Former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing, who left the band in 2011, is featured in a new interview with Digital Journal. An excerpt of Downing discussing his decision to retire is available below:

"I felt that a lot of the spark wasn’t there - for whatever reason - anymore on stage. I felt that I had it, but I felt it wasn’t what I originally signed up for. I always thought that Judas Priest should have been a high-energy outfit and ultra-sharp, but I wasn’t enjoying it as much on stage as I should have been."
"I don’t regret leaving because, to me, I thought that it had run its course. I miss what we had, but I don’t particularly miss what we had become when I left. You become a certain age and I think that I would have been happy if, as I said, I was enjoying the shows. There’s disagreements with how things should be done and I thought if I’m outnumbered then it’s time to go..."
"But I suppose we did fantastically well. I mean 40 years is great and I commend the guys for going back out. I was just watching a bit of their first concert of the tour in Rochester, New York, and it was great. Band sounded good and I’m happy that they continue. I do wish them well and I commend them highly for being out there and carrying on the legacy."

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Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton recently spoke with with Metalholic.com discussing the band's new album, Redeemer Of Souls, and their long career. An excerpt is available below:

Q: You spent over 35 years playing side by side with the same guitar partner. What was it like for you to suddenly have a new face, a new style of player standing across from you in Richie Faulkner?

Tipton: "It was a surprise really. It came as a surprise to us all. At that time I really, truly thought the band was finished. We were poised to do a farewell tour and of course Ken decided he’d had enough of that. I respect his decision. It must have been a big decision to make. I think we’ve all been through that phase. We’ve been around for 35, 40 years. But we found Richie, and Richie is a small miracle because the guy is such a great guitar player and he blended in so well first on stage. And then of course he’s worked so hard and contributed so much to the album that it’s just a miracle.”

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Judas Priest's new album, Redeemer Of Souls, entered the charts in the US and Canada in Top 10 positions in both countries. In the US, Redeemer Of Souls lands at #6 on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 32,000 copies in it's first week out. The album is the band's 17th studio effort, and first since 2008's Nostradamus, which topped out at #11. In Canada, Redeemer Of Souls enters the album charts at #5. More global chart entries will be revealed soon.

Read BraveWords' review of Redeemer Of Souls at this location.

Redeemer Of Souls tracklisting:

"Dragonaut"
"Redeemer Of Souls"
"Halls Of Valhalla"
"Sword Of Damocles"
"March Of The Damned"
"Down In Flames"
"Hell & Back"
"Cold Blooded"
"Metalizer"
"Crossfire"
"Secrets Of The Dead"
"Battle Cry"
"Beginning Of The End"

Bonus Tracks:

"Snakebite"
"Tears Of Blood"
"Creatures"
"Bring It On"
"Never Forget"