TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Never Gets Tired Of Being Called 'Ex-JUDAS PRIEST Singer'

Ruben Mosqueda of Pivotal Rage recently conducted an interview with ICED EARTH/ex-JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Pivotal Rage: How do you feel about your ICED EARTH records as opposed to your recordings with JUDAS PRIEST or BEYOND FEAR?

Owens: Well, I'm extremely happy with the response BEYOND FEAR got; it's been consistently the highest reviewed album that I have ever been a part of. It's very gratifying as I wrote the songs, lyrics, and melodies. It's all me. I took liberties with the vocals on BEYOND FEAR. That's something that I didn't entirely do on my own in the past. ICED EARTH has allowed me to write more than any other band that I have been a part of, aside from BEYOND FEAR. I'll say this, that "Framing Armageddon" is the most vocally demanding album that I have done to date and it's top notch. I'm sure you'll agree when you hear it.

Pivotal Rage: Does it tire you that some people think of you as the former JUDAS PRIEST singer?

Owens: Never. I never get tired of being referred as a former singer of JUDAS PRIEST. I'm so proud of being part of that band. These guys were and are my idols. And I was a part of the band and its history. There were some great moments and memories of being in PRIEST. For me, my performance and my input on the song "Blood Stained" is one of my proudest. What upsets me is when I get tagged with the label of a Rob Halford clone. We have some similarities, but we are also very different. That's frustrating to me; I can hear the difference. Rob was an influence of course, but I can stand on my own.

Pivotal Rage: It seems like there are two fan bases: the Matt Barlow era fans and the ICED EARTH fans. How do you feel about being under the microscope by the Barlow fans? How do you deal with that?

Owens: I'm not too concerned about that. I'll even add that there are Tim "Ripper" Owens fans that aren't fans of ICED EARTH. I respect Matt as a vocalist. He had a different style. He has a mid-range and lower register vocal. I can do that too, but Jon has gone away from that. I think that often fans don't stop to think that Jon Schaffer wrote 90% of the melodies when Matt was in the band. I think if you read back at previous interviews with Jon, he has gone on record and said so. On "The Glorious Burden" I wrote melodies. "Red Baron/Blue Max" is a good example of this. I think there are fans that talk negatively about the change without even giving the band a chance or really taking the time to actually listen to the band's music. The band isn't that different; only the voice has changed. Jon has elected to go for a natural, powerful vocal, and the proof can be heard on "Ten Thousand Strong".

Pivotal Rage: Do you have more freedom when it comes to lyrical content or melodies in ICED EARTH as opposed to JUDAS PRIEST?

Owens: In ICED EARTH as with JUDAS PRIEST, there is one person that's steering the ship. In PRIEST that person was Glenn Tipton and in ICED EARTH it's Jon Schaffer. I have been given more opportunities to write and give input on melodies with ICED EARTH than with PRIEST. I hope my role and contribution in this band will continue to grow with each album. I'm excited for the future of ICED EARTH.

Pivotal Rage: Jon has raised the bar yet again with tackling the "Something Wicked" storyline. Tell us how "Framing Armageddon" came together.

Owens: Well, as you probably know, this is a project that is near and dear to Jon's heart. He's had been wanting to get this out since about a year or two after "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was released. He has always had a vision of releasing the story. The time had to be right. Not only was timing essential but I think Jon was also waiting on getting the right label involved. I don't think Jon felt that the band's previous label would have supported such an album or would have given it the attention that it needs. SPV is very supportive and they are completely behind "Framing Armageddon".

Read the ntire interview at this location.