Yuletide and the new decade is nearly upon us but before everyone takes their well earned break, Steel Mill offers a huge stack of update presents for the holiday!
First up K.K. sends his holiday and winter greetings with another video blog, make sure to check it out!
On the Beyond Metal -section our graphic designers took Joe Petagno through the Mill Grinder, as the man behind all those classic Motörhead album covers gave us a lengthy interview! More guests followed as UK’s Vendetta visited us to talk about their second album “Heretic Nation” among other things!
And as always, there’s more great stuff up on Fan Forge, Reviews and Q&A!
All here at Steel Mill wish every headbanger a heavy Christmas and a Happy New Year, keep feeding the flames and we’ll see you soon!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
Out Of The Darkness, Into The Light! DECEMBER 1/2
The darkest time of the year is upon us but as always trust Steel Mill to bring light into the chilling night! The Mill had another top visitor as one of the greatest drummers in rock, Lee Kerslake spent a good hour with us chatting about his past with Uriah Heep and Ozzy Osbourne among other things!
We also bring you a brand new guitar related video blog from K.K. Filmed few weeks ago in Finland, check out K.K. introducing a classic instrument from the past!
And lest not forget, more new stuff over at Fan Forge, Reviews and the Q&A section. Let’s head out to the Christmas highway and see you all soon!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
Racing Cross
The Heavens,
Straight Into
The Dawn! 27.10.2009
First off, all of Steel Mill staff and fans want to wish K.K. a happy metal birthday! Keep rocking on! Priest are enjoying their well earned break from touring but the Mill continues offering updates to heat up the fall.
It’s now exactly 30 years since one of the greatest live albums of all time, Judas Priest’s “Unleashed In the East” was released! To celebrate this event, we are proud to present “Unleashed In The East - Priest In Japan 30th anniversary” -special report backed with K.K.’s memories plus scans of two original tour books: The Japan tour 1978 and Judas Priest world tour 1979! K.K. also wrote a new blog on “Unleashed” and various other events, while Priest tore Japan apart again 30 years later with their “British Steel” shows.
On other news, Steel Mill had not one, but two guests this month! First up, the legendary vocalist Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, MSG, Alcatrazz and later solo) discussed various events throughout his career, backed with Steel Mill’s guide this is essential reading for any serious hard rock fan!
And add to this London’s premier thrash act Savage Messiah have just issued their second album “Insurrection Rising” and dropped by at the Mill offices to give a lengthy interview. “Insurrection Rising” is also reviewed by the local staff.
More updates as always on both Q&A section and Reviews. Until we meet you again, adios and feed the flames!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
K.K. says hello from Toronto! AUGUST 2009
Priest's British Steel anniversary tour rolls on and K.K. took the time to send a new video blog straight from the road, Toronto Canada! Check it out and stay tuned for another huge update coming soon!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
Rock Hard, Ride Free! JULY 2009
Judas Priest are beginning their “British Steel” 30th anniversary tour with Whitesnake as we speak and a brand new Priest live album “A Touch Of Evil Live” is also coming up in July, featuring 11 rare and unheard live tracks!
The summer is also heating up at Steel Mill as K.K. wrote a new blog for Downing Street just before departing for tour!
On the guest front, the engines ignite as we present an interview with the one and only Tim “Ripper” Owens! He has just released his debut solo album “Play My Game” and is currently touring with Heaven & Hell. Ripper dropped by our offices to discuss his new album and various events of his career. Check it out along with Steel Mill’s guide to man’s career and scans of the original Jugulator tourbook!
Steel Mill´s Beyond Metal section has started a new series "Art Inside Metal" where we will interview various illustrators and graphic designers behind the visual world of heavy metal. First guest is Jeremy Morgan from USA, known as the designer of Beyond Fear's album cover.
Once again the molten steel inside the Mill furnaces keeps burning and as summer rolls on we shall feed the flames so stay tuned for more!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
Marching In The Streets, Dragging Iron Feet! JUNE 2009
The Midlands’ greatest hope Hostile have a brand new album “Eve Of Destruction,” – produced by K.K. - finished right about now and a promo package has been sent to various parties. We will soon present a full feature on this great band, but in the meantime K.K. delivers a new blog on the subject and a new video as well! For more on Hostile, visit their MySpace page and check out two preview tracks from YouTube!
