Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens (born September 13, 1967) is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band British Steel.[13]
Owens began his musical career as the singer for Brainicide, a thrash metal band based in his home town of Akron, Ohio that had also been known as Dammage, Inc. He recorded 3 demo tapes with them before the band split in 1989. Prior to joining Judas Priest in 1996, Owens fronted a band called Winter's Bane, with whom he recorded an album called Heart of a Killer in 1993. He was most prominent in his role as the frontman of Judas Priest tribute band British Steel, named after the Judas Priest album, although the bands Winter's Bane and British Steel were actually one and the same. The band would often open their shows as Winter's Bane in order to introduce the audience to their original material. After finishing their original set, they would then take a break, which included a wardrobe change to emulate the subject of their tribute, Judas Priest. Winter's Bane sound engineer Ken Reffner would come out from behind the soundboard, adding a fifth member to the stage. Reffner can be seen playing the part of K. K. Downing with British Steel in the Judas Priest episode of VH1's Behind the Music.
Judas Priest
Owens (center) with Judas Priest in 2002
Owens made headlines in 1996 when he went from being a fan of the English heavy metal band Judas Priest to being their lead singer, replacing Rob Halford. Despite numerous rumors that Halford would reunite with Priest, Owens recorded two studio albums with his childhood heroes, as well as two live albums and a 2002 DVD release. Owens also helped write one Judas Priest song, "What's My Name?", which was a bonus track on Demolition. With Judas Priest, he was nominated once for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999, with the song "Bullet Train" from the album Jugulator, but lost to Metallica's "Better than You".
Rock Star
The movie Rock Star (2001), about a tribute band singer who is asked to join the band he has tried to imitate, was loosely based on Owens' career. Judas Priest disavowed the movie after they were denied creative control in the screenplay and script.[17] For example, in Rock Star the band throws out their original singer while on tour and replaces him a few days later; while in real life, Rob Halford was not thrown out, but left Judas Priest, four years before he was replaced. Owens said of the movie, "They fabricated things and decided to pull away from my story and make their own because I guess mine was too normal. There's no telling what they put in there. If I could sue, I would."[17]
Iced Earth and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force
Judas Priest reunited with Rob Halford in 2003. Owens seized opportunity when, that same year, vocalist Matt Barlow quit Iced Earth. Iced Earth's first album with Owens, The Glorious Burden, came out in early 2004. While singing with Judas Priest, Owens had toured with Iced Earth (and Anthrax) in 2001, but the tour was cut short. In 2006, Owens also reunited with his former Winter's Bane colleague Dennis Hayes in a band called Beyond Fear. The self-titled debut album from his new band was released in May of that year. Hayes would join Iced Earth as well in 2007 after bassist James "Bo" Wallace left due to family health issues.
Owens' stay in Iced Earth was short, however, as on December 11, 2007, guitarist Jon Schaffer announced that Owens would be leaving the band; Matt Barlow had been invited to return to the line-up after heavy feedback from fans.[18]
On February 26, 2008, it was announced that Owens would be the new lead singer for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, replacing Doogie White. Owens quit Malmsteen's band in 2012, saying there were conflicts in show dates between his solo band and Yngwie's touring, but that he would be open to the possibility of working with him again.[19]
In May 2009, Owens released his first solo album, Play My Game. The album featured many prominent metal musicians.[20] A European tour followed in 2010, accompanied by musicians Anders Buaas (guitar), Jon Vegard Naess (guitar), Are Gogstad (bass), and Henrik "Rick" Hagan (drums).
Charred Walls of the Damned, HAIL! and Dio Disciples
Owens in 2009
Owens now fronts a new project called Charred Walls of the Damned, a band founded in 2009 by Richard Christy, radio personality on The Howard Stern Show and former drummer for Iced Earth and Death. The origin of the band's name was explained on May 20, 2009. It derives from a series of radio prank calls Christy made to a Christian radio station. In response to the pranks they received, the host described how he prays for them, thus "saving their soul to be saved by God's grace...not in the devil's hell where you'd be putting your nails in the charred walls of the damned". The band features Christy on drums and Owens on vocals, along with Steve Di Giorgio (bass guitar) and Jason Suecof (lead guitar). The band's debut self-titled album was released on February 2, 2010 through Metal Blade Records.
Owens is also a member of a cover band called HAIL!. HAIL!'s rotating cast of members include Owens, Andreas Kisser, Paul Bostaph, David Ellefson, Mike Portnoy, Jimmy DeGrasso, and Roy Mayorga. Owens, DeGrasso, Ellefson, and Kisser formed the band in late 2008.[21] They toured Europe in 2009, June 2010, and came together to perform at a benefit for Deftones bassist Chi Cheng in 2010. The lineup consisted of Owens, Portnoy, Mark Anthony of the Letter Black, Phil Demmel of Machine Head, and Ellefson. HAIL! is on their second European tour with the lineup Andreas Kisser, Owens, Paul Bostaph, and James LoMenzo.[22][23] Due to the death of previously announced bassist Paul Gray, LoMenzo agreed on one day's notice to fly to Portugal for the Rock in Rio festival where HAIL! was scheduled to perform on May 30, 2010.
