During an appearance on The Wikimetal Happy Hour , KK Downing spoke about what it was like to be one of the pioneers of heavy metal and said he wanted to inspire people who "have suffered since they were young," just like him.
During the conversation, Downing described his connection with music as "almost a miracle" and said he never imagined he would one day become an important figure in music like some of his idols, citing Jimi Hendrix and Cream as examples.
“To be a part of that and the evolution of metal as we know it today – that didn’t exist in the 60s when I started with Al Atkins and Ian Hill . Nobody knew what kind of music we were playing, so they said we were a progressive blues band,” Downing recalls with a smile.
“Rock didn’t even exist. We had rock n’ roll, but there was no hard rock or heavy metal, which was the musical style I was involved in. The leather, the studs, the Flying V guitars, the guitar duets, and all the music I was a part of. As you said, for many people it’s easy to keep the wheel turning, but it’s not easy to reinvent the wheel,” he concluded.
During the same conversation, KK Downing also discussed his departure from Judas Priest and the first album of his new band , KK's Priest . Check out the full conversation here.
READ ALSO: KK Downing's 19 rock and metal picks: Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Gary Moore and more!