Judas Priest
// K.K. Downing, guitarist, songwriter & co-founderJUDAS PRIEST are a heavy metal band from Birmingham, England. “Rocka Rolla” (1974), and “Sad Wings Of Destiny” (1976) were both available from Gull Records, “Sin After Sin” (1977), “Stained Class” (1978), “Killing Machine” (1979), “British Steel” (1980), “Point Of Entry” (1981), “Screaming For Vengeance” (1982), “Defenders Of The Faith” (1984), “Turbo” (1986), “Ram It Down” (1988), and “Painkiller” (1990) were all available from Columbia Records, “Jugulator” (1997) was available from CMC International, “Demolition” (2001) was available from Atlantic Records, “Angel Of Retribution” (2005), and “Nostradamus [2CD]” (2008) are both available from Epic Records. K.K. Downing is one of the guitarists, songwriters, and co-founder of Judas Priest, and also features as guest guitarist and producer of Violent Storm’s “Storm Warning” (2006) available from Gold Storm Records.
Websites: www.judaspriest.com and www.kkdowning.net
Photo: K.K. Downing / KKDowning.net
Interview:
The problem is I am not religious, but I do believe that music has invaluable significance to mankind irrespective of genre. Every individual can identify to what extent and in what way they receive benefits from the music and the artists that they are enamored with. For me as a teenager, music gave me the motivation to want to express my feelings via music and not with anger and violence. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and in a similar way I recognised music and lyrics had a similar power. Although the main thing is that through music one can enjoy the amazing therapeutic benefits of being creative and artistic, and when one recognises these abilities the world becomes a different and better place for them. As for non-musicians, music can play just as an important role in their lives, almost every day I meet people that have been bought together with the love and harmony of the music that they unite with, and this is what I believe is a truly international phenomenon that makes the world a place where nationality, race, and colour pales into insignificance.
“Through music one can enjoy the amazing therapeutic benefits of being creative and artistic, and when one recognises these abilities the world becomes a different and better place for them.”
– K.K. Downing, guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of Judas Priest