In early 2011, Owens also joined Dio Disciples, which features former Dio members.[24]
Owens owned "Ripper's Rock House", a sports eatery, restaurant and entertainment venue, in Akron, Ohio.[26][27] In August 2015, Bar Rescue filmed and transformed the bar into "Tim Owens' Traveler's Tavern".[28] The venue closed permanently in September 2016.[29]
He was also the owner of "Ripper Owens Tap House", the predecessor to "Ripper's Rock House", in Akron's Firestone Park neighborhood.[citation needed]
In 2015, Owens recorded music for the fictional band Witches' Lips for the heavy metal horror film Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre: The Movie. He recorded and wrote the lyrics with guitarist Marzi Montazeri of Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals.[citation needed]
Ted Kirkpatrick, drummer and songwriter for the Christian metal band Tourniquet, announced on July 25, 2018, that Owens would be doing lead vocals for all the songs (except the title track "Gazing at Medusa") on their next album. The album, Gazing at Medusa, was released on October 16, 2018.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Owens was part of a Grunge themed tribute band called Seattle, playing covers of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and other Grunge bands of the era.
In December 2022, Owens released a solo album under the name 'Ripper', titled Return to Death Row.[30]
2024, Owens once again sang on Leviathan Project's album, MCMLXXXII which also featured Vinny Appice on drums, Bobby Koelble(Death) on Lead Guitar and Tommy Kay(Britny Fox) on guitar. .[31]
Discography
Owens performing in 2016
With Brainicide
(Compilation) Heavy Artillery k7 (1990) (Song: "Payment in Blood")
Barry Kuzay - The Movers of the World (2021) - lead vocals on "Wyatt's Torch"
Offensive - Awenasa (2021) - lead vocals on "Blind Ambition"
Leviathan Project - Sound of Galaxies (2021)
Engineered Society Project - Digital Soldiers (2021)
My Own Maker - The Save Word (2021)
Renegade Angel - Damnation (2021) lead and backing vocals on "Damnation"
Pyramid - Validity (2021)
Nergard - Eternal White (2021) - guest vocals on "Now Barely Three"
Ashes of Ares - Emperors And Fools (2022) - guest vocals on "Monster's Lament"
Brutality in Buddha - Crank it up from 9 to 11 (2021) – vocals sung by Ted Wray and Tim Ripper Owens
Thunder Thunder - The Final Vesper (2023)
Steel Project - Beast Vision (single, 2023)
Esprit D'Air - The Trooper (single, 2023) - duet vocals sung by Esprit D'Air and Tim "Ripper" Owens
Related Research Articles
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ; born 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning over 40 years. In August 2009, Time magazine named Malmsteen No. 9 on its list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all-time.
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. is an English guitarist and a founding member of the heavy metal bands Judas Priest and KK's Priest.
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, main songwriter and bandleader Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released twelve studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and eleven music videos.
The Glorious Burden is the seventh studio album by the American power metal band Iced Earth. It is a concept album, which explores various moments in military history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, and Waterloo. It also pays tribute to world events such as World War I, the World Trade Center attacks and the ravages of Attila the Hun. See the track list for links to the historical context of the songs.
Beyond Fear is an American heavy metal band started in March, 2005 by Tim "Ripper" Owens after he left Judas Priest as a side-project, apart from his former work with Iced Earth.
Roy Z Ramirez is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Bruce Dickinson, Halford, and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a Latin-influenced hard rock band. Roy also helped write and produce the band Life After Death in 1996.
Rock Star is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek from a script by John Stockwell, and starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. It tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer who ascends to the position of lead vocalist in his favorite band.
Thomas "Craig" Goldy is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria.
Winters Bane are a heavy/power metal band formed in 1990. They have gone through extensive line-up changes throughout their history with only guitarist and sometime-vocalist Lou St. Paul featuring as an ever-present.
Mark Robert Boals is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. He is currently a member of the band Foundry.
Perpetual Flame is the sixteenth studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and his group Rising Force, released on 13 October 2008 in Europe and on 14 October 2008 in the US and Canada. It was his first album since 2005's Unleash the Fury and the first with ex-Judas Priest and Iced Earth singer Tim "Ripper" Owens. The album also features famed keyboardist Derek Sherinian on keyboards.
Bjorn Englen is the bass player for Soul Sign and Dio Returns / Dio Disciples. Bjorn has also played bass for Yngwie Malmsteen, Quiet Riot, MSG/Survivor vocalist Robin McAuley, Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth and Tony MacAlpine.
Relentless is the eighteenth studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 23 November 2010 through his independent label Rising Force Records. It is his second album with ex-Judas Priest and ex-Iced Earth singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, after 2008's Perpetual Flame.
By Invitation Only is a tribute album by the Michael Schenker Group released in 2011. This album, made up of songs that influenced the career of Michael Schenker, includes guest performances from members of various bands, including Whitesnake, Blue Öyster Cult, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Iron Maiden. It's a re-release of the Heavy Hitters album from 2005, with one extra song.
Hail! is a heavy metal supergroup / cover band, formed in 2009. The band originally included Slipknot bassist Paul Gray until his sudden death in 2010.
Spirits of Fire is an American/Italian supergroup consisting of Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery, Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio, and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder. Tim "Ripper" Owens formerly of Judas Priest and Iced Earth was a founding member of the band before leaving in 2021. The identity of Owens' replacement was kept secret while the band was recording their second album. The new singer Fabio Lione was announced 8th december 2021 with their second album Embrace The Unknown that will released on 28 February 2022 via Frontiers Records.
KK's Priest are an English-American heavy metal band, formed by former Judas Priest guitarist, K. K. Downing in 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
