In a new interview with Metal Pilgrim, founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing says that David Ellefson was never considered as a possible addition to KK’S PRIEST, the new band K.K. formed with fellow ex-PRIEST member Tim “Ripper” Owens.
“Dave‘s a great bass player, and he’s a lovely guy. He’s a total gentleman. He’s so well loved all over the planet. But, no, that was never a consideration, because I didn’t want that kind of split kind of hybrid situation — like MEGA–PRIEST or PRIEST–DETH; it was just a combination of two bands,” Downing said.
“Dave was still in MEGADETH at the time and doing exceptionally well,” Downing continued. “They were about to go out with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, and then they were supposed to do their own headlining show, with LAMB OF GOD supporting. And all of that was happening. So Dave wasn’t available. And the last thing I wanted to do was ever — even if it was on the cards — to form a split of MEGADETH. So that was never a consideration.”
As previously reported, MEGADETH longtime bassist David Ellefson was fired from the group last month after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the 56-year-old musician leaked.
Sermons Of The Sinner is an incredible collection of future metal classics, sure to be one of the stand-out metal releases of 2021. K.K Downing’s genre-defining guitar style helped establish JUDAS PRIEST‘s iconic sound and helped propelled them to one of the top Heavy Metal bands of all-time, earning numerous accolades including a GRAMMY® in 2010 for “Best Metal Performance,” a total of five GRAMMY® nominations and multi-platinum and gold releases.
