TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Says HAIL! Is Having Trouble Finding 'Name' Replacement For DAVID ELLEFSON
February 12, 2010Powerhouse American vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) has told D.X. Ferris of the Cleveland Scene that bassist David Ellefson's recent return to MEGADETH may force HAIL! — which also features SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser and DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy — to go on hiatus.
"It puts a wrench in things," says Owens, adding, "We're not sure for now" whether the planned HAIL! shows in March and April will go on. Says the singer, it's not simply a matter of finding someone who can play headbanger favorites from MOTÖRHEAD to METALLICA. "It's a matter of whether the promoter wants it. They [want] a name-all-star metal band. We could fill the position, but not with a name nobody knows. We talked to some people, like Frank Bello [from ANTHRAX and HELMET]. And anybody's who's a name is busy."
Regarding Ellefson's reunion with MEGADETH, Owens says the HAIL! members are just as surprised as the rest of the metal world.
"I gotta be honest," says Owens. "I'm over the moon that he's back in MEGADETH. I think it's a great thing for MEGADETH, for Ellefson, and for [Dave] Mustaine. Everybody's happy for David. It's just bad timing."
On January 27, photographer Jeremy Saffer did a photo shoot with HAIL! in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot can be viewed below.
For more information on the photo shoot, go to this location.
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