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![\"TMD\"](\"http:\/\/i66.photobucket.com\/albums\/h259\/rsid999\/tmdcom.jpg\")
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The public storm of enthusiasm for his great vocal performance on Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen\u2019s Perpetual Flame (2008) haven\u2019t even faded yet as the American Tim \u2018Ripper\u2019 Owens\u2019s own impressive offering arrives at the stores (starting in: late May 2009), bringing the arrival of his first solo album, Play My Game, proving that he\u2019s not only an outstanding vocalist but also a highly talented and extremely experienced composer. Play My Game consists of around a dozen brand-new tracks that Owens composed himself or together with renowned friends, such as Bob Kulick, Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Mike Callahan (ex-Earshot) and John Comprix (Beyond Fear, Ringworm).<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my fans suspected that the debut by my group, Beyond Fear, had basically been a solo project, but Beyond Fear are a real band. We rehearse together, we compose as a team, and we do everything together. Play My Game is my first real solo effort on which I controlled everything, from the song writing to the final mix. This album is 100% Tim Owens.\u201d The list some of the guest musicians featured on Owens solo debut is even more spectacular than the illustrious cast of his co-composers: along with Bob Kulick and Chris Caffery and the others, he was supported by the guitarists Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake), Bruce Kulick (KISS), Michael Wilton (Queensr\u04f1che), Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Craig Goldy (Dio), Carlos Cavaza (Quite Riot), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), and Neil Zaza, bassists Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake), Billy Sheehan (ex-Mr Big, David Lee Roth), Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), Rudy Sarzo (Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), James Lomenzo (Megadeth), Tony Franklin (Blue Murder), Dennis Hayes (Beyond Fear) and drummers Simon Wright (AC\/DC, Dio), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), Ray Luzier (Korn), Bobby Jarzombek (Rob Halford), and Brett Chassen.<\/p>\n
Owens: \u201dAll these musicians are not only great artists but also really good guys and loyal friends whom I only had to call, and they all came and played on my album. I asked Michael Wilton, for example, only for a solo on \u2018To Live Again\u2019, but in the end he recorded all the guitar parts of the song. Crazy! And Bob Kulick called Billy Sheehan when I was at the studio in Los Angeles. The next day he was sitting in the rehearsal room, playing bass for me. Sometimes I just couldn\u2019t believe how smoothly it all went off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans and experts alike will love this sensational all-star line-up and may rest assured that the haunting songs will effortlessly live up to this illustrious cast of musicians: Tim \u00b4Ripper` Owens has never sounded more impressive, melodic and multi-faceted! \u201cI\u2019ve gotten better as a songwriter,\u201d Owens explains. \u201cAnd I also write songs that the fans can really get into and get their fist pounding in the air. I\u2019ve always been a great fan of the Black Sabbath line-up featuring Ronnie James Dio, and I love Judas Priest. Both bands delivered records that are straight forward and go directly to the bloodstream \u2013 which also happens to be my compositional approach.\u201d And this approach is based on the roots of heavy metal, even more than Beyond Fear\u2019s music. \u201cBeyond Fear has a sound more direct and aggressive, while Play My Game is more melodic and allows more space for my voice. From a vocal point of view, I took all the liberties I needed to make the melodies as interesting as possible.\u201d A thoroughly successful process, as the 13 songs prove impressively. Play My Game has Owens present his wide vocal range, combined with an unmistakable penchant for traditional metal the way it was perfected in the 1980s and \u201890s by the protagonists of the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are my roots, that\u2019s the music I grew up with. That\u2019s why it\u2019s only logical that my enthusiasm for Sabbath, Priest and even Soundgarden transpires on this album. What better way to pay tribute to this music than in my own songs?!\u201d And what could be better for Owens\u2019s fans but a tour to promote the new album? \u201cI want to play as many shows as possible and put together a great band featuring my guests. Whoever happens to be available could play, and I\u2019m sure the fans would love to see a top-class band with changing line-ups.\u201d HISTORY Tim \u2018Ripper\u2019 Owens is without doubt among the most important metal vocalists of the past ten years. When he succeeded Rob Halford, joining Judas Priest in May 1996, the press rubbed their eyes, surprised as well as impressed: Owens had previously been a fairly unknown quantity to international music journalists, but recorded his first Priest album, Jugulator (1997) with more aplomb than even insiders had expected. Following successful tours with the British metal legends, the strong studio recording, Demolition (2001), and the live recordings, Meltdown – 98 Live (1998) and Live In London (2003), Halford\u2019s return put an end to Owens\u2019 stint with Judas Priest. More or less immediately, he was enlisted by Jon Schaffer to team up with Iced Earth and sang on The Glorious Burdon in spring 2004.<\/p>\n
Three years later, Owens followed suit with the Iced Earth album, Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Pt.I), which succeeded the self-titled debut by his own band, Beyond Fear. Spring 2008 saw Owens move on to join Yngwie Malmsteen, debuting with a sensational vocal performance on Perpetual Flame.<\/p>\n