Ripper Owens...have you ever heard of him? If you love classic metal then you know him already. Tim is a home town hero here in Akron, Ohio and my favorite male vocalist of all time. He was the lead singer to Judas Priest for a few years after being in a Judas Priest cover band...they made a movie loosely based on it called "Rock Star." Tim is not only a phenomonal singer, he's a hell of a nice guy. I met him at a Sickness show and he took time to really talk to me, I was impressed. The first time my wife met him he gave her an autographed picture for me, when she told him what a big Judas Priest fan I am. This guy is all talent and all class.

In your head, if you could combine the voices of Rob Halford (Judas Priest) , Chris Cornell (Sound Garden), Phill Anselmo (Pantera), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Sully (God Smack)--then you would have Tim's Voice. He has the quinisential sound of metal vocalists of both yesterday and today. Since leaving Judas Priest, Tim has already finished the vocals for Iced Earth's next album...however he hasn't signed to be a member. I'm going to BLOG a recent article about him here (perhaps more in the future):

"Former Judas Priest Singer: It's Time For Me To Do My Own Thing

Source: Blabbermouth.net

Despite having been bumped from the JUDAS PRIEST lineup last month after it was announced that Rob Halford had rejoined the band, Tim "Ripper" Owens says that he is not a bitter man. "I'd known about it for weeks," he told the Canton Repository in an interview published Friday (August 8). "I pushed them to get (Halford) back. I'm a JUDAS PRIEST fan, so I'm glad they can get along and do this. People have been calling up like there's been a death in the family but I'm actually happy with the decision. My run was done." As a member of JUDAS PRIEST, "you don't make any money when you're not on the road," Owens said. "Taking a year or two off between albums is a long time. I've got a family to support." Ripper says that he remains friendly with his JUDAS PRIEST bandmates, and he hopes to take his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, to visit them at their homes in England. "I'm definitely happy," said Owens' wife, Jeannie. "Tim is 35. It's time for him to do his own thing." Tim says that his "phone has been ringing nonstop" since officially departing JUDAS PRIEST. He has recorded all the vocals for ICED EARTH's upcoming CD, "The Glorious Burden", and he has also been writing his own songs, which he has previously described as GODSMACK-meets-PANTERA-meets-PRIEST: "[It's] very basic verse-chorus-verse stuff with catchy choruses," he said. He plans to record a demo using local Ohio musicians and begin the label-shopping procedure. In addition, he has been appearing as a frequent guest vocalist with a band called THE SICKNESS that regularly plays in the Ohio area. Owens sings about half the songs, including numbers by GODSMACK ("I Stand Alone"), AUDIOSLAVE ("Cochise") and the FOO FIGHTERS ("All My Life"), plus the Peter Green-penned (FLEETWOOD MAC) song regularly performed by JUDAS PRIEST, "Green Manalishi". THE SICKNESS, whose lead vocalist is Tim Zuver, also perform songs by DISTURBED, LINKIN PARK and KORN. "They call it 'nu metal,' which I can't really figure out," Owens confesses. "It's all hard rock to me." Owens says that his days with THE SICKNESS are numbered. "It's a really fun thing to do. I'm really good friends with those guys. But it's going to end for me pretty soon," he said. "I'm trying to get things going for myself now and it doesn't look so good that I'm singing covers again." Tim performed last night (August 8) with the band SEATTLE (covering grunge-era music by NIRVANA, PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS) at Sadie Rene's in North Canton, Ohio, and he has three upcoming Ohio shows with THE SICKNESS: Aug. 29 at Sadie Rene's, Sept. 6 at the Carriage House in Louisville, and Sept. 19 at Melini's Pub in Canton. (Dan KaneThe Repository)"

**NOW having said all that, let me just get in a plug to purchase music from local talents as well as whatever type of music you like. Just as important, go out to see them perform. I don't need to do an expository on why...just do it or maybe you like corporate rock and bubble gum music? I mean Britney is nice to look at, at least...:)***