When the news broke that Ripper Owens was to become the new singer of Iced Earth, I was floored much like everyone else. In just two albums with Judas Priest, Ripper had begun to carve his own place in the Metal world, and now the opportunity had come for him to join a band on the true forefront of Metal. The Glorious Burden, Iced Earth’s latest, has succeeded in being the album that grabs the listener from the opening seconds rather than taking repeated listen after listen to appreciate. Iced Earth, Ripper Owens, and all those involved are at the top of their game. Be prepared for 2004 is going to see world domination for Iced Earth!
KNAC.COM: So what’s up? Are you taking some time off before the album’s release?
OWENS: We did finally get some rest. It’s been a hectic promotion from photo shoot to interviews…
KNAC.COM: Is the album even out yet in Europe?
OWENS: No… nowhere. It comes out January 13th everywhere. No press or anything has gotten a copy.
KNAC.COM: I had to put in a secret password to listen to it.
OWENS: It’s kind of a neat idea, but you don’t get to really hear it as good if you don’t have a great computer system. Like me, I’ve got an all right computer but my sound card is not so hot.
KNAC.COM: I think the album is going to turn a lot of heads.
OWENS: I think it will do well. Every Iced Earth record has gotten better every time. I think this one has definitely got to be the best.
KNAC.COM: For all those who don’t know, how did your involvement with the band come about?
OWENS: It’s funny. I’ve known Jon [Schaffer, guitar] for years. I met him at a Judas Priest show that I was playing in Indianapolis on the ‘Jugulator’ tour in ’98. I was out walking around, had a hat on, was looking at the merchandise, and he saw me and came up and talked to me. We stayed in contact. He would call all the time, like “What are you doing?”…
KNAC.COM: So this started to take form quite some time ago…
OWENS: Yeah, obviously Matt [Barlow, former Iced Earth singer] was going strong, but he told me when he heard my voice, that’s what he writes for. We were really thinking like a side project. That’s what happened this past year. He called and was like, “Do you want to do a side project?” At that time, it was like March or April. With the way Priest works, it would have been two or three years before we would do anything. I was like, “Yeah, I’d definitely like to. I’d have to get an ok by my manager because of my contract.” It didn’t get that far. What happened was he called in May, “The album’s done. We were mixing it down, and I wasn’t happy at all with the vocals.” Matt wanted to leave the band in September…
KNAC.COM: He just wasn’t into it?
OWENS: He wasn’t into it. Jon wanted him to stay around. I don’t think it was bad. I also heard a finished product whereas Jon worked his ass off for it to sound the way it does.
KNAC.COM: From experience, I know in music that if you have other things on your mind, you aren’t going to perform 100%...
OWENS: Yeah, so I think that’s what happened. Jon asked if I’d be interested in the vocals. I was under a tight contract, but as a guest vocalist it would be perfectly fine. So that’s what we did. I went to his house, and I actually re-wrote the song, “Red Baron.” I wrote the lyrics and melodies...
KNAC.COM: Awesome song, by the way…
OWENS: Thank you! I think I laid the vocals for that song in about a half hour or 45 minutes. I went and did the album in 5 days. It all went well. We got along great. I’m on my way home, and I tell my wife, “Man, I sometimes wish Priest would just get Rob back and fire me because I’d never quit the band. So let me spread my wings more. That’s the only time it’s ever going to happen.” I never would have left Priest or burned any bridges. It was only two or three days afterward that they called and were like, “You know, we’ve been talking with Rob…”
KNAC.COM: Wow, talk about timing…
OWENS: It was really funny. I told them months and months ago, “Listen, get Rob back. I’m all right. Don’t not make the decision because of me. Don’t wait months and months down the road then decide when I’m sitting at home.” It was kind of a catch 22.
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"I’m really, extremely happy that [Halford & Priest are] together. Hopefully, we can do some shows together this year."
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KNAC.COM: Was getting Rob back something that was talked about for a long time?
OWENS: No, it wasn’t. It might have been internally. Mainly, when the decision came down, it happened really quick. There were probably internal talks for a little bit. I know for a fact that it probably would have taken a lot… it had to be done for them to get him back. I think Glenn probably thought if we have to do it, we’ll do it. We had a good thing. We had a good relationship. I think finally there was no other choice. Really, it’s the ultimate outcome. The whole thing was everybody could see it coming. Judas Priest’s records weren’t selling. Halford’s records weren’t selling. I think it’s great how much Iced Earth’s records are selling. To sell a few hundred thousand copies of a record… and I’m in Priest, and their albums combined with Halford’s probably aren’t selling that. I don’t know. I think they need each other and I think it’s the perfect time. I’m really, extremely happy that they’re together. Hopefully, we can do some shows together this year.