Judas Priest will of course release a new live album “A Touch Of Evil – Live” in July and spend the summer touring with Whitesnake all over the US and Canada. To round things off scrapbook is updated as well and to celebrate Priest’s upcoming “British Steel” anniversary tour we present scans of the original 1980 tour book and exclusive photos from that monumental tour. Check it out!
Stay tuned on Priest’s upcoming tour and more great stuff coming via Steel Mill, keep the faith!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
Happy Metal Birthday Steel Mill! APRIL 2009
To celebrate our second anniversary, Steel Mill has been given a brand new facelift and we intend to keep the metal fires burning brighter than ever this year!
As the site is now mighty 2 years of age, we decided it was about time to give it a fresh look and also update some of the content and where they reside. You will notice some of the sections have been moved to other places but are all still available and easy to locate from the upper navigation links. Each month’s top features will also have their own banners, so they are always just one or two clicks away!
Heading our festivities, Roy Z - the producer and artist extraordinaire and the man behind some of metal’s most classic works, gave us a lengthy interview on the many twists and turns of his career. Guests don’t end there, as the Mill got more visitors from Sweden – Grand Magus heats up more flames at the interview section. And elsewhere Bloodred Hourglass go through the Metal Grinder!
K.K. offers a new guitar video update and anniversary blog on Downing Street!
A next Fuel Of The Furnace column backed with K.K.’s comments is now up on Special Reports. To round things up, take a look at another fiery hot Fan Profile straight off the machines and onto Downing Street!
Here’s to another year of Metal Mania at the Steel Mill and Keep Feeding the Flames!
K.K. Downing & Millworkers
MARCH 2009 K.K. Checks In
From The Road!
The 2009 Priest Feast is storming over the world, while K.K. took the time to send a video message straight from the Stockholm stop of the tour! Check it out and stay tuned for Steel Mill 2nd anniversary, you've got another thing comin´!
2009 is well on its way and promises to offer more molten metal for hungry metal fans and plenty of action here at Steel Mill! As the second round of Priest Feast is just about to begin, K.K. offers a brand new Sunday Ride blog via video - with a trip to legendary Holy Joe’s where mighty Judas Priest rehearsed forging their metal foundation, and a guest appearance from future Steel Mill visitors Hostile! K.K. also continues an extensive Q&A at Downing Street!
We kick off the new year with Sweden’s powerhouse heavy metal band, Crystal Eyes. They have a brand new album “Chained” out and Steel Mill couldn’t pass the opportunity to chat with the group on their past, present and future. “Chained” is also given a look at the review-section.
As always, additional updates can be found at Fan Forge, Articles and Reviews. With 2nd anniversary of Steel Mill approaching and other exciting events taking place, let’s make 2009 a metal year to remember - keep following the site!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
DECEMBER 2008 Hello music fans
all over the world!
I am writing to wish everyone happy holidays and seasons greetings, and not forgetting a happy new metal year!
2008 has been a fantastic metal year as you know and next year is also kicking of with a bang - not just with Priest on the road again but we will also be getting Metallica, AC/DC and tons more bands again. I have also heard that the festivals are going to be bigger and better than ever before so best start saving now for the best seats in the house. I just saw Children of Bodom, Machine Head and Slipknot in my home town, now there is some energy, full on metal!!! There are definitely some great packages being put together these days. Saying that, please don’t forget to check out Priest, Megadeth and Testament. In fact this will be the original “Painkiller” touring line up for Canada and North America in 1991 so if you weren’t there then you certainly can be this time around. Until then again all my best for this time of year, please drive carefully and do most things in moderation. Lastly my greetings and special thanks to the Millworkers once again for their great work and dedication. Here’s to a fantastic 2009 for everyone!
Cheers! K.K.
Hola amantes de la música en todo el mundo!
Me dirijo a usted para desear a todos felices fiestas y temporadas saludos, y no olvidar un feliz año nuevo metal!
