Listen to Devilstar’s Judas Priest Cover Featuring K.K. Downing
Supergroup Devlistar, which was founded by former Anthrax guitarist Paul Crook, will release a cover of Judas Priest’s “Beyond the Realms of Death” as their first single, and they got onetime Priest members K.K. Downing, Tim “Ripper” Owens and Les Binks to help them out.
Crook -- who’s also worked with Sebastian Bach, Glenn Hughes and Meat Loaf -- recently announced the “world’s first interactive band” in association with producer John Madera. The idea here is that every track will feature a different lineup, with fans invited to suggest “dream team” collectives and the cover versions they should record. You can email the band at devilstarmusic@gmail.com.
A 20-second preview of their new Priest is cover is below.
“Beyond the Realms of Death” was chosen to mark the 40th anniversary of its release as part of Judas Priest's 1978 album Stained Class. It’s the first time Downing and Binks have worked together since 1979. The track also features Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera.
“I suggested doing a new version of ‘Beyond The Realms of Death’ and that was agreed,” Binks recently told Downing’s Steel Mill website. “Paul has done a brilliant job on the middle guitar solo (Glenn would be proud of him) and on the production. After meeting up with Tim Ripper Owens later in London I asked him if he would like to sing it and he agreed. From there on I thought we needed someone to play the K.K. Downing solo on the outro so who better to ask than the man himself and he agreed. Everyone has given an excellent performance on this record and I think that Judas Priest fans will love it. It also leads the way for more to come if everyone is up for it.”
The entire track arrives digitally on June 1. More Devilstar releases, both covers and original songs, are due soon.