Make no mistakes about Tim Ripper joining for real.
This is from www.bravewords.com
I hope it can clear things up. My own honest opinion is that I'm relieved to see what they're writing :|
Everyone in the metal community was ecstatic about the announcement, as unsurprising as it was, that former Judas Priest vocalist, Tim 'Ripper' Owens, had found a home in Iced Earth, so quickly after his ouster. When BW&BK contacted Owens, simply to congratulate him on the positive change of fortune, a rather cryptic reply came: "Thanks, but to make it clear, I didn't join the band! I just did the vocals, and I really love the stuff. I really want to put my own stuff together. We shall see." That left the puzzle unsolved, as we all were led to believe this was the missing piece. From his friendly, but terse reply, it would appear there were no live dates in the offing, or future commitments. That didn't seem right.
So BW&BK went straight to the source, Jon Schaffer. Lo and behold, the comments were not another smokescreen (of which there's been entirely too much of lately). "Tim was hired to do the vocals for the record only. Two days after we finished, he lost his gig with Priest. Obviously this changes things and maybe he will be the new guy someday in the future, but right now he needs some time to figure out what he's going to do."
"There will come a time when I will decide to look for a permanent singer in the near future, if Tim can't commit. I hired Tim to do this record knowing that he had the ability to do the parts that I'd written and that was the extent of it. I would love to have Tim as the new frontman in Iced Earth, but he's got to want it or it's no good for anyone involved. He's going through a big change in his life and I will give him some time to figure out what he wants for his future career, but obviously we can't wait forever."
"Either way, Iced Earth will carry on in the same tradition as always. I feel great and am very, very optimistic for the band's future, no matter who ends up in the vocal position. I will find the right guy and maybe it is Tim; time will tell. This record has brought about a new beginning for the band and fate will take its course!"
This is from www.bravewords.com
I hope it can clear things up. My own honest opinion is that I'm relieved to see what they're writing :|
Everyone in the metal community was ecstatic about the announcement, as unsurprising as it was, that former Judas Priest vocalist, Tim 'Ripper' Owens, had found a home in Iced Earth, so quickly after his ouster. When BW&BK contacted Owens, simply to congratulate him on the positive change of fortune, a rather cryptic reply came: "Thanks, but to make it clear, I didn't join the band! I just did the vocals, and I really love the stuff. I really want to put my own stuff together. We shall see." That left the puzzle unsolved, as we all were led to believe this was the missing piece. From his friendly, but terse reply, it would appear there were no live dates in the offing, or future commitments. That didn't seem right.
So BW&BK went straight to the source, Jon Schaffer. Lo and behold, the comments were not another smokescreen (of which there's been entirely too much of lately). "Tim was hired to do the vocals for the record only. Two days after we finished, he lost his gig with Priest. Obviously this changes things and maybe he will be the new guy someday in the future, but right now he needs some time to figure out what he's going to do."
"There will come a time when I will decide to look for a permanent singer in the near future, if Tim can't commit. I hired Tim to do this record knowing that he had the ability to do the parts that I'd written and that was the extent of it. I would love to have Tim as the new frontman in Iced Earth, but he's got to want it or it's no good for anyone involved. He's going through a big change in his life and I will give him some time to figure out what he wants for his future career, but obviously we can't wait forever."
"Either way, Iced Earth will carry on in the same tradition as always. I feel great and am very, very optimistic for the band's future, no matter who ends up in the vocal position. I will find the right guy and maybe it is Tim; time will tell. This record has brought about a new beginning for the band and fate will take its course!"