KNAC.COM: That would be great.
OWENS: Yeah, that would be awesome. I don’t know for sure if it’s going to happen. Everybody knows, and I’ve told everybody that it would be great.
KNAC.COM: I think the strength of Iced Earth is that the band has reached a point where it’s transcending genres. You can’t lump Iced Earth into the Power Metal category. You see Hardcore kids rocking Iced Earth shirts along with Old School metal-heads.
OWENS: I think Iced Earth has a wide variety of fans, and I think it’s even wider now with me coming into the band. It’s a different element. The thing with Iced Earth is the dedication to Metal. Jon always says, “Fuck trends.” Jon doesn’t even know what anybody sounds like now. He doesn’t listen to music that’s coming out. He watches the news and runs his store. I’m the same way. I’m a Heavy Metal fan and I don’t want to be anything else. I could sing other types of music. There’s no question in my mind, but that’s not me. That’s what brings people to Iced Earth, and I think with every record they’ve grown and changed a bit. They used to be a hell of a lot heavier earlier…
KNAC.COM: Definitely thrashier…
OWENS: Yeah, and the songwriting wasn’t as good. Jon will be the first to tell you. I came to like the band better as they went on. Iced Earth has gotten better in songwriting and better as a band over time.
KNAC.COM: So this thing automatically gelled?
OWENS: It did gel. We got along really well. It’s just this chemistry thing that we had. After Priest and I split, I didn’t decide to join immediately. I waited about a month or so. I had other offers. I had about 10 or 15 other offers. I had good offers. I had some offers from bands that weren’t known, but had a major label and major management. Anybody else would have jumped at that, but I had to think of what was best for now and for the future.
KNAC.COM: And also what is going to fuel you creatively?
OWENS: You know, exactly! Some singers have left Heavy Metal in the past and been able to come back because they’ve been in Metal for a long time and they just decided to try something. You can do that, but for me, I don’t think I’ve done enough to earn that right to try something else that’s kind of off the beaten path. You know what I mean? Like a Nu-Metal excursion or something… the thing is if I did it, would I be able to deal with it tomorrow? What do I love? What can I do now that I can do 10 years from now? That’s the thing with Iced Earth. I can do that. I could join a band, sell a million copies, be killer, and then the next record sell a hundred thousand, not have another record and never be seen again. That’s what I didn’t want. I’d rather sell 300,000 copies or more, and do my own thing. Iced Earth is heavy. The whole thing that I went through to… I am Heavy Metal, and I believe it… this band is a well-oiled machine that keeps getting bigger.
KNAC.COM: Not to slag what you did with Priest in the past, but listening to the new album, it sounds like you’ve found a better-fitting niche.
OWENS: The thing with this is I’m able to do some things that I couldn’t do with Priest. Obviously, Priest aren’t fans, I mean everybody really knows this, but they aren’t big fans of Iron Maiden. Everybody knows that. They like the guys, but you know... I have a tendency to have a high, soaring natural voice. I couldn’t really use it. If I sounded too much like Halford, I would be bombarded. That’s just how I sing. I have a voice that could sound like a Dio, a Halford, Bruce Dickinson… all that mixed into one voice. In Priest, I had to watch those things. I had to sing more in character. Now I can do what I want.
KNAC.COM: It comes across as more natural, too.
OWENS: The thing about it is also, 75-90% of the takes on this record were done on the first take. It was never cut up a lot. That was the big thing. They just let me go and sing. That was a big thing. I loved the records with Priest. I loved Demolition, and I loved Jugulator. I loved it because there were a lot of different characters in the voice, and a lot of different feelings. I don’t like to be too stagnant and too much of the same. I like to be versatile. I think Priest let me do that. I like to sing different all the time. This is just another way that people can hear me sing now. That’s the fun of it. I enjoy those albums. What’s funny now is I’ve talked to a lot of people who like Demolition now, but didn’t like it when it came out. That’s the funny thing. It was an album that would grow on you. The vocals in Iced Earth… the difference is Jon and Glenn are different writers. Jon writes with a lot more passion, a lot more melodic, a lot more vocalized. He writes these amazingly melodies. Glenn writes more in character. It’s fucking killer. He writes these character-like voices, which is a lot of fun. Five days, though, doing the vocals is pretty quick. I would have liked to have spent two weeks. There are some songs that I would have liked to have made better. “Valley Forge” is one of my least favorites. In truth, I would have liked to have stepped up “Red Baron” a bit. Maybe I’m pickier on that because I wrote the lyrics and the melodies. On the other hand, I can’t complain. They were still all good to me. When you spend five days on a record, you always think, “Well maybe, I should have spent six days.” There’s a lot of people that I’ve played it for, that have said it’s the best Iced Earth. It’s pretty cool to hear it.
