Can't lie: I've had Sunday, August 31 circled on my metal-show calendar for months. Judas Priest, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (aka Black Sabbath as fronted by Dio), and Testament rocking the same bill? It's worth the drive down the peninsula to the Shoreline Amphitheater, where even sweaty mullets and overpriced fried grub won't be enough to dampen the awesomeness of Metal Masters. It's hard for me to type with both my hands curled into devil horns, but since Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing was kind enough to speak with me over the phone -- from Belgium, no less -- about Metal Masters, Priest's new concept album, and the evergreen appeal of metal, I'll do my best to transcribe our conversation here.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: How'd you get hooked up with the other bands for the Metal Masters bill?

KK Downing: As luck would have it, you know. This time, we really wanted to just go out and have some compatability between the bands. We came up with the idea of an all-British onslaught, and calling it the Masters of Metal. So we did our best to find, obviously bands that are into touring -- that didn't have tours booked, or were in the studio, or songwriting, or their wives were having babies, you know. It was kind of tough to put together. But as luck would have it, the bands -- all apart from Testament -- are obviously British, but we still think it's gonna be a great day out for people who really like some good old metal. I was gonna say "old-fashioned," but we're not that old-fashioned!

SFBG: No way, I mean, when we saw the line-up we were so excited. Testament did play a show here earlier this year, but they're from here.

KKD: Yeah, well, they've got a new, good record out, so everything's worked out great. They actually toured with us in 1990 on the Painkiller tour so it'll be fun to have those guys on board again.

SFBG: I saw that the new Judas Priest album, Nostradamus (Sony), marked the highest-ever chart debut for a Priest record in the US. Were you guys excited?

KKD: Sure, yeah! It's good, but obviously, with the record, I think records have to stand the test of time. Some of our most successful albums didn't even make it into the top 15, but they had long legs and seemed to run forever, and that's the important thing, really. But yeah, it's always nice!

SFBG: What do you think is the enduring power of metal? Obviously you guys have been around for awhile, and it seems like you're still attracting new fans. What about the genre keeps people loyal, yet continues to attract newcomers?

KKD: From a very young age, you get put into a certain lifestyle category. You seem to take interest in a style of music that's meaningful to you. I think for a lot of the metal fans, life hasn't always been perfect for everybody, and we have to endure. And I think we like a lot more depth, a lot more energy -- just something more out of music than just something to tap your foot to. Therefore, we become a sect, I don't know, a body of people. It's something that probably somebody could write a book on -- how people start to like different styles of music. But for my own part, we all came from a very industrial area in the UK, and we tend to like something like this style of music. And once that's what you're into, it's not something you can really turn away from.

SFBG:Are there any newer metal bands that you like?

KKD:I don't want to sound like a stickler, but when you're so involved in what you do yourself [pauses]. It's very difficult for new bands to come up with something that's very new and exciting. We just played with a young band from Australia called Airbourne. Lots of people say they're obviously a sort of AC/DC mimic type band. But then again, you know, there's room in the world for more than one AC/DC and I'm sure there's room for more than one Judas Priest, so why not, you know? And they rock out while they play, that's for sure.

SFBG:Nostradamus is a departure for Judas Priest -- it's a double album and a concept album. How did you come up with the idea, and how did you go about putting it together?

KKD: We've done many records, you know, in a traditional style for so many decades. A concept album is obviously different, and this is like a double CD, triple vinyl, 48-page book package about a real person, which allows us to give the record a lot more deepness and more emotion. When we finished the last record, people were saying, "What can Priest do next?" As if to say, we've done it all. So we went and produced this and we had a great time making it. I think we've continued to evolve as a band. Judas Priest, we've around a long time and to bring something new to the table, like Nostradamus, maybe bands and musicians around the world will think, it's OK to be melodic as well.

SFBG: It's also pretty bold to release an album like this in a time when all people seem to care about is the single -- this is a true, full album with a story that runs throughout the songs.

KKD: When we were making the album, people said "Oh, aren't you worried about people's attention span?" Like you said, it's so short these days. They'll cherrypick a few songs, and that. But I think I really disagree with that. I know for a fact that people will still sit down and read a good back, or people will still sit down and watch a good movie. So why shouldn't they sit down and listen to a good album? We advocate listening to this record obviously in its entirely if you possibly can -- on a long car journey, or on the plane, and just dissolve yourself into the mystical world of Nostradamus, and really try to follow the plot from beginning to end. That's how I used to listen to records back in the 1970s. I used to enjoy doing that. I rushed out and bought Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, which might not be a concept album, but it made you want to close the curtains, lock the door, put on your headphones, and just disappear into the world that the artist wanted you to be in for that amount of time. I do think a lot of music fans out there will know exactly what I'm saying.

SFBG: What was it about Nostradamus that made you want to tell his story?

KKD: We didn't know too much about him [at first]. But when the idea came up, we thought he was so intriguing, and the fact that he was a real person, and even 500 years on, he's still a bit controversial. There's a lot of stuff to get your teeth into about his life -- he was an alchemist, a metallurgist, a doctor, lost his wife in the plague, predicted the death of a king at the time, and ended up getting in trouble and persecuted by the church, sent out into exile. Later in life, he found love again and married and lived to a good age. But the end he still requested to be buried standing up -- he was some kind of character, really!

SFBG: What's the set list like for the Metal Masters tour?

KKD:We'd like to think we could play and perform Nostradamus in its entirely at some point, you know. Our manager managed the Who his whole life, and he was involved with Tommy. It would be great, I think. Judas Priest, we've been around for quite a few decades. We're moving into our fifth decade. If anybody can take us into the future, then it's certainly gonna be Nostradamus. But everybody knows, for Metal Masters, Judas Priest will bring all the bells and whistles. We'll play some [crowd-pleasers], but we'll also play some stuff that people have been wanting us to play for years but haven't played, and obviously some stuff off the new record. We'll continue to hopefully add more songs as the record becomes more known, and change the set around a bit -- the internet is such a great vehicle, but sometimes it can spoil the party! To be honest, from the stuff I've seen on YouTube, the sound is not that great and the visuals are not that clear. It certainly adds to the excitement to see the show in real life.

Judas Priest with Heaven and Hell, Motorhead, Testament
Sun/31, 5:30 p.m., $31-131
Shoreline Amphitheater
One Amphitheater Pkwy, Mtn View
(415) 421-TIXS