The big story in the metal world this past year was Rob Halford
re-joining Judas Priest for a new album and tour. However, one of the key
pieces in that equation tended to get forgotten about in the big picture.
What's going to happen to the guy who Halford is replacing? To most
mainstream media, it was inconsequential, however those of us who know
metal know that while Priest was gaining a singer with legendary pipes, it
was also losing a singer who so deftly replaced him. Tim
"Ripper" Owens' story has been well documented, most notably in
the loosely-based version of his life that became the Warner Brothers'
film, ROCK STAR. While the Hollywood studio took heavy dramatic license
with Owens' story, the basic premise is the same: a band loses its lead
singer and searches for a replacement only to find it in a cover band.
Owens' was the next best thing to Halford and for 6 years, he suffered the
brunt of endless comparisons, flack from fans and was always the
odd-man-out within the band. Upon Halford's return, Judas Priest let Owens
go but he quickly found a new job behind the microphone with American
metal group, Iced Earth, who were also searching for a lead vocalist.
While Owens' vocals on the band's phenomenal new CD, THE GLORIOUS BURDEN,
were done as a favor, it quickly became apparent that the fit was right
and he became a full-time member.
Once we discussed the pulverizing winter weather that hit Ohio and got
the pleasantries out of the way, we settled in for a 35-minute chat about
the new Iced Earth album, the band's upcoming tours, his departure from
Judas Priest and, of course, Ohio sports teams.
Iced Earth has just released a fabulous new CD, THE GLORIOUS BURDEN. I've
been listening to it to non-stop since it was released on January 13th.
This is your first album with the band and is arguably the finest vocal
performance of your career and it is also the best Iced Earth CD, in my
opinion. Are you happy with the end result?
Oh yeah, it's great! I agree with you. I think it's one of my best
vocal performances and I also think it's one of the best Iced Earth
records. So does Jon. It's just been great. It worked out well and I think
the thing is, the material was great to sing over. It was good material,
period! We're excited about the record and that it's finally out and doing
well.
Can you explain the meaning of the title?
An American president said that once. He said that being the president
is "a glorious burden." I think being a musician is kind of the
same thing. It's a "glorious burden." There's great things that
come with it. There's nothing better than doing music for a living, but
it's also a pain the ass sometimes. The "burden" part comes into
play. But obviously Jon picked it because an American president said that
it was a glorious burden being the president. Being the history buff that
Jon is, it's the perfect title!
Are you a history buff yourself?
I knew about Gettysburg and some history but I wasn't as much into
history as Jon. When I got into it, I had to study up on The Red Baron
because I wrote the lyrics and the melodies to "Red Baron/Blue
Max," so I had to study that. I'm definitely into history more than I
was, but I'm a real sports fanatic myself.
What are your favorite teams?
Well I'm a Cleveland guy-I'm from Akron, Ohio-so I root for the Ohio
teams. Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Ohio State Buckeyes, Cleveland
Cavaliers…all that stuff.
Have you been to Jon's Spirit of '76 store (www.spirit-of-76.com)
yet?
Several times, yes. It's an amazing place! So is his house. You walk in
and it's like a museum. The store is amazing, though. The paintings, the
pictures, the little miniatures…it's unbelievable.
From what I've seen on the website, it looks pretty cool! I'm from
Canada, so my knowledge of American history is limited but…
The thing about his store is that he has history there from throughout
the whole world. The album is the same. Obviously there's more American
history because that's what we know most about, but there are several
other things about world history. It's just a history theme. His store is
the same way. It has German history, African history…history from
throughout the whole world. You can walk around and see several things.
You mentioned that you wrote the lyrics for "Red Baron/Blue
Max." Did you have a pre-existing interest in that subject PRIOR to
joining the band or was it something that Jon turned you on to?
