Source: Blabbermouth.net
In a brand new interview with CantonRep.com, powerhouse vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) was asked if he thinks metal fans who didn’t accept him fronting JUDAS PRIEST are able to view that period more fondly now that time has passed.
“I think some,” he responded. “Some will never give it a shot. The funny thing about me is I’m a JUDAS PRIEST fan from the old school. If I had listened to ‘Jugulator’ or ‘Demolition’and saw it live, I’d have said, ‘This is pretty good.’ Some fans look at those records and go, ‘I’ll never accept it.’ And that’s cool. I understand it 100 percent. When you think of JUDAS PRIEST, you think of Rob [Halford], Glenn [Tipton], K.K. [Downing] and Ian [Hill].”
Regarding whether there is anything he would’ve done differently in his PRIEST days if he had the chance, Owens said: “I can’t really regret anything I did, because it’s allowed me to do everything I’m doing now. I probably would’ve never done the motorcycle thing, though. It wasn’t my idea. The band said, ‘Listen, it’s not a Rob thing, it’s a JUDAS PRIEST thing.’ But it was a Rob thing. I knew he was gonna come back to the band someday, and I miss being around them and touring, because we had so much fun. But I look at my schedule, the months coming up I’m just slammed with stuff. My experience in PRIEST paved the way for all of this.”
Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997’s “Jugulator” and 2001’s“Demolition” — before the band reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.