The lyrics of this song are definitely open to interpretation – part street fight, part gay sauna – but this is Priest firing on all cylinders. KK rips the Metal world a new one yet again on this track from the ‘Defenders Of The Faith’ album. It’s a song that showcases the enormous depth of talent in the band. KK wisely hides his wild side and plays a subtle, gentle and surprisingly emotive solo, which matches the tragic yearning of the lyrics.
It’s a real change of pace for the band after setting the thrash Metal template previously on the ‘Stained Class’ album. ‘Before The Dawn’ from the late 70s album ‘Killing Machine’ (or ‘Hell Bent For Leather’ if you live in the USA) is one of the first great emotional Metal ballads. It also features on the album ‘Unleashed In The East’, and the ‘Live Vengeance ’82’ DVD. With Glenn Tipton generally playing more melodic solos, this is KK’s moment to shine. A fast, urgent riff wild post-apocalypse lyrics and KK doing his best psychedelic Hendrix impression – freestyling, thrashing the whammy bar, throwing in random notes and creating his trademark sound. This is Priest at their most exciting and dynamic. ‘Diamonds And Rust’ and ‘Dissident Aggressor’ are key tracks, but the moment when KK really let the world know he was a true Metal pioneer is on ‘Sinner’. One of Judas Priest’s lesser-known and most underrated albums is 1977s ‘Sin After Sin’. So for all those of you who only listen to ‘Painkiller’, here are some classic tracks on which KK has worked his magic and helped change the face of Metal forever. They got the right man for the job but to all of us who love to see KK play live, this is a tragic loss for the world of Metal and a poignant time to showcase some of KK’s greatest moments.įamed for his wild, Hendrix-inspired style and crazy whammy-bar solos, KK Downing and Judas Priest have such an influence on modern Heavy Metal worldwide that it’s easy to forget the band have been together for over 40 years – and even harder to believe the classic ‘Painkiller’ album is now 21 years old! With a World Tour booked and rumours of a new album in 2012, Judas Priest have filled the vacancy with top British guitarist Richie Faulkner. The underlying reasons are not clear, but KK refers to an ongoing breakdown with band members and management in his official press release. Huge news has rocked the Metal world recently as KK Downing, half of Judas Priest’s legendary twin-guitar attack, has announced his retirement!
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