It was an interest that Jon had. The song was originally called
something different but it was about The Red Baron. It wasn't even in the
chorus, as a matter of fact. I remember listening to the song and thinking
it was weird that it was called that but never mentioned. I thought it was
a good one for me to do. It definitely drew a lot of interest for me. He
said I could redo "Attila" and "Waterloo" but it just
would have taken me too long to research and study that to rewrite the
song and I think it would have done them injustice, so I just left them
alone and studied up on The Red Baron.
What are your favorite tracks from the new CD?
I
like "Hollow Man" a lot. I like "The Reckoning" a lot.
Obviously, the whole "Gettysburg" thing is just amazing.
What is "Hollow Man" about anyway? The rest of the songs
are pretty easy to figure out, but I couldn't see what that song was
referring to?
That's the only one without a history theme. It has to do with inner
demons and conquering those but it was actually written during the HORROR
SHOW time period and it just didn't make it to the record. Jon wanted to
save it and use it later.
Why isn't "Waterloo" on the North American version of the
CD?
It couldn't fit! There were so many songs that we had to make different
versions. We thought we'd leave "Greenface" off the European
version because it's about the Navy SEALS and we thought maybe they might
not want to hear about that and we'd put "Waterloo" on there
because it's a European history thing.
I had to get the 2 CD European version just so I could have
EVERYTHING!
That's actually NOT a European version! It's a special edition that has
got everything on it. The European edition doesn't have
"Star-Spangled Banner," "Greenface," or the acoustic
version of "When The Eagle Cries" on it. The one you have is the
deluxe edition. It's got EVERYTHING that was recorded and it's available
throughout the world. It does say it's a European copy, but it's not. It's
the deluxe edition. The U.S. and the European edition is a single-CD
version. That's why we had to take the other songs off, so that we could
fit "Gettysburg" on there.
I haven't even seen the single-disc version in the stores in
Vancouver. Just the deluxe edition!
No?! Well there you go!
Maybe it's sold out? I don't know why anyone would buy the single
when you can get the double, but that's just me (laughs).
I don't either but if someone doesn't want to spend the extra, what is
it, $4, to get the other one they have the choice. For $4 or $5, I'd get
the other one too!
The art, both in the booklet, as well as the cover is really
incredible. Who did the artwork?
OHHHH…I can't remember his name, but he's done some stuff for Blind
Guardian. It's amazing stuff. It's really unbelievable. I don't know if he
did everything inside it, but I know he did the cover.
I saw a video for "When The Eagle Cries," but it was
online and not on any of the video channels. Has it been released to the
TV stations yet?
It has, but we're not sure if they'll play them or not. We're hoping
that Fuse will play it, or one of the stations, but it's hard. For Fuse to
play it on Uranium, it's such a mellow song so it's hard for them to play
it. We actually shot the video for "The Reckoning" also so that
one has probably got a better shot to be on Uranium and the same with The
Headbanger's Ball. We'll just have to wait and see, but no one's playing
it yet.
We have a metal program up here called LOUD on Much Music. It's only
on for a half hour once a week but it's something anyway!
Oh, OK. Well hopefully they'll get it going too.
I had read that there is going to be a DVD released that coincides
with the CD. Is that true?
Yeah. It's going to be on Gettysburg with surround sound. It's going to
have fight scenes in it, narration...it's going to be amazing. It's a
different type of DVD but it's going to be cool.
Will it be packaged separately or as part of a special "box
set" with the new CD in it, as well?
I think it will just be a DVD on the Gettysburg thing. We might put the
video for "When The Eagle Cries" or "The Reckoning"
video on there also. We'll see.
Is there a release date in the works for it yet or are things till
in the planning stages?
Not yet, no. We're still trying to get it all done.
THE GLORIOUS BURDEN debuted on the Billboard magazine Top 200 chart
at #145. How important is that to the band that you've finally
"broken" and made it on Billboard?
