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 -, 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”. On the blazing heels of their highly-lauded 2021 debut record, Sermons Of The Sinner, KK’s Priest return to sin again with their savage sophomore offering, The Sinner Rides Again, which stands as 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.
With The Sinner Rides Again, the powerhouse heavy metal amalgamation of iconic Judas Priest alumni and Grammy Award winning/nominated musicians K.K. Downing and Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals), alongside A.J. Mills on guitars, Tony Newton on bass and Sean Elg on drums, double down on the ripping melodic force of their debut, yielding nine tracks of pure hellfire, produced and written by Downing, and mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen. Today, fans can experience an early taste of The Sinner Rides Again via the blistering first single, “One More Shot At Glory”, a track that evokes a high-stakes battle with heroic chants and double bass, setting the stage for a spine-tingling guitar solo. The track is accompanied by an intense, high quality music video directed by Charlie Smith at Mind Art Visual, which you can watch below this article. About The Sinner Rides Again, K.K Downing states, “To continue the legacy of the traditional rock and metal that I have been so fortunate to be a part of for over 50 years, this latest album, The Sinner Rides Again, has been created to take the listener on a journey that is both real and fictional with its characters, although sometimes ambiguous. These songs allow the imaginations of all fans of this wonderful genre of music to escape reality and join with us to continue our heavy metal experience into the future”. Downing adds regarding the band’s signing with Napalm Records: “With a brand new record that needed placement with a great record label, we discussed the labels we liked, and Napalm Records was one of those companies. It’s fair to say that Napalm is a leader in the heavy metal genre and has been for a long time now. They have a fantastic roster of both established and new bands and artists that are a force to be reckoned with. So it’s a roster of some of the top and leading metal bands in the world today, and for the foreseeable future. I am pleased to say that we are excited about partnering with Napalm Records and we look forward to working together.”
The Sinner Rides Again will be released on September 29th via Napalm Records. Pre-orders are now available here.
Photo credit: Mind Art Visual
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