2008 ha sido un año fantástico de metal como usted sabe, y el próximo año es también de patadas con un bang, y no sólo con Priest en el camino de nuevo, pero también vamos a estar Metallica, AC/DC y bandas de toneladas más de nuevo, he También escuchó que los festivales van a ser más grande y mejor que nunca, por lo que es mejor comenzar a ahorrar ahora para los mejores asientos en la Asamblea, Acabo de ver a los Children Of Bodom, Machine Head y Slipknot en mi ciudad natal, ahora hay algo de energía, Lleno de metal! Hay algunos grandes paquetes están juntos en estos días, diciendo que por favor no se olvide de comprobar Priest, Megadeth, Testament y, de hecho esta será la línea original “Painkiller” para Canadá y América del Norte en 1991, de modo que si usted no hay duda, entonces usted puede ser en esta ocasión, hasta entonces de nuevo a todos mis mejores para esta época del año, por favor, conducir con cuidado y hacer más cosas con moderación, por último, mi saludo y agradecimiento especial a los trabajadores de la fábrica, una vez más, para su gran trabajo y dedicación, escucha a un fantástico 2009 para todos.
Salud!! K.K.
As the year 2008 reaches its end, Steel Mill recharges batteries and prepares to re-launch the engines in 2009. And to heat up the holidays, check out Bill Sneyd’s awesome Home Of Metal special report about a digital archive project in the heart of the Black Country! Add to this, Millworkers have reviewed the past year in metal plus Fan Forge is also updated.
Roll on 2009, we all at Steel Mill wish everyone a happy Christmas and heavy new year!! Exciting plans are on the way so keep logging onto the site!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
DECEMBER 2008 Heavy Metal,
What Do You Want!
More Metal that is! For early Christmas present we are very happy to announce the K.K. Downing signature guitar model by KxK guitars is finally available for a limited order! Head over to KxK Guitars for more info!
Judas Priest have completed their 2008 world tour and will take a break before resuming their Priest Feast in February 2009. Meanwhile furnaces at the Mill continue pounding and this month we are proud to present a feature of another legendary artist. The one and only Ken Hensley, the genius behind many Uriah Heep classics and several great solo albums arrived in town to play a special acoustic show and paid Steel Mill a visit. Check out the extensive interview, reviews and Steel Mill’s guide to essential Hensley releases!
In other news, K.K. delivers a brand new blog and Q&A from hot South America while Priest tribute band interviews march on this month with Sweden’s finest Defenders Of The Faith!
And as always, more updates can be found at Fan Forge, Reviews and Judas Pix so dig in and feed the flames!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
OCTOBER 27th Happy Birthday K.K.!
As Judas Priest kicks off their Mid & South America tour tonight in Mexico, the Millworkers, all Priest and Steel Mill fans around the world wish K.K. a heavy metal birthday!
Keep rockin' for years to come and feed the flames!
OCTOBER 16th BLACK COUNTRY,
THE HOME OF METAL!
Tour shirts, posters, programmes, magazines, tickets, pictures, memorabilia or good stories to share… No surprise Judas Priest is included as 'Home Of Metal' –project is looking for more material in their digital archive covering the metal history of the Midlands. Check out their website at www.homeofmetal.com, or visit at any of these open day events:
Saturday 25th Oct: Wolverhampton Art Gallery (all day) Thursday 6th Nov: Walsall Art Gallery (evening) Saturday 7th Feb 09: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (all day)
Furthermore there will be reports at the Steel Mill about these events!
OCTOBER 2008 The Big Fall Update!
Summer is all but over now but Judas Priest continue their tour over at Far East and South America and as always the machines over at Steel Mill keep delivering the goods and bringing the heat! Furthermore Priest Feast resumes next year with Priest hooking up with Megadeth and Testament, check out dates at the Tour section!
The seventh part of The Fuel Of The Furnace looks back on Priest 1970’s days while K.K. answers bunch of new questions at Downing Street. Metal Grinder series continue with a burning feature on Sweden’s Portrait.
To top it off a new Fan Profile starring Pier from Brazil can be viewed over at Downing Street. And in addition to all of this, more concert and album reviews are upped, along with new stuff at Fan Forge, Articles and Judas Pix!
Keep logging on to the site and stay metal!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
SEPTEMBER 2008 From The Past To The
Present To Eternity!
