When KK Downing left Judas Priest, something about the wording of his statements made me think he was retiring for good. Ten years later, we are treated to ‘Sermons Of The Sinner’, the debut album of his own band KK’s Priest, which also features singer Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, who fronted Judas Priest while Rob Halford was away. Though ‘Sermons Of The Sinner’ is flawed, I will take this over any post-reunion Priest album any day. The album has an aggressive, infectious energy, in part due to spirited performances by everyone involved, making it a welcome return for Downing.

During Downing’s absence, Judas Priest slowly morphed into an aging hardrock band rather than a metal band. Solid, but unspectacular. In a way, ‘Sermons Of The Sinner’ could be described similarly, but it has more fire and urgency than anything Priest released since reuniting with Halford. It is definitely more metallic than the latest Priest albums and that surprises me, given Downing’s outspoken preference for all things Hendrix and bluesy. Sometimes the album could use a little more polish, but at the same time, a significant part of the album’s charm comes from its relatively raw, hungry energy.

Opening track ‘Hellfire Thunderbolt’ was the album’s first single and it certainly sells the album well. It is built upon a simple, yet fantastic riff and Owens delivers one of his best vocal performances in a long time. It sounds a lot like Judas Priest and yet, it has an aggressive drive that almost puts it closer to the US power metal bands they influenced. ‘Hail For The Priest’ has a similar vibe, though with a bigger sense of drama in the melodic department and a lot of cool guitar harmonies, which are notably more present here than on any album of Downing’s old band.

Some of the best moments on ‘Sermons Of The Sinner’ are the songs that have not been released prior to the album, however. ‘Sacerdote Y Diablo’ is a vehicle for Owens’ vocal acrobatics and contains a couple of cool, aggressive riffs and subtle time feel changes. Closer ‘Return Of The Sentinel’ might not have the borderline thrash metal vibe of its predecessor, but has a nice triplet riff driving the song forward, an interesting guitar arrangement and an entertaining callback to the first part in the melody of the title. Bassist Tony Newton also takes all the room he gets for some impressive melodic bass lines and the quieter second half is a surprisingly effective way to round out the album.

Flawed as ‘Sermons Of The Sinner’ is – some sections are unpolished to a fault and ‘Metal Through And Through’ feels like its sections have been haphazardly thrown together, the lyrics are almost childishly simple at times – there is something about the album that just appeals to me. Great guitar work by both Downing and AJ Mills is all over the album and it’s great to hear songs by Downing with a bassist who knows how to enhance the material. If Downing can maintain this level of aggression and develop his songwriting a little more, maybe even get the rest of the band involved, KK’s Priest might become more interesting than I first suspected.

Recommended tracks: ‘Hellfire Thunderbolt’, ‘Sacerdote Y Diablo’, ‘Hail For The Priest’