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.
In 2020, Owens was announced as the frontman for the band KK's Priest, which also featured former Judas Priest members KK Downing and Les Binks.
Early life
Owens was born on September 13, 1967, in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from Kenmore High School in 1985.
Career
Brainicide and Winter's Bane/British Steel
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 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. 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."
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.
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.
In May 2009, Owens released his first solo album, Play My Game. The album featured many prominent metal musicians. A European tour followed in 2010, accompanied by musicians Anders Buaas (guitar), Jon Vegard Naess (guitar), Are Gogstad (bass), and Henrik "Rick" Hagan (drums).