Clang & Clatter

Maybe this is why K. K. quit?!

You’ve got to hand it to Jimmy Fallon, he sure has a way of getting some of the best musical guests around, especially when it comes to hard rock and heavy metal. This past Friday night, it was Judas Priest’s turn as they played through “Breakin’ the Law” and today’s video feature, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” from Screaming for Vengeance. Rob Halford turned in a solid vocal performance on a TV-friendly abbreviated version despite the obvious down-tuning, which I can only assume is to accommodate his voice (hey cut the guy some slack—he’s 60 years old, and he is the Metal God, after all). I wish I could say the same for Glen Tipton and Richie Faulkner, whose replacement of founding member and guitarist K. K. Downing upon his retirement has caused quite a ruckus among fans. Their guitar tones were absolutely atrocious, Glen sleepwalked his way through an uninspired—and uninspiring—guitar solo, and although I’m sure Richie has something to prove as the hot-shot whippersnapper, his solo at the end of the song added absolutely nothing of value. I wish Ian Hill’s bass had been a little higher in the mix as his playing was steady and dependable as always, and it sounded like his tone was great.

Don’t get me wrong. Judas Priest was one of my favorite bands as a teenager, and I spun Defenders of the Faith and Turbo more times than I would like to admit. I wish I could say this was an awesome performance, but honestly, it was only passable and not up to the standard that I would expect from the mighty Priest. Nonetheless, it’s great to see them getting TV airtime and the respect that they deserve.

Enjoy!

K. K. Downing at Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA on July 7, 2009
Photo ©2009 Mary Ouellette, TheyWillRockYou.com

A couple of days ago, Judas Priest issued a press release announcing that guitarist and founding member Kenneth “K. K.” Downing has officially retired from the band revered by many as the “Metal Gods” and will not accompany Priest on its upcoming 2011 Epitaph world tour, previously reported as its final trip around the block. Downing now claims on his website that there has been an “ongoing breakdown in working relationship” between himself, “elements of the band,” and management “for some time” and that he would rather step down than “to tour with negative sentiments.”

These announcements, along with observations of the music industry over the past several years, got me to thinking (to which anyone who knows me can attest is a dangerous thing). How does a band or an artist know when to call it quits? How do you know when your run is over? And, more importantly, how do you make sure you go out on top with grace and dignity rather than becoming a parody of yourself and potentially marring your legacy forever (I’m looking at you, KISS!)?

Let’s face it. None of us is getting any younger, and when I think about the fact that many of my favorite artists had at least a decade on me when I started listening to them, that puts most of them squarely in the demographic for AARP memberships and early-bird senior citizen discounts at IHOP. Of course, many of us—especially metalheads and headbangers, for some reason—would love to snapshot our favorite band at what we consider its prime or the defining stage of its career and have it never age, never change, never stretch out and try something new. But reality insists that is impossible. So what’s a band to do?

The obvious choice is for a musician to continue to do the thing he loves and to try to remain relevant, creating new music that recalls past successes but with subtle changes to fit the times. But what if you can’t pull that off? Take a look at Ozzy’s recent attempts to stay contemporary. A commercial with Justin Bieber?! I mean, c’mon. And while KISS’s Sonic Boom was “solid” (according to AllMusic), it was surely nothing to write home about. And unfortunately, even Judas Priest received a cold reception and mixed reviews with its 2008 concept album Nostradamus.

Contrast that with a band like Accept or even King’s X, both of whom appear to be firing on all cylinders, at least within their own universes. Sure, both bands have had missteps and misfires in the past, but they regrouped, retooled, and rediscovered their direction. In the case of Accept, they had the good sense to remain on the sideline until the right opportunity opened up for them to get back into the game—with a new vocalist even, which in itself could have proven a disastrous move—and to make a “return-to-form” album that earned kudos from fans and critics alike.

What’s the alternative? Remain a dinosaur, retreading the same old ground, stuck playing the same half-dozen songs at the county fair—or if you’re as lucky as the Stones, coliseums and arenas—until the hearse pulls up to wheel you away? Or hang onto past glories with only one original member playing a greatest hits set sung by some young stud discovered on YouTube or in a cover band or hamming it up for some reality TV show? Or worse, do nothing but continue to repackage the same group of songs as the latest remastered, rereleased, reconstituted, and regurgitated compilation that serves no purpose other than to keep the money rolling in?

As I think over all of this, I begin to appreciate Robert Plant’s stance on not reforming Led Zeppelin more and more. Never mind that his decision may have everything to do with the fact that he physically can’t perform like he did during Zeppelin’s peak, but he has moved in a completely different direction that he seems to truly enjoy and one in which he can maintain longevity and success for some time to come, amassing a whole new fan base while hopefully hanging on to some of his earlier followers.

Let’s return to the K. K. Downing announcement for a moment. More volleys are being fired at him for not completing his 40-plus-year tenure in Judas Priest by participating in the Epitaph tour than are being hurled at the band for replacing him with a 31-year-old guitarist from Lauren Harris’ backing band. I’m thinking there are extenuating circumstances here to which none of us is privy, but it seems few people have considered that Downing may have made the right decision. Fewer still have acknowledged that maybe Priest should admit that they had a good run and call it a day.

So what are your thoughts? When is it time for a band to finally hang it up?

First it was Scorpions. Now it looks like Priest might be hanging up the guitars and putting the leather on the shelves after one final trek around the globe. I hate to hear this, but the guys are getting on in age—guitarist Glenn Tipton just turned 63!—and metal god Rob Halford’s voice isn’t what it used to be.

I sure hope they go out with some dignity and don’t pull a KISS, going on farewell tour after farewell tour.

From the Judas Priest website:

After storming the world for nearly 40 years and taking their very special brand of heavy metal to all four corners of the planet, JUDAS PRIEST - one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, have announced this will be their final world tour!!

However, the mighty PRIEST will certainly be going out strong as they rock the planet starting in 2011 on the massive EPITAPH tour - hitting all the major cities throughout the world they will be playing the songs that helped make the name JUDAS PRIEST synonymous with heavy metal!

With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all their fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is JUDAS PRIEST!