Tim Ripper Owens

Owens was born on September 13, 1967, in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from Kenmore High School in 1985.\n', ' Owens began his musical career as the singer for Brainicide, a thrash metal band based in his home town of Akron, Ohio. However, the band split up shortly after recording a demo tape titled "Damage Daze" in 1990. Prior to joining Judas Priest in 1996, Owens fronted a band called Winter\'s Bane, with whom he recorded an album called Heart of a Killer in 1993. He was most prominent in his role as the frontman of Judas Priest tribute band British Steel, named after the Judas Priest album, although the bands Winter\'s Bane and British Steel were actually one and the same. The band would often open their shows as Winter\'s Bane in order to introduce the audience to their original material. After finishing their original set, they would then take a break, which included a wardrobe change to emulate the subject of their tribute, Judas Priest. Winter\'s Bane sound engineer Ken Reffner would come out from behind the soundboard, adding a fifth member to the stage. Reffner can be seen playing the part of K. K. Downing with British Steel in the Judas Priest episode of VH1\'s Behind the Music.\n', ' Owens made headlines in 1996 when he went from being a fan of the metal act Judas Priest to being their lead singer, replacing Rob Halford. Despite numerous rumors that Halford would reunite with Priest, Owens recorded two studio albums with his childhood heroes, as well as two live albums and a 2002 DVD release. Owens also helped write one Judas Priest song, "What\'s My Name?", which was a bonus track on Demolition. With Judas Priest, he was nominated once for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999, with the song "Bullet Train" from the album Jugulator, but lost to Metallica\'s "Better than You".\n', '