10 BEST DUOS WITH KK
Fortunately, Glenn was sided by a great friend almost all this time: KK Downing. This duo is, without any doubt, one of the strongest pair of guitars of all time.
In their own words:
“I think we’re fortunate that the guitar solos just blend together in a way that enhances the character of Priest. It’s nothing we really have to work at, it’s just one of those freak things. His style and my style just work well together in the band (…) all of it just makes up the Judas Priest sound, and we’ve never tried to stray from it because we realize the value of it. It’s great.”
– Glenn Tipton, KNAC.com, September 10, 2002
“How much we drew from each other, I don’t really know, but we put something together that we thought was a pretty good blend. Glenn was predominantly more blues-oriented, where I was sort of progressive and a bit wild.”
– K.K. Downing, Revolver, September 2003 (1)
“You are often faced with situations where both of you might want to take a lead break and both of us have had to make concessions. It can lead to arguments if you let it. It’s difficult because we’ve obviously got far more to say in us than we can actually put on an album. One of our strongest points has always been the two styles of lead. We never deviated much from our records in concert, not because we didn’t
want to, but we know – especially if there are very characteristic lead elements – that’s what the kids want to hear. They don’t want to see you self-indulgently jamming away. We might enjoy that more, but the kids wouldn’t. They want to hear what’s on the record.”
– Glenn Tipton, Kerrang!, July 15-28, 1982
Here we recall some of their best collaborations on Judas Priest albums through more than 40 years.
10) NOSTRADAMUS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjgjO8miuw
An intense and epic climax not just for the song but also for the whole album. After an organ intervention that provides all the vampiric background, a very long and extenuating battle between guitars starts with tempo changes, breaks, bends, speed, tapping, and whatever you can imagine in order to make the magic happens, including, of course, a duo solo by thirds towards the end.
9) NECROMANCER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WUScD-yPlc
There was very little space for a solo in this short song, so both Gleen and KK used as much as they could the small number of bars to play as crazy as much as possible with surprising results and elaborated transitions among them
8) PAIN AND PLEASURE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8L4C0IXNC8
In a downtempo song we could expect some emotive and expressive melodic line, but rather than that we find a strong and energic duel!
7) PERSECUTION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTF3GMiAw_M
The guitars start playing riffs together in one of the verses on the middle of the songs, and after some organ interruption first KK and then Glenn fights for the main role with a lot of fireworks, but the true show of lights in the sky is about to happen with a duo of high pitched triplets. Not being this enough, the upcoming section is an amazing double guitar-driven riff part. Probably the most exciting 3 minutes ever for the tandem of Judas Priest twin guitars.
6) EAT ME ALIVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN4ub3Z_DKQ
The guitars of both heroes sound more distinctive than ever in this great song, with a very aggressive background that gives scope to fulfil the most extreme ideas for soloing.
5) METAL MELTDOWN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YzH3VBUoBw
Virtuoso random shred at the beginning of the song shared by KK and Glenn. The first part of the song is a power-metal piece designed to explore the guitar possibilities until the maximum limits. After some extreme guitar battling and some old-style slow-heavy-metal breaks, the song comes back to its insane energy.
4) THE SENTINEL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fl7yNIPlGM
Sometimes one by one and sometimes together, the middle section solos of this song is, by far, one of the best ever by the band
3) HELLRIDER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCEKhqdW2V8
Two guitars arguing in expressions of rage and fury with flashes of heroic light reaching and insanely epic climax in the Valhalla of power-metal Gods.
2) RAM IT DOWN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raAvLQMUoZA
Out in the highway in a speed impossible to control the notes fly by your side like sparks until you reach a tunnel -an intense drive through a double-walled guitar path that seems never to stop going faster and faster each beat.
1) DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YDLd1Eo3Q
Probably the best guitar-duo-solo ever by any guitar duo on the World. An extreme and ferocious debate between distinctive and passionate guitars, with a mandatory section singing and climbing together to bloom in the epic and catchy chorus!
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