KK's Priest's 'Sermons of the Sinner' - Album Review

As one half of one of the most legendary guitar duos in metal, Kenneth Keith 'K. K.' Downing Jr. has more than earnt his stripes. Ever since joining the fledgling Judas Priest in 1970, Downing has been turning heads. His partnership with fellow guitarist Glenn Tipton is rightly seen as one of music's most iconic guitar tag-teams, and with Judas Priest he essentially helped to define heavy metal as we know it today. There were heavy bands before Judas Priest, but the Birmingham-based band arguably were the ones to truly solidify all of metal's tropes - and move it away from its basis in the blues. By the time the 1980s rolled around, the blues was essentially absent from Judas Priest's canon - and their sound essentially helped to pioneer heavy music for the next decade. The NWOBHM was a natural continuation of what Judas Priest had been doing throughout the 1970s, and by this point the band had also established the look of the genre - with leather and chains being a big part of the band's image as the 1980s rolled around. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that for much of the band's heyday Downing was never truly happy with his place in the band. In his recent autobiography Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest, Downing made it clear that he always felt overshadowed in the band by Tipton - who often took the lion's share of the guitar solos. He also expressed the view that not enough of his ideas were developed into songs by the band; all of which, along with some disagreements with the band's management, led to him stepping away in 2011. Originally, Downing's departure was labelled as a retirement, but in recent years it has transpired that that was probably only ever a smokescreen - which has been hinted at in numerous cantankerous interviews which Downing has given over the years. Especially since releasing his book, Downing has been ready to tell anyone who will listen about all of his gripes relating to Judas Priest. These gripes, however, have not stopped him trying to return to the band on a number of occasions, especially following Tipton's recent semi-retirement due to Parkinson's Disease, but (perhaps wisely) the band have kept him at arm's length. It is a shame to see Downing reduced to something akin to the 'old man yells at cloud' memes; but at least over the past couple of years he has at least made an effort to return to what he is good at - music. Downing officially formed KK's Priest last year, following a one-off show in Wolverhampton the previous year, and earlier this month the band's debut album Sermons of the Sinner was released. Whether KK's Priest is a good name for the band or not is a debate for another day, but it is clear exactly how Downing is trying to market himself here - and Sermons of the Sinner is very much in the classic 1980s/1990s Priest mould. Joining Downing in this venture is another Judas Priest alumnus in Tim 'Ripper' Owens (who fronted the band between 1996 and 2003); alongside guitarist A.J. Mills (Hostile), bassist Tony Newton (Deeds; Voodoo Six), and drummer Sean Elg (Nihilist; Cage; The Three Tremors). Sermons of the Sinner is very much Downing's project however, as he is credited for the writing and producing the album - with the rest of the band all singing to his hymn sheet.

The album starts off slowly, with the atmospheric and spoken word intro piece Incarnation. Considering that the album generally is pretty much a full-tilt old-school heavy metal album, Incarnation feels a little out of place. It sounds more like something that belongs on a power or symphonic metal album, and it is not something that Judas Priest have ever really done - with the exception of the band's sprawling 2008 concept album Nostradamus. Given the album's pretty relentless pace, it would have probably been better just to launch into the music - and as such the album truly begins when lead single Hellfire Thunderbolt kicks in. Given Downing's on-going spat with his former band, it does not surprise me that the album, and Hellfire Thunderbolt in particular, really go for the throat. Judas Priest's 2018 release Firepower (which I reviewed here) opened with a bang, and Downing is clearly trying to show that he can rock just as hard. It should be stated here that Sermons of the Sinner is not as good as Firepower, which could genuinely be seen as one of Judas Priest's best, but it is still a fun slab of old-school metal for the most part. Hellfire Thunderbolt is one of its best tracks too, with a driving main and a fast-footed drum performance from Elg. Owens, who I have always been a fan off, announces his presence with one of his trademark screams - and the fast-paced song really suits his demonic vocal style perfectly. The song, along with most of the others here, never really lets up at all. The pace is fast throughout, and the razor-sharp guitar tones help the song to really stick. Downing's riffing is as good as ever here too, but credit should also go to Mills who has formed a solid partnership with Downing. The two solo well throughout the album, and Hellfire Thunderbolt includes the first of many solo trade-offs. Throw in a simple, but memorable, chorus, and the song is a strong Priest-like cut that is a lot of fun. The album's title track follows, and it takes a bit of a grander overall sound initially with some choral and organ work - but in general the song is very similar to Hellfire Thunderbolt. The pace is very fast, again, and Elg shines throughout due to his performance. He lays down a lengthy drum intro early on, while his different beats throughout help the song to become one of the more varied on the album. The pace is fast, but there are occasional slower sections that allow the drums a chance to breathe. These slower sections also feature some prominent bass playing from Newton, who is generally quite high in the mix which gives the album as a whole real depth. The album's title track is another enjoyable song, and it features possibly Owens' most unhinged vocal performance on the album - with his constant high-pitched screams helping the song's overall atmosphere in a big way.

