Tim Owens

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ocalsist Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens (born September 13, 1967) is an American heavy metal singer from Akron, Ohio who started his musical careed in a thrash metal band called Owens Brainicide. He has most recently performed with Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. His claim to fame, so far, is his tenure as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. His nickname "Ripper" was derived from from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the Judas Priest tribute band British Steel; it was in this band were he was discovered as the replacement for singer Rob Halford when he left the band for a time. His time with Judas Priest yielded two studio albums, as well as two live albums and a 2002 DVD release, not to mention being nominated once for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999 for the song Bullet Train.

The 2001 movie Rock Star, about a tribute band singer who is asked to join the band he has tried to imitate, was very loosely based on Owens' career. For their part, Judas Priest disavowed the movie after they were denied creative control in the screenplay and script, claiming the screen writers failed to tell the story by changing some fundamental facts starting with the fact the their former singer was not thrown out of the band, nor did a replacement come instantly. But since the movie is officially a work of fiction, there was no legal recourse.