Rob Halford Has Some Words For KK Downing
The big news out of the metal world yesterday came when KK Downing issued a statement regarding not being approached to fill in for Glenn Tipton on Judas Priest’s upcoming tour due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Downing insinuated in that statement that Andy Sneap, who’s filling in for Tipton on tour and produced Priest’s upcoming album Firepower, had a much larger role in the album.
Enter a not-so-pleased Rob Halford.
Halford gave an interview to Fox Sports 910 AM in Phoenix stating, “The one point that I would like to clarify and have on record is this insinuation that Andy Sneap was coving Glenn’s guitar parts on ‘Firepower,’ and I can categorically state that that is a thousand percent false. Because I was with Glenn for all of his guitar work, and he worked really, really hard. Imagine this guy in the tenth year of Parkinson’s. I’ve never seen anybody so brave in the fact that every song was a challenge for him to make it work, but he did — consistently, day after day. It was just a very powerful thing to experience firsthand.”
Downing’s split from Priest has been relatively drama-free in the press, but considering the metal icons were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, we can’t help but wonder what an exchange like this could mean when Priest does eventually get the nod.
Alas, only time will tell.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger who once did a presentation in a college public speaking course about why The Rolling Stones were better than The Beatles. (She received an A.)
