INTERVIEW: Ripper Owens opens up about KK Priest’s new album
Photo: KK’s Priest features K.K. Downing, second from left, and lead vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens, center. Photo courtesy of George Chin / Provided by FTW Media with permission.
Tim “Ripper” Owens is the lead vocalist of KK’s Priest, a rocking new band with real heavy metal credibility. Owens is joined by former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, along with Tony Newton, AJ Mills and Sean Elg. Their new album, Sermons of the Sinner, is out now and features many fast-paced, hell-drenched songs, including “Return of the Sentinel.”
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Owens said recently about the album project. “It’s K.K. Downing. That’s what’s the best part is. It’s not K.K. reinventing the wheel or trying to do something else. He’s writing exactly how he’s written his career and what he loves to write like. It’s kind of cool.”
Later in the summer, Owens, who also sings solo and with the band the Three Tremors, was hopeful that the band would be able to hit the road in 2021, but he was simultaneously doubtful because of packed schedules.
“With it being a new record and a new band, it’s hard to do that,” Owens said of touring. “If you’re Judas Priest or Iron Maiden or Megadeth or whoever it is, you’re going to be able to do it way in advance, but with the agents and promoters, it’s hard to book something when you don’t know what it is originally. We were going to come out of the box and start touring right away, doing some festivals in 2020, but now it’s just too late to do that. So most of the festivals … I think it’s going to be next year. I can tour solo. I can do Three Tremors tours. I can do a lot of these little things coming up because they’re just smaller shows, and they’re easier to book last minute. But KK’s Priest, it has to be done right, whether it’s headlining with some other band or … bigger stages. Ken is not going on something other than a big stage.”
When Downing approached Owens about the new band, the singer was almost an immediate yes. He said it didn’t take much convincing because he and Downing are good friends. There seems to be a level of trust between the two performers — a trust that dates back to the days when Owens was the lead singer of Judas Priest (this was the time when Rob Halford stepped away from the band).
“When I’ve been touring solo probably the last 5-10 years, whatever it’s been, going through the UK, he’s always come out,” Owens said of Downing’s friendship. “Whether it’s two hours away, he’d always come out. He’d always have AJ, the guitar player, with him because AJ’s band he was working with, and Ken’s girlfriend would be with him. We’ve always talked. The only difference is I’m pretty busy. I could tour the whole year solo. I could tour the whole year with the Three Tremors, so there’s things that I can be doing. It’s not like he would call and just say, ‘Are you available?’ I would have to make myself available for it. I wasn’t available. I had stuff going on last summer, so I had to make myself available. … I really wanted to do it. I like the music. Ken and I are great friends, so I had to make myself available to do it.”
For Owens, he was ready to commit as long as there was work for him. “I’ve got to pay bills like everybody else,” he said. “It was a no-brainer for me. I love the music. I love the guys in the band, and it’s a no-brainer to be available for this.”
Owens is now in his mid-50s and can still hold his own as a powerful vocalist, but he recognizes as he grows older that some changes are occurring to his instrument. He needs to be mindful of his body and prepare his voice for gigging around the world.
“Now that I’m in my mid-50s, it’s not as easy as it was,” he said. “I’m lucky I have a voice. I have a lot more characters to my voice now than I did 20 years ago, but I don’t know if all those characters are good ones because there are some things happening that shouldn’t be. But, you know, I take care of it, but when you get anybody that sings, especially my style or Rob’s style, with somebody who has got so many versatilities in their voice, it’s hard to keep all those things. It’s like a muscle. It just changes. Things can change, and you can’t do anything about it. You have to keep it good and do your best.”
Owens added: “Ronnie Dio was great. He would talk to the people walking up to the stage. He’d be having a beer, just talking away, entertaining, and he’d go on stage and sound great. Whereas I can’t talk. There’s no beer I’m drinking before the show. I’m doing everything I can. … I’m a better singer now. I have a lot more characters, a lot more feel. I like the raspiness that’s in it now, but you’ve got to be careful. You get older, you’ve got to watch it.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
KK Priest’s new album is called Sermons of the Sinner. It’s now available. Click here for more information.