As Judas Priest keep delivering the goods on their Metal Masters tour in North America and “Nostradamus” receives more praise all over the metal world, the glowing engines at the Steel Mill provide you with another set of updates!
On the guest front, Scottish rockers Nazareth came through town playing couple of shows with Deep Purple. Steel Mill couldn’t pass the opportunity to talk with vocal legend Dan McCafferty, for results head over to Interview-section! See also Reviews for a close-up on Purple/Nazareth concert in Kuopio.
K.K. delivers another video blog, during the Metal Masters tour, this time shot after a show in Toronto, Canada. As usual check it out on Downing Street!
Also updated this month are Reviews, Judas Pix, Articles & Fan Forge so dig in! More exciting updates are on the way so stay tuned to Steel Mill and feed the flames!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
JULY 2008 Nostradamus
Is Avenged!
We are well into hot summer and Steel Mill shows no signs of resting, instead we are again ready to unleash massive amount of updates for all metalheads to enjoy! “Nostradamus” is out for everyone to crab and Priest machine has rolled out on tour, as this is written European trek is already completed and the band is heading out to America. Check out Steel Mill’s tour section as agenda is updated constantly.
Check out K.K.’s new video blog, shot backstage in Munich it’s now available at Downing Street! The street also heats up with the return of Q&A, and over at the review section we take a look at recent Wave Gothik Treffen- festival!
To celebrate the release of brand new Priest masterpiece, we are proud to present a special feature “Nostradamus – The Man, The Myth, The Music.” Compiling together the legendary prophet’s life story, the most important prophecies and musical influences, it furthermore enriches the experience of the new CD. Dig in!
Brand new interviews are in place as well, we deliver another grand opening in our Beyond Metal series, lifting the veil on some metal’s most important behind the scenes personnel. First in line is none other than Götz Kunhnemund, the editor in chief of ‘Rock Hard’ magazine! More interview goods arrive with rising new talent from Germany, Vigilia Septima - done exclusively by our guest editor over there. Plus a new fan profile featuring Nico, a Priest maniac from USA.
And in addition to all this, new blazing hot updates are now up over at Fan Forge, Reviews, Articles and Judas Pix! Have a great summer, keep the metal faith and support Nostradamus!
Nostradamus takes over the charts all around the world!
Judas Priest’s brand new “Nostradamus” is rapidly becoming the most successful Priest album yet on the charts! Check out the following up-to-date positions:
#3 - Croatia
#3 - Czech Rep
#3 - Finland
#4 - Hungary International Chart (#12 overall)
#5 - Germany
#5 - Sweden
#6 - Europe
#9 - Canada
#11 - USA
#12 - Norway
#12 - Switzerland
#13 - Austria
#17 - Australia
#17 - Denmark
#26 - Italy
#26 - Spain
#30 - UK
#31 - New Zealand
#38 - France
#50 – Netherlands
Thank You all Priest and Steel Mill fans for feeding the flames!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
JUNE 2008 K.K.: FIRST GIG WAS JUST THE START WE WANTED!
It is a fact that however much you rehearse for a world tour, there is nothing like having the first gig under your belt.
As most of you are aware Helsinki was the first stop for us on this very special tour and I can only say that we are much relieved that everything went according to plan and thanks to the fans who seemed to sing everything - even lead breaks and cheer throughout! It is thanks to them that we felt our confidence brim over, which enabled us to pull out all of the stops that led to an incredible evening. Needless to say straight after the gig it was right down to business with the Millworkers so all we had to do was find a good pub, a perfect way to end a great evening that was to be the launch of the Judas Priest, Nostradamus world tour!
Regards, K.K.
K.K. GOES HOSTILE!
K.K. Is to produce the debut album of a band from his home town called Hostile later this year, and has written a song for them called Avenger. The band will be playing at the Download festival on the 13th of June. The band will also be playing at London Astoria on the 17th of June supporting Cavellera Conspiracy. For more check out: www.myspace.com/hostileuk
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
JUNE 2008 We'll Put It To Right,
We'll Square Up
And Mend!!
Summer is upon us and as far as Judas Priest and heavy metal are concerned it promises to be the most exciting ever! K.K. is of course extremely busy at the moment thus no Q&A or blog yet but plenty of other good stuff is still on offer.
