TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS' Bitten By 'Fan' During HAIL!'s Stockholm Concert

September 13, 2009

In a bizarre show of appreciation, a fan attending HAIL!'s concert last night (Saturday, September 12) in Stockholm, Sweden bit the leg of the band's frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens (also of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR; ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) while the group was on stage performing its headlining set. "It is true," Owens confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "He was singing and got so excited, he grabbed my leg and bit it. Then I kicked him and hit him in the head. Hahahaha! He was a big fan, though, so I didn't let them kick him out and it was fine... Funny... The other fans did grab him. I thought he was gonna get killed... Hahahah! But it was all good."

HAIL! is the new all-star project featuring Owens, guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA),bassist David Ellefson (F5, MEGADETH) and drummer Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY).

In other news, fan-filmed video footage of MERCYFUL FATE guitarist Hank Shermann performing two songs with HAIL! — covers of "Grinder" (JUDAS PRIEST) and "Walk" (PANTERA) — on September 7 in Copenhagen, Denmark can be viewed below (courtesy of "Metalex1982").

Commented Ellefson: "I met Hank on Ripper's solo tour when we played at Sweden Rock Festival this past summer, as they were friends from years back on JUDAS PRIEST tours. Hank is the ultimate riff master and gave us all great inspiration throughout the years with his work in MERCYFUL FATE. So, the honor was ours to have him onstage with us".

Kisser recently stated about the band's Scandinavian tour, which kicked off in Trondheim, Norway on September 1, "We intentionally booked some shows in smaller cities because we realize that SEPULTURA and JUDAS PRIEST and MEGADETH could never play in some of these places, so we wanted to make the effort to give everybody a chance to come hang out with us and enjoy the show."

Due to previous touring commitments with ALICE COOPER, regular HAIL! drummer Jimmy DeGrasso was unable to make the Scandinavian trek.

Mayorga's ties to HAIL! run deep, having played with guitarist Andreas Kisser while filling in for the entire SEPULTURA 2006 European tour and also taking part in the Roadrunner Records 25th birthday bash in December 2005 with both Kisser and HAIL! frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens.

Commented Kisser: "I've known Roy for a long time and he's great, so when this situation came up to find a sub for Jimmy, we knew Roy would fit in perfectly."

Mayorga enthusiastically concurred: "When the guys asked me about playing these shows with them, I was thrilled! It is so cool what they are doing and to be able to help them out and fill in for Jimmy is truly an honor for me."

The group's setlist for the Trondheim show was as follows:

01. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD)
02. Territory (SEPULTURA)
03. Symphony Of Destruction (MEGADETH)
04. Grinder (JUDAS PRIEST)
05. Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
06. Walk (PANTERA)
07. Balls To The Wall (ACCEPT)
08. Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH)
09. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN)
10. Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN)
11. Black Metal (VENOM) (with Andreas on vocals)
12. Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
13. Burn In Hell (JUDAS PRIEST) / Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH)
14. South Of Heaven (SLAYER)
15. Peace Sells (MEGADETH)
16. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)

Encore:

17. Refuse/Resist (SEPULTURA)
18. Whiplash (METALLICA)

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