Classic Metal Class Session 16 — Rival “Priests,” Beefs, and Ethical Issues
untangling knots of claims and arguments made by current and former members of a great heavy metal band
We often raise and explore ethical dimensions within the heavy metal scene in Classic Metal Class. Often these take the form of what one can call “beefs,” where one or more artist is criticizing another (or even a lot of others) within the genre for doing something wrong.
Session 6, where we looked at the ethics of farewell tours, raised in significant part by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snyder, is a prime example of a class where we examined that sort of theme. He was criticizing a number of bands — rightly so in our view — for going back out on the road after having finished an official “farewell tour”.
This time around, the beef was between current members and one former member of Judas Priest, K.K. Downing, who left the band in 2011, replaced thereafter by Richie Faulkner. When Glenn Tipton, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, retired from touring, and was replaced by Andy Sneap, Downing thought that he ought to have been asked to rejoin Judas Priest. His former bandmates clearly thought otherwise.
Downing would give a number of interviews airing a quite wide, varied, and arguably at points contradictory set of claims and arguments about why he deserved to be asked or even given his old slot back. The former singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, who replaced Halford for a few years and two albums, got himself mixed up in the matter, taking Downing’s side. And Ian Hill, Rob Halford, and Richie Faulkner gave interviews as well, clarifying their views of the matter, and largely rebutting Downing’s complaints and accusations.
Given that Downing decided to form his own new band in 2019, named “K.K.’s Priest” (with Owens on vocals, and for a short while Les Binks on drums), and already had brought out a book Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest in 2018, Scott and I thought with the flury of recent interviews with Downing raising the same old issues again in 2022, it might be a good time to set out the ethical claims, arguments, and issues being made all around, and to take a close look at them. We also had Rob Halford’s 2020 book Confess: The Autobiography to work with.
Here’s the session recording if you’d like to watch or listen!
There were a number of different issues we thought we’d explore, including
- good or bad character traits displayed by the current and former members of Judas Priest in the controversies and decisions
- the legitimacy, or lack thereof, of Downing’s claim that he ought to be, or has an overriding right to be brought back into the band, and what the basis of that would be
- how these sorts of disagreements and demands should be conducted publicly or in private by those involved
- whether an existing band that has moved on from a bandmate leaving gets to decide for themselves the directions they are going in
- whether “sour grapes” or resentment was evident in the claims K.K. Downing made in his interviews, and in the formation
- whether there is any merit to Downing’s assertions that he was marginalized and mistreated by his former bandmates
- whether there are duties to the fans or audience in terms of touring and concerts, producing new material as albums, giving them what we can call the “authentic Priest experience”
- if Downing is really entitled to use the “Priest” name
- whether it is good to have two essentially rival (though admittedly, quite unequal) versions of Judas Priest out there
We also explored a side-discussion that emerged from Judas Priest’s short-lived decision to tour as a four-piece rather than five-piece band (with Sneap.
Just to give you some flavor of the interviews we referenced, here’s a few of them. First, Downing’s side:
- ‘Why I’m Angry’ About Not Being Allowed To Rejoin JUDAS PRIEST
- “I don’t want to discard my heritage, my legacy, who I am, what I sound like and my style of writing”
- It’s ‘Absolutely Unbelievable’ That I’m Not Allowed To Rejoin JUDAS PRIEST
Then, Ian Hill and Richie Faulkner’s takes
- Ian Hill Rules Out Downing Joining Priest On 50th Tour
- Judas Priest Bassist Says Band Has No Reason For Another Lineup Change
- RICHIE FAULKNER Says Situation Between K.K. DOWNING And JUDAS PRIEST Has Been ‘A Bit Of A S**t Show’
- Richie Faulkner urges KK Downing and Judas Priest to end their ‘sh*t show‘ feud
If you watch or listen to the discussion, I think it’s pretty clear which side Scott and I thought are more in the right, ethically speaking. But these are complex matters, and we’ll leave it up to you to decide the issues for yourself.
We’re going to be looking at a number of other ethical issues and controversies in the classic metal world in future sessions (which we’re hoping to resume in November 2023) — so stay tuned!
If you’re relatively new to classic heavy metal, and looking for some suggestions where to get started, then you’ll want to check out this set of solid recommendations!
If you’d like to see all of the other class sessions we’ve done so far, here’s where you can find them!
I’m Greg Sadler, the Heavy Metal Philosopher. I’m also the president of ReasonIO, a speaker, writer, and a producer of highly popular YouTube videos on classic and contemporary philosophy. I teach at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and offer classes to the wider public in my Study With Sadler online academy. I also produce the Sadler’s Lectures podcast and co-host the Wisdom for Life radio show
