In a brand new interview with “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern”, JUDAS PRIEST drummer Scott Travis was requested why the 2 studio albums singer Tim “Ripper” Owens recorded with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997’s “Jugulator” and 2001’s “Demolition” — are usually not out there on the foremost streaming providers. Travis replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I feel the report label went out of enterprise. And with [singer] Rob [Halford] being again within the band, it is sort of in all probability a fragile state of affairs so far as, ‘Hey, we wanna re-release these data.’ However I am not even positive who owns the rights [to them], to be trustworthy, like I mentioned, as a result of the report label went out enterprise. However we’re in a special second.
“Rob is the singer of JUDAS PRIEST and was, clearly, early on and is a legend in his personal proper,” Scott added. “However there have been some good songs through the Ripper years, positively some good songs in there. However to [re-]launch the entire data, I do not know.”
Again in March 2024, former JUDAS PRIEST and present KK’S PRIEST guitarist Okay.Okay. Downing was requested by Rob Rush of Lengthy Island’s 94.3 The Shark radio station in regards to the absence from the streaming platforms of the PRIEST albums with Owens. Downing mentioned on the time: “Yeah, [it’s] a bit little bit of a thriller, actually. Clearly, I now not have any management over these data, however I do not assume that it is a label factor ‘trigger labels all the time prefer to promote data, do not they? And, clearly, myself and Ripper, we’re nonetheless very happy with all the pieces that we have finished as part of our historical past and legacy, and we would very very similar to to see the data on the market within the shops as soon as extra. So, hopefully, we’ll see that come to fruition. However the excellent news is that this band KK’S PRIEST can be on the market taking part in these songs, so everyone seems to be welcome to come back down and expertise these magical occasions that we now discuss with because the ‘Ripper period’ or the ‘Ripper years.’ And, yeah, so everybody can take pleasure in these songs once more in a dwell format, which, in lots of methods, is even higher. However let’s hope the data will seem in some unspecified time in the future.”
Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 after being found when Travis was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cowl band BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST on the time was looking for a substitute for Halford, who has since rejoined the band.
In 2019, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was requested in an interview with “Rock Discuss With Mitch Lafon” if the unavailability of the Owens-era PRIEST albums was a rights-related subject or if it was a deliberate try and bury that a part of PRIEST‘s previous. Hill responded: “It is an odd one, actually, as a result of there’s some good materials on each of these albums. And Ripper is a terrific vocalist, and he did an incredible job on ‘Jugulator’ and ‘Demolition’. And why they are not on the market has obtained nothing to do with us — put it like that. Whether or not it is a contractual factor between Sony and whoever owns the copyrights to these albums, I do not know. However it’s a disgrace, as a result of there’s some good materials there. And as a band, it is nonetheless JUDAS PRIEST. I do know it wasn’t the trademark lineup, but it surely was nonetheless JUDAS PRIEST nonetheless. So, it is disappointing — if that is true that the fabric is just not out there. It truly is.”
A number of years in the past, Tim instructed “Rock Discuss With Mitch Lafon” that he was a bit miffed by the truth that followers can not discover the music that he made with PRIEST on any of the music-streaming providers or different on-line retailers. “My subject is I want to purchase the data,” he mentioned. “I might like to purchase some to even promote after I’m touring solo, however you may’t once they’re sort of gone. And that is solely the factor I discuss… In the event that they had been on the market, I might possibly purchase ’em at value and promote ’em at my live shows. That will be sort of cool. Then I might have my complete catalog.”
KK’S PRIEST options former JUDAS PRIEST members Downing and Owens, alongside guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).
Okay.Okay. shaped KK’S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his provide to rejoin the band for his or her Fiftieth-anniversary tour.
In a 2021 interview with Traditional Rock journal, Halford was requested if he has ever listened to “Demolition” and “Jugulator”. “No. I nonetheless have not,” he mentioned. “This may sound egocentric, however as a result of it isn’t me singing, I am not interested in it. I sound like a twat, however I am actually simply not . And that is no disrespect to Ripper, ‘trigger he is a buddy of mine.”
Halford went on to say that he first met Owens “when the band went via Ohio, [and Tim] got here to the present. Was it awkward? Not within the least,” he mentioned. “We gave one another a hug. He is a large PRIEST fan, and when the chance got here for me to return, he was, like, ‘Thumbs up, it is nice. I am blissful for the band, I am blissful for Rob.’ I respect his chops; he is a fantastic singer.”
Twenty years in the past, Halford defined why he was reluctant to listen to “Jugulator”. “It is simply too tough for me to hearken to the band after I’m not in it, and that is nothing to do with taking a shot at Ripper,” he mentioned. “I simply cannot hearken to it. It is simply psychological. I ought to simply put it on and hearken to the fucking factor, however then if I do, [interviewers] will say, ‘Effectively have you ever heard it?’, and I will go, ‘Yeah’, and you then’ll go, ‘What do you assume?’, and I do not need to do this. I do not need to be put in that state of affairs. I simply love all of the issues that I’ve finished with the band and I am blissful to be part of that nice legacy and that is all. You need to deal with it with respect as a result of that is what it deserves.”
In October 2020, Halford instructed “The SDR Present” that he would “completely” be open to performing materials from “Demolition” and “Jugulator” with PRIEST. “These two albums are simply as legitimate as all the pieces else within the PRIEST catalog,” he defined. “So who is aware of? That day might but come.”
A 12 months earlier, Richie Faulkner mentioned that “Hell Is Dwelling” is one among his favourite songs from the Owens period. The PRIEST guitarist, who joined the band in 2011 because the substitute for Downing, provided his opinion throughout a dwell video chat. He mentioned: “I used to be listening to the Ripper albums the opposite day, and ‘Hell Is Dwelling’ is such a fantastic monitor. It is actually heavy and the vocal melody is actually nice. I feel Ripper sings it very well. It is in all probability one among my favourite PRIEST songs of the Ripper period. ‘Hell Is Dwelling’ — I actually like that.”
