JUDAS PRIEST's TIM "RIPPER" OWENS: I Would Never Say Anything Bad About ROB HALFORD

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens has commented on the interview with his predecessor, Rob Halford, that recently appeared in the French edition of Rock Hard in which Halford shot down Tim "Ripper" Owens' alleged accusations of Rob having returned to playing traditional metal for commercial reasons.

Speaking to KNAC.com, Owens had the following to say in response to Halford's outburst over the comments attributed to Ripper: "Man. See, that's just silly. Not what he said. I would have said that, too, if I was him. But, this is just silly, unbelievable stuff… I did say that he left heavy metal, that's all I said, but not with FIGHT 'cause FIGHT is heavy metal, and I'm a huge fan of FIGHT. I said that when he left and did TWO, he left heavy metal, and that's true and that's the end of that, and what I always say is, 'Thank God he's back to heavy metal…. That's exactly what I always say. I say that everybody experiments with different stuff, and there's nothing wrong with that. When Rob left JUDAS PRIEST, he didn't leave heavy metal then. I'm a fan of Rob's and this is just silly stuff. It's unbelievable that I would say any of that.

"It has to be [that my comments were taken out of context], because I always say the same exact thing. I say that Rob left heavy metal, that's what I say -- and he did, that's not a lie, there's nothing with that. Fine, he left heavy metal and I never will say anything bad about that, but I do say, 'Thank God he's back to heavy metal,' because that's what people want.

"You know, we have had things going back and forth, and I have had things taken out of context, and I've also probably put my foot in my mouth a few times also, but, this is just silly. I mean, I met Rob and he's a great guy, you know, and why would I say anything bad about him? I might have said some things in the past, but he has to realize that I read a lot of bad things that he supposedly said about me, so I used to come back and react to these things after I read them. I used to I don't anymore. You know what? It doesn't bother me, and if I was him, I would have said the same exact thing. He didn't really say anything that bad either. He said 'If Tim said,' and I didn't, so… He's got my phone number…"