Interview by Kris Peters
Tim 'Ripper' Owens name and voice is legendary in the metal scene.
Not only has he sung for Judas Priest and KK's Priest among others, but he has also forged a successful solo career and travelled around the world performing songs from bands that have played a large part in his career as a musician.
One of those was Metal Gods, a band that paid tribute to Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Dio in which Owens performed with ex AC/DC and Dio drummer Simon Wright. Metal Gods toured Australia for the first time late last year to rave reviews, leaving everyone who went to one of the shows in awe at the abundance of talent Owens possesses.
Now, just six months later, Owens returns Down Under for two shows only - at the Crowbar in Sydney on May 11 and at The Bendigo Hotel in Melbourne on May 12.
This time he will team up with members from Frankie's World Famous House Band, Harlott and Bad Moon Born to perform an even greater variety of songs from bands that have shaped metal music in general.
He is treating these two shows as a tester of sorts towards booking a national tour next year, with the onus on Sydney and Melbourne proving there is a demand for more of his solo and own material.
Owens joined HEAVY this morning from Brazil to tell us more. We start by asking if he has even unpacked after his last visit here not so long ago.
"I've unpacked and packed and unpacked and packed," he laughed. "It's just been non-stop. I'm doing this now from South America in Brazil. I was in England working on the new videos for KK's Priest, I flew home from England after doing a week there and was home one day then I flew here and then I'm going home for one day and flying there. This was last minute I decided to come there to Australia and we're gonna test the waters and do a couple of shows - it's like a test shows - and see if we can book a full tour in the future."
Last time he was out here Owens was touring with Simon Wright, but this time around he is coming out by himself.
"It's just me playing my songs," he affirmed. "I called Joel to see if he could get some guys together and he was all for it. He got his brother and some friends. It's gonna be a blast. The setlist is great, we're doing some songs I haven't done in a while like Diamonds And Rust and we're doing something from my new solo EP, so it's a nice set list."
In the full interview Ripper talks more about what songs to expect, the response to his latest album, finding the time to write new material, how these two shows will be different from what Australian audiences saw last time, assembling a band to play the songs and learning them in a short space of time, how he approaches singing songs from iconic bands, future touring plans and more.