TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Says BEYOND FEAR Is A 'Serious Band', Not A One-Time Project

Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with former JUDAS PRIEST and current ICED EARTH/BEYOND FEAR vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

About.com: Do you have any specific expectations for the [BEYOND FEAR] album?

Tim: "No. I want it to do well. I want people to give it a chance. I don't know what it can do, what it's going to sell. I just want people to give it a chance. It would really be unfortunate if it gets really good reviews and it's great and it doesn't sit on a shelf. I think that could be a problem. Sometimes it's hard to find it. I had trouble finding it myself when it came out. You can't sell records that aren't there. I think if people get behind this record it has a chance to do decently. It's not going to sell huge. It's a first record and it's heavy metal. My goals are to just keep building this thing up. I want to build it up to an ICED EARTH, and then make ICED EARTH even bigger.

About.com: So you plan for BEYOND FEAR to be an ongoing project, not just a one-time deal?

Tim: "I wouldn't do it if it was a one-shot deal, I'd do a solo thing. This is definitely a band, and I'm trying to get that across to everybody. This is a serious band. Obviously ICED EARTH is the main thing, but we've already done some touring for BEYOND FEAR and it's going to keep growing.

About.com: How was the response when BEYOND FEAR recently opened for ANTHRAX in Europe?

Tim: "It was great. It was funny, because our CD wasn't even out yet. It was an awesome crowd response. I couldn't believe it. That's what was nice about it, to get it going without an album. If people like it live they're going to really like the record. It was a good time, a great tour. We're getting ready to go back there in June.

About.com: What do you think about ANTHRAX having Joey Belladonna back in the band?

Tim: "They were awesome. I love the classic lineup. I was a fan of John Bush as well, but Joey sounded great. His vocals were on. It's probably one of the best I've heard. He's awesome.

About.com: Does having a family make it more difficult for you to go out on the road?

Tim: "It makes it really hard. I try to tell myself that this is what I do. You have to sacrifice. You have kids, you know what you do. It's something that's not going to change. It's my job, my life. I could be doing something else and have kids and be gone even more. Imagine if you were a truck driver and gone all the time. I am home a lot with them, but when I go it's for fairly long stints, three weeks at a time. But I'm home a lot as well.

About.com: Who do you think are the most overrated and underrated bands?

Tim: "I think the most underrated was my era in JUDAS PRIEST. I think for me overrated would be GUNS N' ROSES."

Read the entire interview at About.com.