In a new interview with Eska Rock, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner shared his thoughts on the band’s two albums with Tim Ripper Owens.
Faulkner, mentioning the band’s 1997’s ‘Jugulator’ and 2001’s ‘Demolition’ albums, the two albums that Owens contributed to, revealed that he ‘digs’ them. Sharing his favorite tracks from both albums, the rocker said:
“I dig those records. Like all records, there are some tracks that you like more than others, as you go through those two records. But I could see, as a fan, I could understand what they were doing at that time. There’s some great tracks on there — ‘Hell Is Home’, ‘Machine Man’. There’s some great songs on there, ‘Cathedral Spires’ is a fan favorite. So, yeah, I dig ’em. They’re different — even down to the logo; the logo was different. I think they knew they were doing something different.”
K.K. Downing Believes Owens Is Facing Injustice
Owens joined Judas Priest in 1996 after catching the band’s attention through a videotape of his performance with the cover band British Steel, given to them by the drummer. At that time, Judas Priest was in search of a new vocalist to replace Rob Halford, who has since reunited with the band.
During his time with Judas Priest, Owens contributed to two albums, neither of which are accessible on major streaming platforms today. Addressing the issue, K.K. Downing stated his thoughts in an earlier interview:
“It just seems like they’ve — the desire is to want to erase those songs, which is extremely unfair, really, because it’s a part of my musical history, Tim’s musical history, and [it’s] very, very sad. Not to make those albums available to the fans is just crazy, really.”
In addition to this, Owens also did not get a mention for the band’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. Priest was among the inductees of the 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where they performed ‘Breaking The Law.’ Despite his contributions to the band, Owens was excluded.
You can see the interview below.