To begin with as the machinery over at Steel Mill MySpace is grinding overtime, we have also ventured over to Facebook and YouTube so check those out!
This month at the Mill another legend, a King Diamond guitarist and famed producer Andy LaRocque talks about several aspects of his career! Couple of new reviews give support.
An event to top all events, Judas Priest will release Nostradamus next month and head back out to the highway. Check out dates from Tour-section and see when the Priest machine rolls to town near you. Rest assured, as Priest prepares to hit the road, some spellbinding features will fuel the engines over here as well. Stay with us and feed the flames!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
April 2008 Forged Out Of Flame,
From Chaos To Destiny!
As you surely know by now, Judas Priest will unleash their Nostradamus masterpiece in June with world tour commencing around the same time! For more info, check out Judas Priest official website and Promo.livenation.com. A taster for the album was recently released in the form of its title track “Nostradamus;” it can be downloaded from here.
For this month we have two special guests on the agenda. Vocal legend Doogie White checked in and gave us an extensive interview of his past, present and future. Big Priest fans Cage also dropped by and had a lot say on their latest endeavours among other things. Add to this there’s a bunch of brand new reviews by millworkers covering both these artists’ selections so check those out as well!
Other updates for this month include Discography, Scrapbook, Articles, Fan Forge and another set of Q&A.
And finally huge thanks everyone for feeding the flames on the K.K. Downing MySpace site! We shall continue developing the content and adding more features, all input is always welcomed!
These updates are set to keep your metal hunger satisfied for a while; and soon the mighty Priest machine will be back. Keep the faith!
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
March 2008 Prove To
All The World,
Metal Rules The Land!
It was one year ago when the gates of Steel Mill were opened! Congratulations everyone for their involvement and participation in making the Steel Mill a great success, and that means each and every one of you who took the time to log onto the Steel Mill. After all it would have been impossible to keep the metal furnaces burning without you. To celebrate the event we have unleashed our heaviest update so far!
First off some exciting news: we are very proud to announce the long awaited K.K. Downing Steel Mill MySpace page! Something for every metal fan, it contains music, videos, photos, exclusive stories and other great stuff. Please keep giving us your input and feed the flames at the www.myspace.com/kkdowningsteelmill. See you there!
Britain heavyweights Die So Fluid recently played a steaming gig in Finland, and were happy to accept our invitation to visit. Check out exclusive photos plus a review by Kassu on for their most recent effort “Not Everyone Gets A Happy Ending.” More visitors arrived later, as melodic metal’s premiere band Sandalinas dropped by and gave us an in-depth interview, there’s also a look on their second album “Fly To The Sun” over at the reviews-section.
Long time in the works, we are also happy to present the visual logo history of Judas Priest! It traces the foundations of classic Priest logo right from the early days to its current form and is spiced up with comments from our graphic designers. Dig in!
And that’s only the beginning: a brand new sixth part of The Fuel Of The Furnace is now updated with K.K’s comments. There is plenty of action at Downing Street where questions get answered and K.K.’s new anniversary blog is featured.
Downing Street also displays another great fan profile straight from Germany along with more updates at articles, JudasPix, timeline and discography.
So plenty to sink your teeth in and remember, there is of course much more to come! Keep sending your photos, questions, fan art and other cool stuff to the usual address. So as we cross the threshold into year two of the Steel Mill here’s to next year and let’s keep those flames burning bright
- K.K. Downing & The Millworkers -
January 2008 Welcome To The Show!
The new year has kicked off and again flames at the core of the Mill are blazing red hot! First off check out K.K.’s exclusive video message on the birth and evolution of Steel Mill!
Further igniting for new year, we also had our first 2008 visitors resulting a brand new tribute interview featuring Italy’s finest Lawbreakers. Along with the interview feast your eyes and ears on exciting photos and video clips!
The year’s first set of updates also include new set of Q&A, discography, fan forge, Judas pix, link page and couple of brand new CD reviews. Plus first Judas Priest 2008 dates have been announced so head out to the tour section for more info!
We’ll soon be approaching the one year anniversary of Steel Mill and rest assured, the event will be special with plenty of extra fuel thrown to the engines. Stay tuned
