KK’s Priest arrived in Anaheim, California, on a stormy Halloween evening for the final show of their seven-week nationwide tour alongside W.A.S.P. to deliver a night of classic Heavy Metal nostalgia.
KK’s Priest
The DigAlert Grove Of Anaheim, California – 31 October 2026
Words And Photography: Matt Roberts
Following his well-documented, less than harmonious departure from Judas Priest in 2011, the result of “an ongoing breakdown in working relationships between himself and elements of the band and management,” KK Downing placed his Flying V into storage and, to the surprise of everyone who swapped the world of Metal, one which he had a massive influence on for the previous 35 years, for one of, wait for it, golf course development.
The subsequent decade saw him disappear completely from the public eye aside from a few guest appearances in various recording projects. He remained conspicuous by his absence until an appearance at 2019’s Bloodstock Open Air Festival alongside Manowar’s Ross The Boss reintroduced him to the stage. This was an event coordinated with the help of MetalTalk founder Steve Göldby and writer Johnny Churchill,
That appearance, allied to the lure of the leather and studs, ignited memories of past glory days and initiated his return to the limelight with the formation of his own band.
In a stroke of genius to arouse the interest of the Metal world, former Priest bandmates Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens and Les Binks were drafted in to join him on vocals and drums, respectively. KK’s Priest were born.
Two albums followed in quick succession, 2021’s Sermons Of The Sinner and two years later, The Sinner Rides Again, each filled chock-a-block with the glorious type of trademark riffing that had taken his previous band to the very pinnacle of the Metal world.
This gig, fittingly taking place on a stormy Halloween night, is the final show of a gruelling 42-date tour that has seen them take just ten nights off in the previous seven weeks or, as Owens succinctly puts it later in the evening, “The 800th show in 40 days.”
The unmistakable chug-chug intro of You’ve Got Another Thing Coming opens proceedings and arouses the senses of those in the bar enough to entice them into the arena, which rapidly begins to fill up.
Despite the heavy workload of the previous two months, it is immediately clear to all present that the band, a smiling Downing, resplendent in his customary leathers, and Owens joined by guitarist JJ Mills and rhythm section of Sean Elg (Drums) and Anthony Wall (Bass), are thoroughly enjoying themselves.
In the time since their formation and despite the creation of two excellent records of new music, the band has often been unfairly ridiculed in the press as being a glorified tribute act.
So, it was perhaps no surprise that the majority of the one-hour set is dominated by (Judas) Priest classics. And why shouldn’t it be? He did contribute to the writing of them, after all.
Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight follow in quick succession before we are treated to three of the band’s own compositions, the barnstorming Strike Of The Viper and One More Stab At Glory from The Sinner Rides Again and Hellfire Thunderbolt from its predecessor.
It is a great start to what turns out to be a great evening of classic Heavy Metal.
Owens’ interaction with the audience between songs is kept to a bare minimum, no doubt due to the band’s desire to let the music do the talking and cram as many classics as possible into the one-hour set time.
The one time he does address the crowd at length is to let them know what a great tour it has been, to give thanks to W.A.S.P. and his own bandmates and to inform them, tongue in cheek it must be added, how glad he was that he discovered, “That KK Downing, because he is fucking unbelievable.”
He goes on to add that every single show on the tour is being recorded before ordering the audience to, “Make some fucking noise.” A new live album on the way perhaps?
From there on in, it is a Judas Priest night as they run through an array of classic cuts taken from their glory days, highlighted no more than with two of this observer’s favourites, Beyond The Realms Of Death and Victim Of Changes, both of which allow Owens the perfect opportunity to showcase his undoubted talents.
At 75 years old, Downing is quite simply a force of nature. Looking slim, fit and healthy, he and Mills share soloing duties throughout the set. To see them both heads down in Quo-like boogie stances, hair sweeping down to cover their faces, it is hard to believe one is almost double the age of the other.
As the hour mark arrives, the set concludes with another self-penned song, Owens’ introduction urging the by-now near-full hall to “Raise Your Fists.”
And almost to a person, they do.
You can read the W.A.S.P. review here.