It's great! I don't know if the band has ever charted before? The sales
have been better than we had hoped, so it's a great thing! Not only that,
it was on the Independent Chart at #6 or something, so it's done really
well. We're really happy with it. Hopefully it will continue on a roll.
How did you and Jon know each other before you joined the band? Was
this a meeting of circumstance or were you friends beforehand?
We met at a Judas Priest show and have been talking ever since then.
Last year we started talking about doing a side project together and it
just went from there.
When it was first made public that you were doing the vocals on THE
GLORIOUS BURDEN, it seemed almost like the next day that there were mp3s
posted with you singing the new songs. How long were you actually in the
band before those were posted?
I finished the vocals in the beginning of July. I was still in Judas
Priest when I did the vocals, so the album was done for quite a while. I
didn't join the band until August sometime. It was a thing that after I
did the vocals, and Priest and I split, I had to make a decision.
So when you did the vocals, it was just as a favor to Jon and there
were never any obligations made or plans to join Iced Earth permanently?
I just signed a "side man" contract and did it as a guest
musician.
Now that you are a full-time member, can we expect more lyrical and
musical contributions on the next record?
Yeah, definitely! That was one of the reasons I wanted to join. I'm
definitely going to write with him and get as much done as I can. Be a
team, you know?
You didn't have any writing contributions at all on either Judas
Priest studio album, did you?
On the Japanese release of DEMOLITION, I co-wrote a song called
"What's My Name," but I didn't even do much writing on that one.
I was all right with that. I laid back and let them do the writing. I knew
my time would come eventually. In fact, I wasn't even a member of Iced
Earth and Jon already was asking me to do some writing so that was pretty
cool.
What was it like working in the studio with Jon? He seems like a
pretty driven guy who knows exactly what he wants. Was perfectionism ever
an issue?
We got the vocals done in five days and we probably could have got them
done in four. Everything went good! He was easy to work with. He's
probably one of the easiest I've ever worked with. We got along great. We
struck a friendship right away.
The CD was supposed to be out back in October but got delayed. Was
that because you wanted to do some fixes or was it a label decision?
It was a label decision. We wanted it out but they wanted a little more
time to push the record. Give it some more momentum and get the ball
rolling. When you have the ex-singer of Judas Priest join the band, it's
another angle of advertising-a little more of a boost. I think they were
excited. Jon and I certainly wanted it out. It was killing us! But it's
out now, finally, so we're pretty excited.
The band begins a European tour…in March, is it?
Yeah. The middle of March we start Europe and do 21 shows in 25 days or
something ungodly like that. Then we're going to come to the States and
Canada to tour. I think we're in Vancouver in May?
May 14th.
Yeah, so you know it's a whole world tour coming on!
Children of Bodom will be one of the opening acts for the North
American tour, but who is the other band going to be?
I don't know yet. We're still trying to figure out what we're going to
do. We're just checking things out and making sure we get things right.
Do you have bands that you are considering that you can say?
No we don't.
Will you be doing anything from BURNT OFFERINGS on this tour?
I don't think so.
But you will be covering most of the other albums?
Oh yeah. We've got a bunch from SOMETHING WICKED and DARK SAGA. We're
doing one or two off HORROR SHOW. We're doing quite a few but I don't
think we have any off BURNT OFFERINGS.
What about from the new album?
We're going to try to do "Gettysburg," which will be quite
amazing. We'll do "Declaration Day," hopefully, and I think
"Red Baron" and "Hollow Man." We're not sure yet. We
haven't started rehearsals.
How will you tackle the orchestral parts of "Gettysburg?"
Will it be a recorded track?
It will be a recording. That's how everybody does it nowadays. We'll
probably have to play to a computer and put the orchestra back there or
not have it all, but you can't do that song without having it in there. We
want to have everything in there for the fight scenes.
It's crucial!
Yeah, it will be an amazing thing live.
We have some readers in Norway and Australia who were wondering if
you'll be heading there on this tour?
