Ripper

The public storm of enthusiasm for his great vocal performance on Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen’s Perpetual Flame (2008) haven’t even faded yet as the American Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens’s own impressive offering arrives at the stores: late May 2009 will see the arrival of his first solo album, Play My Game, proving that he’s 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). “A 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.”

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, Ripper was supported by countless musicians happy to make an appearance on the album. Owens: ”All 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 ‘To Live Again’, 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’t believe how smoothly it all went off.”

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 ´Ripper` Owens has never sounded more impressive, melodic and multi-faceted! “I’ve gotten better as a songwriter,” Owens explains. “And I also write songs that the fans can really get into and get their fist pounding in the air. I’ve 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 – which also happens to be my compositional approach.”