Judas Priest to Launch New World Tour in 2011

K.K. Downing, guitarist for the iconic British heavy metal band Judas Priest, recently published a new blog post on his official website. In the post, Downing revealed that Priest will be embarking on a world tour beginning in 2011. The official message can be viewed below:

"It seems that the time has come for us to put the touring wheels in motion for our next world tour in 2011!

"It's funny but these days around - about this time - I can't help but reflect on the past when we had to load the touring van ourselves. Sometimes in the ice and snow, being afraid that we would get frostbites on our fingers and not be able to play the gig!

"I remember one winter we had a gig at Hull City Hall in England. We were driving in heavy snow when we hit black ice and the car hit the motorway barriers so hard that it was never able to be driven again. However, it was fortunate that a passing farmer saved the day by letting us pile into his old Land Rover and was kind enough to drive us to the gig!

"It seems just like yesterday, as they say, that we were on tour with our good friends Budgie, Accept, Warlock, AC/DC, Saxon, Pantera...to name just a few. Very good memories indeed!

"Actually, I have just received a copy of Accept's new album Blood of the Nations. And was really happy that Wolf [Hoffmann] and the boys are still creating great classic metal. I think it was back in '81 that Priest and Accept hit the road together for the first time and what a great tour that was! I really hope that we can meet up with the guys next year, at least on some of the festival dates and have a good laugh when talking about the old times." (Read More)

K.K. Downing Talks (or "Blogs") Guitar

K.K. Downing recently posted a new blog entry on his official website, KKDowning.net. In that blog post, the Judas Priest guitarist discussed guitar playing in general and "how the mind of a professional player ticks." Downing also went on to talk about how he's not a proponent of "motionless" guitar playing:

"I just thought I would talk a little about guitar playing in this blog, as I know many of you are interested to know how the mind of a professional player ticks.

"I will start by saying that we are all different and for many reasons, most of which are not particularly important. What is important is to understand that it takes time for your own uniqueness to develop, therefore you must be patient! Also your attitude to playing plays a major role in becoming a noted guitar player.

"Guitars are not like any other instrument because from the first day you put that guitar strap over your head, you feel a sense that you have put on a suit of armour and you have just picked up an AKM machine gun.

"Playing guitar motionless has never excited me and has never seemed natural. Some people perceive that whaling the axe around is just showmanship, but to me, it enhances my ability to get what I want from the notes and the sound." (Read More)