Uh, I don't know yet. Australia is a hard one to get to. It's so
expensive to get there and get a tour lined up. I loved Australia and
Norway! I've played there and it would be a great thing to go back, but I
don't know what's planned.
You could go to Australia and do the KISS thing with the orchestra
for "Gettysburg?" (laughs)
That would be all right!
There's another rumor going around that you might be touring with
Symphony X. Is there any truth to that?
I haven't even heard that one yet! That's a new one (laughs).
The good old Internet, huh (laughs)?
Yeah!
Will you be doing any of the big epics like "Dante's
Inferno" or "A Question of Heaven?"
I don't know because you have a time limit there and a budget, so if
we're going to do "Gettysburg," it will be hard to do the other
ones, you know?
How long is your set going to be?
An hour and a half…hour and forty-five minutes. Something like that.
My main thing is you just get up there and give them a great show. You
want to leave them wanting more! You don't want to sit there and overdo
it. That's the main thing.
I just have a couple more questions about when you first joined the
band. I know Matt Barlow had recorded all of the vocals for the album and
then decided to leave the band, but there are still some of his backing
vocals that were kept.
Yeah. We couldn't get rid of them. First off, he finished the album and
Jon asked him to leave the band. Matt didn't want to be in the band
anymore but then he decided to do the record. When Jon was mixing the
album down, he just felt that it just wasn't very good. He spent 17 days
on the vocals and Jon just felt they weren't strong enough for the album,
so he asked Matt to leave. But the background vocals that he did, he sang
with about 5 or 6 different guys, Jon being one of them. You know, you
can't pick a voice out. It was like a bunch of guys standing around, like
a choir, so that's the background vocals that he did.
How has the fan response been to your replacing Matt?
Most of it's positive. I mean, there's Matt fans out there that don't
want him to leave and might not even like me, but the majority of it is
pretty happy with this record. They still like Matt and everything but
Matt didn't want to do it anymore. I think fans have to realize that, but
there's always going to be the people that don't like it. Iced Earth is
going to go in. I mean I'm the FOURTH SINGER of Iced Earth (laughs)! Matt
was a great guy and a great singer, but things move on.
Are there any songs in particular that you're looking forward to
doing live?
"Burning Times" will be fun. "Melancholy" will be
nice and easy to sing. But I'll have to wait until I start rehearsing.
Another one of our readers wanted to know if the band has discussed
re-recording any of the older songs with you on vocals like they did when
Matt joined and recorded the DAYS OF PURGATORY CD?
No, not really. That was all Century Media stuff and now we're on SPV,
so we really haven't discussed it.
So DAYS OF PURGATORY was a label decision?
No. When you change record labels, they own those songs…those
versions of the songs. Right now, we're just thinking about the future. I
don't know what will happen in the future but right now, all we think
about is the stuff we're doing now.
During your down time in Judas Priest and before you joined Iced
Earth, you were playing in a cover band and singing songs by Disturbed,
Godsmack and a few other nu-metal acts. Are you still doing that?
No, but I wish I was actually, because it kept my throat in shape. It's
a band that's from around here. It's a bunch of my friends and I just
jumped up and sang a couple parts with them, a couple songs. They have a
singer. I just happened to join in with them. I'd sing some Sabbath,
Maiden, Pantera, Judas Priest, some Godsmack, and I sang some Chris
Cornell. It was great! It kept my voice in shape and unfortunately I
stopped doing it because I got too busy. I wish I were because I had a
good time doing it.
How is your solo project going?
It's good! As a matter of fact, I've got to get in here right now and
get some stuff done. I'm in the studio and I'm standing here watching the
money fly out of my pocket (laughs), but I'm trying to get it done. It's
going good, though. I'm trying to do the demo tape right now and get some
things done. Hopefully it will turn out well. I've got to get this demo
tape done and shop it to some labels.
What type of music is it?
