Former JUDAS PRIEST Singer Says BEYOND FEAR Side-Project Is 'Not Rocket Science'

Former JUDAS PRIEST and current ICED EARTH frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens recently spoke to the Akron Beacon Journal about his new side-project BEYOND FEAR, in which he is joined by guitarist John Comprix (13 FACES, SPAWN) and drummer Eric Elkins (ALL YOU FEAR).

So what does the new band sound like?

"I think it's hard to describe," Owens said of his music, then went on to describe it pretty clearly.

"It's not dated-sounding music and it's not too modern-sounding. It's nicely in between. Fans of all hard rock styles can like it,'' he said.

"I didn't change my vocal styles; the modernism comes from the guitar riffs, but it's a medium-paced verse-chorus-verse-driven, chugging guitar and melody. The stuff I grew up listening to, you could sing a guitar solo or the main rhythm part, which is a lot harder to do nowadays."

Owens said some of the songs were written during his time in JUDAS PRIEST with the obvious hope of getting them on a JP record. That didn't happen, so now he has a chunk of material from which to draw, but basically he wants it to rock.

"It's not rocket science. It's basic hard rock music — that's the kind I always liked and that's what came out.''

Owens said his management is already talking with a few reps from big summer European festivals (they are very serious about their metal over there),including one in Spain. Owens said he hopes to find time to record a shoppable demo soon and a full-length album by the end of the year, but added the attention the nascent band is getting is encouraging. Songtitles set to appear on the group's upcoming debut album include "I Don't Need This", "And You Will Die", "It Is Me", "Telling Lies" and "The Faith".