ICED EARTH ... Parting Ways With TIM "RIPPER"

ICED EARTH Founder On Parting Ways With TIM "RIPPER" OWENS - "The Change Would Have Taken Place Regardless Of Whether MATT BARLOW Would Have Come Back"




ICED EARTH guitarist/founder Jon Schaffer is featured in a new interview with www.UGO.com . An excerpt appears below:

www.UGO.com : To set the record straight, why did Ripper (Owens) leave the band?

Schaffer: "Well, he left the band because I wanted him to leave the band. The change would have taken place regardless of whether Matt (Barlow) would have come back - it just probably would have happened after Crucible. From a technical standpoint, Tim is the most amazing singer I've ever worked with - he can do anything humanly possible. But from a spiritual standpoint, Iced Earth needs a true believer in that position. Everybody that's ever been in this band - y'know, Tim was the fourth singer - has been a true believer and you feel it on stage. And that's the one thing that was lacking. Tim did a great job - his pitches were amazing live, he was always in tune, and he always did his job. But it was a spiritual thing. I think it was because he really was more interested in doing his solo career, and going in that direction - it was just obvious. So had I not had the discussion with Matt when it happened, there would have definitely been a change after Crucible. It just so happened that fate intervened, and this is the way it went down. But I wish Tim all the best - he's an amazingly talented guy, and he deserves to go a lot farther in his career. I don't think that's going to happen with Yngwie (Malmsteen), but I think it's going to happen if he really digs inside himself, and finds what it is that he's looking for - in a solo-type situation, and goes for it."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Un bien bel "hommage" à OWENS qui est pour moi le chanteur de ICED EARTH.