According to a report from Sleaze Roxx, Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford addressed, among other topics, the band's mindset regarding former guitarist K.K. Downing during a Q&A session during his August 23rd appearance at Alice Cooper’s The Rock Teen Center to an estimated crowd of 300 people.

Halford: "It is such an emotionally charged question. It’s like ‘Why isn’t Ace back in KISS?’ I think what will happen will happen. I know that’s kind of a nebulous response. I like to be as honest as I possibly can. I think being honest is a pretty good way to live your life, and I don’t want to send mixed messages."

Halford also talked about getting and staying sober, the possibility of another Fight album, and why he avoids using profanity in Judas Priest songs. Check out the complete report / review  here.

K.K. Downing joined ex-Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss on stage during his August 11th set at the Bloodstock Open Air in Derbyshire, UK. New fan-filmed video of Ross The Boss and Downing running through some Judas Priest classics is available below. The songs performed were "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)", "Heading Out To The Highway", "Breaking The Law" and "Running Wild".

The last time Downing was on stage was at Loud Park in Chiba City, Japan on October 17th, 2009.

Downing's replacement in Judas Priest, Richie Faulkner, was recently asked by a fan on Twitter to weigh in on what he thought of Downing's return. Faulkner responded with the following:

 

 

Yeah I thought he looked and sounded great. Good to see the man up on stage where he belongs again RHRF DOTF https://t.co/Ja8uya8fOR

— Richie Faulkner (@RichieFaulkner) 13. August 2019

Downing spoke at length to eonmusic, about his recent appearance at Bloodstock Open Air, Judas Priest's pending 50th anniversary, and about what the future holds for him.

In the exclusive chat, K.K. revealed that he was nervous about stepping back on stage again. Said the guitarist: "It was pretty daunting really. It was like I parachuted in or something... What’s that? Bungee jumping! It’s a bit like that, really. I was okay when I landed, you know?!"

Downing also spoke about the rehearsals, song choice, and the challenges of playing with another band, admitting, "I’d never met the guys, and you can make a very good plan over the telephone, but getting together, meeting for the first time, plugging into the amp and playing those songs; you don't know what’s going to happen? But it was great, and I was absolutely delighted."

About Judas Priest's 50th anniversary next year, Ken said; "Lots of things could happen, but I think the main thing is, lots of people are saying to me; 'Will you be included? Are the band talking to you about the 50th anniversary?', because obviously, it’s a pivotal point, that anniversary. I mean, I was there fifty years ago; Al Atkins was the singer fifty years ago; Ian was there, and so; 'Are you going to be included?' Well the answer is; I don’t know. It’s the other guys that need to be asked as it's obviously their decision. Many people are asking me what might happen, when only those guys can say, but people do want to know."

Speaking about what the future holds, Ken said that the possibility of playing with bands that come through his club - KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton - was now a possibility. "It has been talked about, but the only reason I haven’t before is because I think that people have just dropped it on me. I’m probably not that confident a guy that I can just jump up. But I think I’d be quite delighted to be able to do that. Like I say, I’m the host of the venue, and it would be quite fitting, really."

Finally, K.K. added; "I think chapters are still unfolding in real life for me, and I think the next few months are going to be very important for me."

Read the full interview here.