KNAC.COM: So what happens next on the Iced Earth agenda?
OWENS: We shot two videos. We shot a video for “When the Eagle Cries” and for “The Reckoning”…
KNAC.COM: “The Reckoning” has to be one of my favorites…
OWENS: It’s a pretty cool video. “When the Eagle Cries” is really good. It makes the song better because it’s just a passionate video. It’s just Jon and a lot of extras watching TV on 9-11. It’s fucking killer. “The Reckoning” is a brutal, in-your-face video where I look ugly. I probably needed to put more make-up on. It’s a good video. It’s not as good as Jon and I would have liked, but it’s good. “The Reckoning” is cool because I worked on it at home, and I had my baby in my arms when I was singing it. I originally was going to sing that song high in my natural voice, but then all of a sudden, it’s like let’s try a falsetto. I think it’s kind of a Metal Church, Priest-style. Now whenever I put on the video, my son could be doing anything, he just hears that riff, and he starts watching the TV. He won’t watch anything, but he’ll watch the Judas Priest Live in London DVD, and then he’ll watch “The Reckoning” video.
KNAC.COM: That’s got to be better than watching Disney videos all the time!
OWENS: Oh, he watches that shit, too. I get up in the morning and put Sesame Street on, but he could give two shits, he’s six months old. Loud music, he’s turn his head, but Elmo he’s like, “Whatever.” He doesn’t do much different than I do. He wants to sit around, shit his pants, and not do anything. I mean, that’s what I do all day. But yeah, we’ve been busy as hell doing this promotion and the album coming up. The single debuted at 13 on the Billboard top 100 singles chart. It was number one in Greece on their regular pop charts. It’s done really well for something that hasn’t been pushed. I think it’s sold 60,000 copies worldwide. That’s good for a single from a Heavy Metal band. I think we’re going to take February for rehearsals and start the tour up in March. We’ll go all over the place.
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"...with Iced Earth, I wouldn’t be surprised… this next album we do should be nominated for a Grammy. 'Glorious Burden' should be nominated for a Grammy."
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KNAC.COM: Do you know who you’re going out with?
OWENS: I don’t, but I’ve heard in Europe, Primal Fear might be doing some shows and some other band I’ve never heard of. I’ve heard some other bands mentioned for the states like Children of Bodom and Doro… all kinds of shit. Anything that’s close to us… I don’t something that’s too fucking heavy, and I don’t want something that’s too siss-ified. I don’t want some kind of a sissy band, a glam band. I think Primal Fear is a great band to tour with in Europe and I would hope they would tour with us all over.
KNAC.COM: I think Blind Guardian would be a good pick.
OWENS: Blind Guardian would be good, but I think the thing about that tour is it would be like a co-headlining thing whereas I would rather have a headlining tour. I think probably if we did the states, I think Iced Earth would headline, right? In the states, Iced Earth would headline. Europe would have to be co-headlining. That would be good. There’s all kinds of good bills. It’s just a matter of who’s available right now. We want to come back and do a support thing for like Priest or Maiden. That would be cool. Other than that, we’re not going to jump out with someone else that’s not a major one like that. It has to be somebody that’s big. You usually end up losing money when you support people like that so you have to make sure it’s not a Metal act that’s going to draw the same amount as you. I hope we do all the festivals in the summer. It’s going to be a good time. I’m going to do a side project when I’m off. Maybe I can talk to Scott Ian about playing a tune. It’s all shit I’ve written. I’m going to be playing mostly with my friends around here. They don’t get to travel around the world and be a rock star, but they’re good musicians. I’m going to record a demo, get a deal, and do that on the off-time.
KNAC.COM: It’s good when the creativity flows like that.
OWENS: It is good, and I’ve been writing these songs for a while. Some of these were actually written for Priest. That’s what makes it so exciting.
KNAC.COM: Are you playing guitar, bass, and everything on the demo?
OWENS: Well, I’m going to have my friends play it, but I’ve played everything on the four-track version I wrote at my house. It was all written by me, and it’s cool to do that. I’ve never done it. This will be the first time I’ve written everything. It will be good. It will be basic Heavy Metal, chunky riffs, catchy choruses. That was another thing with Jon. He said, “You do your own thing. I’ll do Demons and Wizards and you do your own thing.” He wants me to do my own thing, too. He said that’s how you learn. It’s all good.
