12 Greatest Duos In Hard Rock

As Judas Priest started gaining their first disciples, the idea of a heavy metal band was unheard of. Though there had been some fantastic bands with heavier sounds like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest were one of the first to really lay claim to the metal title. All of these bands seemed to have a prominent guitar presence, but why stop at one when you can have two?

While Priest was originally rounded out with KK Downing behind the fretboard, they went to another level once Glenn Tipton stepped into the picture. Not only did this give the band a fatter sound when playing live, but opened up a whole new area of playing where each guitarist could trade harmony lines with each other.

The two guitar approach also gave each player an opportunity to hone their musical identity. You may have had the precise leads of Tipton on one side, but Downing would come in like a madman as he tortured his instrument with his whammy bar. Even when chugging away on a simple riff like "Living After Midnight," Tipton and Downing turned these decent hard rock tunes into sonic behemoths onstage. Both guitarists may have left the priesthood in recent years, but their tenure in the band reshaped metal guitar playing on multiple occasions.