Erste Iced Earth Tour Dates

Interview with Tim Owens of Iced Earth
December 11, 2003 By: Scott Alisoglu

I’ve always thought it would be cool to do an interview with Tim “Ripper” Owens; I just never thought when I finally got to do one, he’d be the singer in Iced Earth. Tim seems to have developed the fortunate habit of being in the right place at the right time when it comes to music. Everybody is quite familiar with Tim’s ascent into stardom as the replacement for the legendary Rob Halford in Judas Priest, so I won’t waste your time with that story. Ironically enough, Iced Earth main man Jon Schaffer had admired Tim’s vocal work with Priest several years before the possibility of making him a band member became a consideration. As Halford was being welcomed back into the Judas Priest camp on the dawn of their 30-year anniversary, Jon Schaffer had decided that he could no longer go on with Matt Barlow as lead singer of Iced Earth. It seemed The Glorious Burden required a fresh vocal approach, a more classic heavy metal singing style perhaps. Jon found that voice in the neighboring State of Ohio, home of Tim Owens. The rest as they say is history. Tim spoke to me about his new partnership with Jon Schaffer and Iced Earth, his vocal work on The Glorious Burden, and even a bit about his Judas Priest days.

How is life in the Iced Earth camp?
It’s good! It’s really good, really busy, and everything is going really good. I can’t complain at all right now.

So you went from playing in an Ohio band to a UK band and now back to a band based in a neighbor state, Indiana. You’ve made the rounds, man.
Yeah. I know. I’ve totally skipped New York and L.A. altogether. Not many musicians can say that.

I’m assuming all your family is still in Ohio.
Yeah, everybody is still here, so it’s a good thing.

So the fact that Iced Earth is based out of Indiana makes it easier on you.
Well, it does, but it was never too bad. I enjoyed going over to England. It never caused too much a problem, but obviously when you’re a four-and-a-half hour drive from each other, that’s a pretty big thing.

Before we get into the new album, tell me about how you snagged the Iced Earth job.
Jon and I were talking this past year about doing a side project, some music demos, listening to some stuff… Then all of a sudden out of the blue he calls me and says, you know what? Him and his manager called me. He [Jon] says, we were in the studio and I was mixing down the record and Matt’s [Barlow] vocals just didn’t cut it. [Jon says] he didn’t have what I wanted and I’m working my heart and soul into this thing, and Matt’s heart is not in it anymore. He asked if I’d be interested in doing some vocals. This was the next day after him and Matt decided to call it a day. [There were] no strings attached. I was still in Judas Priest. So I signed a contract…as a guest musician. And I did the vocals. You know, I was doing them because I thought it was a good thing. A few days after that is when Priest and I split, so then I had a big decision: should I join Iced Earth? I had a lot of offers, a lot of different things coming in, a lot of projects from a lot of other bands, and a lot of musicians. It was just a matter of: now this is already done, Jon and I get along great, but is this exactly what I want to do? So man, it took me a month and a half [to make the decision]. I could have joined the day Priest and I split. I could have said, ok I’m in Iced Earth, the album is coming out… That’s honestly how it could have been done, but I just wanted to make sure that it was definitely the right thing.
Were you a fan of the band’s material?
I was a fan of the band. I was a fan of the band because the music was cool, the guitarist’ melodies are really cool. I was a fan of how they got better with every record; they were growing as a band. Matt was a great singer. He wasn’t the style of singer that I listened to, so that probably held me back a little bit. I was more into the Halfords, the Dio's, the John Bush's… It was still great singing and I knew that, so there were always parts that I really dug, but there was also stuff that wasn’t my cup of tea. Like I said, he’s a great singer and that’s why people loved him and people loved his records. I was a fan and I definitely knew that when I heard it that my voice and Iced Earth would be just a killer combination. Just like Jon had told me when I met him in 1998 that, man, when I write songs I can think of your voice. [Jon said] ever since I heard Jugulator, I thought man, that’s the kind of voice I could use.

