KK’s Priest — the outfit featuring former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing and ex-Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens — has teased the live debut of at least two Judas Priest classics for its upcoming North American tour with W.A.S.P.
On June 28, the band’s social media shared a short video of Downing and guitarist A.J. Mills playing the main riffs of “Heading Out to the Highway” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” — neither of which has previously been performed by KK’s Priest — accompanied by the message: “Over 40 shows featuring some Judas Priest classics we’ve never played live before, and of course KK’s Priest cuts! So stand by for what will be a night of EPIC METAL.”
KK’s Priest will serve as the “very special guest” on W.A.S.P.’s “1984 to Headless” 2026 U.S. and Canada tour, which is scheduled to kick off Sept. 10 in California and run through October 31.
Owens shed light on KK’s Priest’s approach to deep-catalog Judas Priest material in a December 2024 interview with Australia’s Metal Mal. Asked whether the band performs Priest songs that Judas Priest itself has never played live, Owens said: “Oh, we did do, yeah. We did ‘Before the Dawn’. And Priest never played that, ever. Ken said he’s 100 percent [sure] they never played it live ever.” Owens also noted that earlier in the year the band had played “Beyond Realm of Death” and “Victim of Changes,” then later performed “Diamonds and Rust,” “Before the Dawn” and “Sinner.”
Owens acknowledged fan demand for more material from the albums he recorded with Judas Priest himself: “The biggest complaint we actually get is that we don’t do more of my era [of Priest]. We do one song, ‘Burn in Hell.’ So that’s actually what we get the most — how come we’re not doing more of the material I recorded with Priest?” He explained the logistical challenge: “We get together and we learn these songs. We have the screens that go to it in the background. You just can’t change your setlist and learn new songs while you’re on the road. Other bands can… But it’s a good setlist we have.” Owens joined Judas Priest in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — Jugulator (1997) and Demolition (2001) — before the band reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.
KK’s Priest is rounded out by guitarist A.J. Mills (Hostile), bassist Tony Newton (Voodoo Six) and drummer Sean Elg (Deathriders, Cage). The band made its live debut on July 6, 2023 at Downing’s KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Its debut album, Sermons of the Sinner, was released in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records; the sophomore follow-up, The Sinner Rides Again, arrived in September 2023 via Napalm Records.
Downing formed KK’s Priest after Judas Priest declined his request to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. He left Priest in 2011 amid reported band conflict and management issues and was replaced by Richie Faulkner. Downing was briefly reunited with his former bandmates at Judas Priest’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. He later said that an angry second resignation letter he had sent upon departing in 2011 was likely “a key reason” he was not invited back when founding guitarist Glenn Tipton stepped back from touring due to Parkinson’s disease.
