takes his own run at it. Downing thinks each singer can leave a personal mark on the material.
“Two great singers and performers,” he said. “I mean, you know, it’s going to be tough. I guess the main thing is that Rob would be associated with the archive legacy, the original going back when. But obviously, Ripper is sort of capable of doing the same thing, but with a slightly different delivery and tonality of the voice.”
Downing added, “But other than that, I mean, both the vocalists can completely nail down any song, and it would be often tough to choose what the preference would be.”
The single lands while KK’s Priest is out on the road in North America with W.A.S.P. The package puts two veteran acts with roots in 1980s metal on the same stage, and Downing says the shows have been as high-octane as fans would hope.
“I’ve done 21 shows. Got another 21 to do. So we’re exactly at the halfway point,” Downing said. “I mean, W.A.S.P., legendary early ’80s band, and obviously we go back. So that’s what they’re going to get,” he said. “But they’re going to get a hell of a lot of classic songs that they’ve known that go back decades. And so it will hopefully drive fans to come along and sing along, which they are doing, and seemingly enjoying what we do tremendously.”
“Never Satisfied” ties together several chapters of Downing‘s history: an early Judas Priest composition, a fresh take with Owens on vocals, and a current lineup playing classic metal on North American stages.
The post KK’S PRIEST Shares JUDAS PRIEST’s “Never Satisfied” Featuring TIM ‘RIPPER’ OWENS & Offers Limited-Time Free Download appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.
