THE BEAST

Rob Halford says that he has not yet read K.K. Downing 's autobiography.

The original JUDAS PRIEST guitarist's book, "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest" , was released in September 2018 via Da Capo Press .

Asked in a new interview with Los Angeles Times En Español if he has checked out Downing 's autobiography and whether he has commenced work on his own book, Halford said (see video below): "I didn't read [ K.K. 's book] yet. It's all a matter of time and energy and everything else like that. But I've started to write my life story. We've had many, many hours of interviews and hours and hours of taped interviews. And a lot of that is being transcribed now. And I'm expecting to get some first drafts pretty soon. We're hoping to have the book ready for release by the end of 2020."

Earlier this year, the JUDAS PRIEST singer confirmed that he was finally working on a book, after having previously insisted he would never do so because of privacy concerns.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced in the band by Richie Faulkner , nearly three decades his junior.

Last year, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST . The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton 's decision to retire from touring.