It's kind of a Maiden-y, Sabbath/Priest type of a thing maybe? I don't
really know. It's my stuff. It's basic heavy metal, basic singing, in my
opinion.
Is it just some friends or local musicians you have playing on it?
Right now it is. I've written all the songs and it's just my buddies
jamming with me.
What sort of vocal training did you have growing up? Did it come
naturally?
It was something that came natural. I mean I sang in a lot of choirs,
but I was born with a voice and I take care of it and I still do take care
of it!
What sort of regimen do you keep to maintain your voice?
Well I usually sing with friends on stage. It's funny because a lot of
heavy metal players thought it was a stupid idea. I'd do it to have fun,
drink beer and keep my voice in shape, but people don't understand that.
Now that I'm off, it's not in good shape, so the fans don't quite
understand it. I just started going to the gym and working hard and trying
to get it right.
I have a few Judas Priest questions if that's all right?
Yep!
Are you still referring to yourself as "Ripper" now that
you've left Judas Priest?
I still do, yeah. It's going to be a nickname for the rest of my life.
It's a good nickname. My friends call me that, some family call me that.
It's just a nickname given to me and it will always be there. I'm proud of
it, you know?
Is there anything that you would do or not do looking back at your
time with Judas Priest?
No, I had the time of my life. We're still the best of friends.
Everything was great. The timing of the departure was great. We both
wanted to go their directions so it worked out great! I would change
nothing at all with them.
So as a fan, I guess you're pretty excited to hear the new material
then?
I am excited, you know? I'm hoping it works for them. I'm worried for
them because it's a lot of pressure. The Judas Priest records didn't sell
real well and Rob Halford's records didn't sell real well, so I'm hoping
they get together as a combination and sell real well! I'm excited for the
guys because it will be cool to see them together. It's just a lot of
pressure on all of them to have this thing work. Obviously it's a lot
easier to tour but putting records out is a hard thing.
Were you disappointed with the negative reaction that the DEMOLITION
album got?
Well, it got some bad reviews but a lot of people gave it good reviews.
Rolling Stone did. Some people gave it reviews saying that it doesn't have
melody and it does. I like the record. I thought it was great album and I
guess that's all that matters. I've read some reviews of THE GLORIOUS
BURDEN. How they could do that, I don't know but people just do it. That's
their opinion.
You can't please everybody!
No you can't.
Would you ever play with Judas Priest again?
I'd probably jam with them and play on some tour dates, but I'd never
rejoin them again. If I could do it in my off-time with Iced Earth and jam
on stage with them, I'd do it. I would never quit Iced Earth or leave Iced
Earth to do something like that.
Do you have any favorite new metal releases?
My favorite is Anthrax' WE'VE COME FOR YOU ALL, but I don't listen to
much other than that.
You don't listen to a lot of metal on your own?
Not a whole lot, no. I don't like European metal at all. I'm a big
sports fan. I listen to a lot of sports talk and that's about it. And talk
radio. I listen to a lot of talk shows, stuff like that.
Was there ever any talk of rejoining Winter's Bane after you left?
No, not at all.
That's done?
Yeah, that's done.
Do you have any memories about recording the HEART OF A KILLER
album?
Yeah it was a great time. Three weeks in Germany. It was a lot of fun.
A learning experience and a growing experience. It was a good time
definitely.
I read that Jon is working on a science fiction conspiracy album
that's based on SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. Is that going to be the
next Iced Earth album?
I don't really know. I don't think he's put a lot down yet because
we're so busy with this. It's probably something he'll work on on his
off-time in between stuff. It's just really too early to say anything yet.
We're just so happy to get this album out and get out on tour! With Jon
and his shop and this…it's just way too much stuff.
Well I think that's all I have for you, Tim! I appreciate the call.
Well, good. If you need anything else, just give the guys a call and
they'll give me a holler. Any other questions you have, let me know.
Thanks Tim.
***Thanks to Jon @ SPV for setting up the
interview***
