JUDAS PRIEST Guitarist: 'I've Rocked The World, And The World’s Rocked Me'

Pennsylvania's Fly Magazine recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On the group's three-decade history:

"It's all a bit of a blur, but combined, it's all a damn good memory. I say to my mother, 'I just want you to know, mummy, if I suddenly disappear off the planet and I am no more, let me tell you this: I've had a good time. I've rocked the world, and the world’s rocked me.'"

On PRIEST fans around the world coming out of retirement to witness the rebirth of a metal giant:

"The fans that we had through the '80s and even the '70s, they're still there, and they're more than willing to come out to see a band that they know and love. It just has to be, for them, the original.

"I suppose a lot of people tend to feel a bit let down when a band kind of splits up, and quite rightly so. They've supported the band and bought all the records and gone to all the shows, and suddenly it's no more. They're supposed to accept the game when somebody’s moved the goalposts on them, and it's not really entirely fair. But it just goes to show that the support will be there if you get back together and give the people what they know and love."

On the group's latest album, "Angel of Retribution":

"I think people wanted something they could recognize as being PRIEST. So I think consciously or subconsciously, that's what was in our brains, and that was pretty much what came out.

"Let's face it, we all take our music with us to the grave, the music that we grew up with, the first time we got laid, the first time we got drunk and had a hangover, the first time we crashed the old man's car into the garage. The music we were listening to and grew up with, that gets into our veins. Age is insignificant, really, in respect of that. You don't suddenly get to be 40, 50 or even 60 and suddenly think, 'Well, I'm this age now. I'd better start listening to classical music.’ It just doesn't happen. I'll be there, however long I live, still putting on my old HENDRIX records or JOHN MAYALL'S BLUESBREAKERS or CREAM and rocking out."

Check out pictures of JUDAS PRIEST performing live at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York on June 7 from Film Magic.