Shortly after announcing their debut album Sermons of the Sinner, former Judas Priest guitarist/co-founder KK Downing‘s new band KK’s Priest (which also features former Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens and drummer Les Binks) have shared their first single, “Hellfire Thunderbolt.” It basically sounds like classic Judas Priest, and Ripper might not be Rob Halford, but he did front Judas Priest for seven years (and sang in a Judas Priest tribute band before that), so it’s no surprise that his high-pitched wails fit perfectly with K.K’s time-tested riffage. Listen and watch the video below. The album drops August 20 via EX1 Records (pre-order).

“The whole concept is the fact that I continue proudly to be who I am and what I am and do what I do,” said KK Downing of the new band. “It’s been nearly 10 years. I’m back making music.”

“All of my life, people always wanted an album that we’ve made in the past,” he adds. “What’s the new album like? Will it be anything like British Steel? Will it be anything like Sad Wings?’ People hoping you’re going to make a record that you’ve already made. So in a way this record just sounds like something that has already been made or should have been be made. It does have a lot of things that are connected to the past. For example, ‘Brothers Of The Road’. If you take all the lyrics off and just listen to the music, maybe you could be listening to ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.”

“The ultimate message is we’ve moved away from this music that we loved for so long and we’re so dedicated to, and now we’re in a situation where lots of people are actually passing away,” he continues. “We’ve lost a lot of great people – Dio, Lemmy, I could go on – and that’s gonna be accelerated over the coming years. Basically, enjoy everything that’s left of this brand of metal including from me. It’s not going to last forever.”

Tracklist
1. “Incarnation”
2. “Hellfire Thunderbolt”
3. “Sermons of the Sinner”
4. “Sacerdote y Diablo”
5. “Raise Your Fists”
6. “Brothers of the Road”
7. “Metal Through and Through”
8. “Wild and Free”
9. “Hail for the Priest”
10. Return of the Sentinel”