K.K. Downing Names the Best + Worst Albums He's Made

As a member of Judas Priest, K.K. Downing was a part of some of metal's most revered albums, and after stepping down from the band, he's recaptured some of the early spirit with his current band KK's Priest. But which of the albums that Downing has worked on does he consider his best works, and which does he think of as his worst?

The guitar great discussed the highs and lows of his recording career as part of a bigger feature for Classic Rock that detailed the "soundtrack of his life."

When asked for the best record he personally made, the guitarist served up something more recent, noting, "No apologies, I must pick my albums by KK’s Priest: Sermons of the Sinner [2021] and the new one, Sinner Rides Again. They’re both very, very kick-ass and I’m proud of them both. They epitomize everything about me and who I am. They continue my legacy [with Judas Priest] and carry the hallmarks of the past."

The Sinner Rides Again album was released earlier this year, and earlier this month the band just released a video for the song "Sons of the Sentinel" that can be viewed below.

KK's Priest, "Sons of the Sentinel"

When it came to his worst album, that was a harder question to answer for the guitarist, who admitted there was still much to like about the album he was choosing.

"I’ll have to go with [Judas Priest’s 1981 album] Point of Entry," remarked the guitarist. "But then again there are some great songs on that one. That’s so, so hard to answer."

The 1981 album saw the band going in a more commercial direction and they were rewarded with a Top 40 album (the record hit No. 39). Of the material from the album, "Heading Out to the Highway" was the biggest song, peaking at No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock Chart, but Point of Entry didn't yield the radio play that some of their other efforts did.

In a 2007 interview also with Classic Rock, Downing recalled of Point of Entry, "People don’t understand how pressurized we were by the label, either to do covers or make hits. With that album, we gave them what they wanted.”

Judas Priest, "Heading Out to the Highway"

The Classic Rock feature also broaches the questions of the first song he played live, his first musical memory, the greatest album of all-time, his guilty pleasure, the band that's the most underrated ever, the song he wants played at his funeral and more. It's a revealing look at the music that helped shape the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame great. You can read it in full through Classic Rock.