Really? Even back then?
Yeah, yeah. He’d call me all the time and tell me this stuff. It was kind of funny.

Now it’s several years later and you’re in the damn band!
Yeah, it’s weird.

How do you think your vocal style impacts the Iced Earth sound?
Well, I think the good thing is that I have the classic style heavy metal voice, as Matt had a classic heavy metal style voice. But I think mine is a style that is more of a Dickinson or Dio or Halford that kind of stands the test of time. There are going to be Iced Earth fans that aren’t going to like me. That’s just how it is.

Well, you’ve been in that position before.
Yeah, so it’s nothing new, but I think [my voice] can reach more people. I think it’s a little bit more passionate at times. It’s a vocal style that stands the test of time.

It definitely gives the music a bigger punch.
Yeah, I think it does. I think it captures what he’s [Jon] done I think at times on this record. I don’t know if it would have on the other ones, but on this record it does. I think with songs like “Gettysburg,” I captured things more that Jon wanted to capture. I think that’s a style that’s going to work.
Tell me about your participation in The Glorious Burden. What did it involve? Wasn’t most of it written?
Yeah, it was written. I did get to re-write the song, “The Red Barron.” I wrote the lyrics and the melodies to “The Red Barron.” I was offered to re-write three songs, but there was no way I would have time to write those and learn the record. I sat back and I studied the songs with Matt singing and I learned the melodies because that’s what Jon had written. I worked on them and tried to figured out how I was going to sing them, what voice I was going to approach it in. That was the main thing, just singing someone’s songs and learning those melodies in my own way. That’s pretty much it. I just did it. It wasn’t like Jon had to tell me what to do because I already had the melodies. I did the vocals in five days, which is pretty quick. There are a lot of vocals there. We had two weeks set aside in the studio and I got it done in five days.

The public’s first taste of “Ripper” was on The Reckoning single. Were you listening to the feedback from those people who had heard the record? Was it positive?
Yeah, everybody seems to really like it. It’s gotten great reviews from the press and people. Some people said, well it’s got mellow songs on it. Every Iced Earth record has always had a lot of slow songs. A lot of it has always went a fast song, then a slow song, a fast song and a slow song. But this is a single, so obviously there are going to be a couple… Those are the mellow songs on the whole record [The Glorious Burden]. It’s been a really good response. I’ve seen stuff on different metal webzines or whatever and they’ve all been really good. The whole thing is that the album is better than the single. That’s my opinion. We didn’t go, “here let’s release the good stuff.” The stuff on the album is even better in my opinion.

Obviously, the songs on The Glorious Burden are historically based and in many cases patriotic. Knowing that this was Jon’s concept, can you give me your thoughts on the historical themes he explored?
I’ve always been a fan of Gettysburg. I’m definitely not into history like Jon is.

I don’t think anybody is, man [Laughs].
No, this album means a lot to him and it’s really from the heart. It’s great to hear somebody do that. I definitely have learned a lot from it and I think that’s what he likes to see. I think Gettysburg is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been. I went there twice on the photo shoot. It’s nice to go there and know what the landmarks are. It’s nice to know who Chamberlain was and what he did. It’s a great place. It meant a lot more to me than if I went there and didn’t know what the hell was going on there. 50,000 men lost their lives.

On an epic song like “Gettysburg,” coming from your background and the fact that you’re singing completely different lyrics than what you’ve sung in the past, do things like vocal patterns become a big challenge?
No, Jon had already had it done, but the song is so emotional that it’s really easy to do it. It switches from being so emotional and singing about two best friends who are facing each other on the battlefield to just balls out going into something else. It’s nice to have that mellow emotional part and then a real heavy part. I like singing that kind of stuff. It’s probably my favorite stuff to sing. It’s almost like being in a musical.