KNAC.COM: I’ve got to ask you… you’ve lived the Metal fans dream, playing with Priest and now Iced Earth. How does it feel?
OWENS: It’s great. I mean, just imagine getting a phone call from Judas Priest. It’s still an amazing thing. I look at my walls and see all of us, Pantera, Dio, Sum 41, Anthrax and all these pictures… Grammy certificates for Metal… It’s like a dream. I went from being nobody to being the lead singer of Judas Priest, and now jumping on board for something that’s going to truly leave its mark on Heavy Metal. There will be a time where I will go out in public, and people will say, “Oh, you’re the singer of Iced Earth.” Right now you don’t get that. It’s an underground type thing. Now with Iced Earth, I wouldn’t be surprised… this next album we do should be nominated for a Grammy. Glorious Burden should be nominated for a Grammy. When I was nominated for a Grammy with Judas Priest, I mean, Nashville Pussy was nominated. I can see Iced Earth nominated. If they got by how good the music is, how good the record is for Heavy Metal, there’s no doubt in my mind that they will get it. That’s what I feel. All of this was made possible by Judas Priest being my dream come true, and now I can continue to do it. Some people said after Judas Priest and I split, “Well, at least you got to travel the world.” I’m thinking, “What? Did I fucking die?” It’s funny because two months after that I’m in ten countries in 14 days or something like that. It’s an amazing thing. I savor it all the time, and that’s why I’m as grounded as I can be. I’m as normal as I can be. That’s because I would never give it up. I’m so thankful for it. If people out there don’t like me, and they didn’t like me with Priest, then they can suck my dick.
KNAC.COM: Hell yeah!
OWENS: That was mean, man. I shouldn’t have said that. That took me right off the ground.
KNAC.COM: Yeah, the “grounded” thing is a little shaky now.
OWENS: Yeah. [laughs] You’ve got to have a sense of humor. I’ll tell you what, I laughed so much with Judas Priest. We laughed so much, and right away that’s what I brought into Iced Earth. Jim Morris, Jon, and I sat in the studio and just laughed our asses off.
KNAC.COM: Yeah, some people in Metal take things a bit too seriously and suddenly the fun element is out the window.
OWENS: Yeah, I don’t think the old school metal guys take it too seriously. A lot of these newer bands are becoming philosophers like Disturbed. You hear them in interviews, and they’re like philosophers. You’ve got to joke around. You’ve got to come out of your shell. People like that. You can be serious when you write and when you sing, but you don’t have to be uptight when you’re not.
KNAC.COM: I think that’s one of the things that Pantera had going for them. They wrote brutal stuff, but they were always goofing off, too.
OWENS: Yeah, and they’re such nice guys.
KNAC.COM: How did you develop your voice? What kind of training did you have?
OWENS: Obviously, I grew up singing whatever my dad had laying around whether it was Elvis, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, or whatever it was. I was always in chorus or whatever in school. I took drum lessons, guitar lessons, and I just listened to music. That was the one thing I was gifted in. I sure wasn’t gifted in getting good grades. My wife is in the engineering field. I’d like to have it like that. I’d like to make $25, $30 an hour. I was born with being a good musician, and most of the ones who are born like that don’t get to do what I do. I got lucky and got a break. I grew up singing all this stuff, and I just take care of it now. I drink a lot of water and take vitamins. You’re born with it and you work at it. I worked really hard on getting my voice where it is. I tried to develop it into something different.
KNAC.COM: Well, all the hard work has paid off, man.
OWENS: It has. I don’t know what the hell I’d be doing. I’d be one of those Mexicans working at Wal-Mart. I’d be getting like 30 cents an hour.
KNAC.COM: You’d have to sing the Wal-Mart song.
OWENS: They have a Wal-Mart song?
KNAC.COM: Every morning before they open, they have a store meeting and they have to sing the Wal-Mart song.
OWENS: Well, you know what would have happened to me with the luck I have? Somebody would have discovered me singing that, and I would become a star! I would have shot right up to Broadway. I’d be in Wal-Mart commercials, and the only thing I’d be wearing would be that smiley face right over my balls! “Prices falling down!” Hell, at least if I worked at Wal-Mart, I could get discounts. That’s where I buy my Dickies. There’s your inside info. Ripper Owens buys his Heavy Metal wardrobe at Wal-Mart.
KNAC.COM: We’ll print that!
OWENS: I ain’t ashamed. I like to go in there. When you go in there, you can look at everyone, count all their teeth and still not have a mouthful! Including me because I don’t have all mine either! It’s like I’m at home. It’s funny because everything we bought for Christmas was bought at Wal-Mart. Everything’s got the Wal-Mart stamp of approval on it!