Sacerdote y Diablo is not quite as furious. It is still a heavy song, but overall it feels a bit more dynamic. Elg's drumming is not quite as reliant on double bass rolls this time, and as a result the song feels a bit more rooted in the 1980s. The riffing throughout is chunkier too, and occasional little lead breaks help to accent the relentless riffing. Owens sounds different too. The screaming of the opening two songs is largely absent here, and instead he sings in his evil-sounding mid-range voice - and his style here is very similar to that which he adopted when he was a member of Iced Earth. As much as I like Owens' high-pitched screams, I am glad that he took more of a toned-down approach here - as song after song of screaming would have been quite fatiguing on the ears. The creepy overall sound, the more varied pacing, and the great guitar work throughout make the song one of album's strongest in my opinion - and it is one that I can imagine going down very nicely live. Following three strong opening songs, however, the album takes a dip in quality starting with Raise Your Fists. Easily the weakest element of the album is its lyrics (Downing is clearly not a lyricist), and the next few numbers are plagued with some of the cringiest and most generic heavy metal lyrics ever. Some of them make Manowar look like poetry, and I have to wonder what Downing was thinking when he penned them. Musically, Raise Your Fists is not bad. It is a fairly standard mid-paced metal anthem with some solid drumming and some decent riffs - but the lyrics let it down. How many songs at this point have been written like this over the years? The world certainly did not need Downing to write another like this. Things get worse, however, with Brothers of the Road. Considering that this band has never been on tour together, I am not sure how they can consider themselves 'brothers of the road' - and the lyrics are some of the worst ever written about going tour. With treats such as Turnin' up the gas 'til the engines explode and We're brothers of the road and we rock, the song is one of the most generic and cliché songs ever written. It does not help either that is is more of a hard rocker than a true metal song; which does little for Owens' voice. I like Owens a lot, and he is great at what he does, but he is quite limited. Singing mid-paced hard rock is not his forte; and his overly dramatic performance only serves to make the lyrics sound even sillier. Metal Through and Through also suffers from bad lyrics, but the song is at least quite interesting musically. It is one of the more dynamic songs here, with a good mix of lumbering bass-led sections and faster portions that feature great shredded guitar lines. Newton, who I have been a fan of for a number of years via Voodoo Six, puts on a great showing throughout the song. Given his studio experience, he also mixed the album with Downing - which has allowed him to give his bass plenty of presence. The bass playing is certainly more prominent here than on the average Judas Priest album, and Newton's playing makes Metal Through and Through more interesting than it otherwise would have been.

Wild and Free gets back to the relentless pace of the earlier, and the song is a real shot of adrenaline following a few mid-paced pieces. Owens' vocal performance throughout is strong, and packed with plenty of ear-splitting screams, but once again the lyrics are awful. In fairness, it is the last song on the album with noticeably bad lyrics, but they are still quite off-putting despite the song itself being quite catchy. Musically it is a lot of fun, and the energy throughout is great, but with lyrics like We can't be wrong, we're wild and free the song can never reach any sort of height. If KK's Priest continue past this album, I really hope that they up their game in the lyric department. I know that Downing intends any future albums to be more band-centric releases, but I am not sure that Owens is much better as a lyricist. Maybe Newton, who has always been Voodoo Six's main songwriter, could take over the lyric writing - but something really needs to change as the album has a bit of an amateurish feel at times due to the awful lyrics. Thankfully the two closing songs suffer much less from this plague - and they are two of the album's strongest cuts. Hail for the Priest sees the choirs of the album's title track returning, but this time used within more of a mid-paced context that allows the band's musicians to flex their muscles somewhat. Newton's bass playing is busy and filled with lots of tasty runs, while Downing and Mills lay down some neo-classical guitar leads throughout that add some genuine class. Owens sounds great too, with his Iced Earth-esque vocal style returning to really boost the overall atmosphere of the dynamic song. He sounds great during both the slower, murky sections and the faster-paced metal sections - and the song is another vocal highlight as a result. The album comes to a close with the lengthy Return of the Sentinel. It is quite similar in structure to Hail for the Priest, which was also quite lengthy, but Return of the Sentinel is the album's longest song - and also its most varied. The mid-paced crunch utilised throughout helps to conjure up a strong atmosphere; and it is nice that in general the song stays at such a pace. Much of the album is very fast, which helps to kick things up a gear early on, but some variety is always welcome - and the song's mid-pace helps the arrangement to breathe. Given its length, there is quite a lot going on throughout. Both Downing and Mills again have plenty of chances to solo; while the bass remains high in the mix to add counter melodies to the interweaving guitar leads. Owens also sounds great, and generally resists the temptation to go all out - with a grittier performance chosen to suit the crunchy riffing. The song is easily the album's most dynamic cut too, with an acoustic-led section coming towards the end of the piece that is the closest anything on the album comes to sounding like a ballad. This section helps the album to end on a high, and Return of the Sentinel is another highlight for me. Despite this strong ending, Sermons of the Sinner is a mixed bag. It starts and ends well, but is let down by a weak mid-section that contains some of the weakest lyrics penned by a recognised artist. It will be interesting to see if KK's Priest morphs into a full-time band or not, but there is certainly potential here going forward if Downing can recognise his own limitations.

The album was released on 1st October 2021 via Explorer1 Music. Below is the band's promotional video for Hellfire Thunderbolt.