So basically he already had the patterning down and then it was up to you to put your stamp on it and to put your emotional bent on it.
Yeah, and I sang a few things in a little bit different timing than he had and it worked out; he actually liked it. If I did something different and he didn’t like it, like change the melody, he would say, “no, that won’t work.” And I wouldn’t do it on purpose. It’s just that I didn’t know the melodies; I was learning.

Is “Gettysburg” your favorite track? Are there other ones that you are especially fond of?
I do like “The Reckoning,” I like “Hollowman.” I think “Gettysburg” is probably my favorite.

What did you think of SPV’s decision to offer the songs on-line for reviewers, rather than send out promos? That’s a first for me.
Yeah, you know, we would definitely rather have all the press have the CD. It was really hard. We did a promo trip in Europe and it was really hard to do it because the press just heard it when they got to the hotel. They’d listen to it on the headphones, and then they’d come up and ask me questions. It’s their decision. It’s unfortunate that people steal music, so the next thing you know it’s on-line and they just didn’t want to have that happen. It sucks for the artist.
The thing I don’t get is you’re a reviewer and you get these CDs for free with the promise of a review, and I’m trying to figure what kind of jackass goes out and immediately puts the songs on-line for downloading. I couldn’t even fathom doing something like that.
It’s amazing. What they do is they probably give them to friends and stuff. It’s a shame, it really is. It hurts because this is an album that people need to hear. People like me; I don’t have the best speakers for my computer. My computer is good, but as a matter of fact, right now I don’t even have any sound coming out. It sucks, it really does. It’s their decision and we’ll have to stick with that one.

Do you think SPV is going to be a good label for you?
They’re doing really well. I’ve worked with SPV in Judas Priest also and I really like everybody who works at SPV. I really like SPV. I’d really like to put my solo stuff out on it.

What about touring plans?
Well, we’re going to start off in the middle of March and headline in Europe, and then come back to the States and then do Mexico and South America and hopefully Japan. Then we’ll probably go back and do festivals this summer in Europe. Hopefully, we’ll get on another package; maybe do some shows with Judas Priest or something. Hook up with Priest or Maiden or something because we’re definitely the right band to do that. I think for the promoters it would be a no-brainer to have a Priest/Iced Earth or Iron Maiden show.

I know you haven’t been in the band that long, but do you feel like your role will be quite a bit different than it was in Judas Priest?
Oh yeah, it will definitely be different. I’ll be writing material, I’ll be hands-on with the decisions, and I’ll eventually grow and be a bigger part of this band. It’s a partnership. Obviously, Jon will always have the biggest stake because it’s his project, but I’m going to be a major part of the band. That’s something that’s going to be nice on the writing end of it, and that’s something that I didn’t get to do in Priest. That was fine. It takes a little more pressure off if I’m not writing. It’ll be a good time. I’m looking forward to it.

Are you getting tired of answering the Priest questions yet?
No, I like answering the Priest questions. Priest has been such a major part of my life. I never get sick of talking about Judas Priest, I never get sick of the questions. It was such a good time in my life and we’re still such good friends to this day. It’s fun to talk about it. There are never any bad feelings.

So you’re rooting for Rob Halford then.
Yeah, I’m rooting for the guy! I really hope that the album is very successful. Obviously, I hope that Iced Earth sells more [Laughs]; it would be kind of funny. I’d really like to see them do really well. I’d like to see them do their 30-year reunion and have a good time. I hope those guys all get along. I hope they have the same fun.

Looking back at your entire career so far, could you possibly have any regrets at this point in your life?
There are no regrets musically. If it weren’t for Priest, I wouldn’t be here. I never thought I would be doing this for a living. If I wouldn’t be doing this for a living, I really don’t know what the hell I would be doing. I didn’t have anything planned. I was going to wait until I was about 40 and then get a job. No, I always had jobs. I’m so lucky that Priest found me and made all this happen for me. It’s unbelievable to make a living at this. Having people think you’re a rock star is a pretty amazing thing. It’s unbelievable