Following is an excerpt from an email interview with former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing conducted by Germany's Bleeding4metal.de in support of Downing's book, Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest.

Bleeding4metal.de: We all know that the '90s were a very difficult time for many metal bands. We also know how many disbanded at least temporarily during that decade. When Rob Halford went solo, you had also toyed with the idea of leaving Judas Priest for a couple of months. How would you imagine the further story of Judas Priest after Painkiller and the tours if Rob had stayed in the band? What might have happened? And do you think albums like Jugulator and Demolition would have been done like that?

Downing: "I am guessing that if Rob had stayed, we would have gone ahead as we were and would have continued to make great records. How the changing of the times would have affected us, no one can say. But Priest may well have been heading in a heavier direction after Painkiller. I still enjoyed it immensely to play with Ripper (Tim Owens) and to make those albums with him. I am sure Rob would not have rejoined if his solo career had gone according to plan. His mistake was to think that his name could be bigger than the brand name Judas Priest."

Bleeding4metal.de: How do you think about the same scenario if Rob had stayed and you had left then?

Downing: "Who can say? All I know is that I have always felt that I was the most dedicated member of the band, including Ian [Hill, bass], as we never ventured off to play with other musicians. I have to say that I think Rob was very disappointed that his solo attempt was unsuccessful for him."

Bleeding4metal.de: I agree with you that the first solo albums Rob did were pretty eclectic and eccentric. However, I really enjoyed the album Resurrection he did in 2000. To me, that was a classic heavy metal record. What did you think of that? Did this return to style in some way pave the way for the reunion a little bit?

Downing: "Absolutely not. It was more that Rob was trying to salvage his solo attempt after failing with Fight and Two or whatever the name was. He jumped back on the Priest style after eventually realizing what the fans really wanted. (Producer / guitarist) Roy Z was a big part in putting Rob back on the right track. I remember well Rob making the statement that Priest weren't heavy enough for him. So to resort back to making records as close as he could to Priest was more than hypocritical of him."

Bleeding4metal.de: What was your absolute highlight of being in Judas Priest in general and as a concert?

Downing: "It was all a fantastic journey, but to be able to travel the world and meet so many people, every day had highlights. I am so happy to have obtained a good feeling for all of the countries that we went to. We were in Berlin when the wall came down, we were in Zagreb when the tanks rolled in, we were in New York when the power cut/blackout happened, just to mention a few amazing experiences."