It's heartening to know that Tim Owens is still credited as "The Ripper" on this, his latest project. While the success of his tenure as the-guy-who-isn't Rob Halford in JUDAS PRIEST can be argued, the validity of his voice cannot. He carried the torch of the mighty PRIEST through the depressing times of Halford's confused, ill-fated Trent Reznor makeover, before his eventual and inevitable rebirth as THE metal god. That's why it's good to see that The Ripper is sill holding his head high and trying to make a go of it, first with a stint in ICED EARTH, and now with BEYOND FEAR.

On this record, the Ripper's Halford-isms are not as obvious, and while the influence is still undeniable, he does seem to be making steps to singing with a voice all his own. Other than that, BEYOND FEAR comes off like another attempt to recreate "Painkiller" era PRIEST. The musical performances on here are all well above average, and Owens screams his balls off throughout, but sadly the same problems that marred Ripper's two studio records with Priest are the same issues that keep BEYOND FEAR from really taking off. The major issue with these guys is the songwriting. There is nothing on here particularly memorable; nothing to grab you, demanding all of your attention and the promise of multiple listenings. Some tasty dual guitar harmonies in the tracks "Scream Machine" and "Telling Lies" are nice, but they can hardly save the overall generic quality of the songs. "I Don't Need This" has a great galloping, up-tempo segue middle section which is over before it gets a chance to catch fire. This is a collection of misfires and stillborn moments of coolness that aren't given the opportunity to reach maturity. Only the most die hard metalers out there will find something on this album to pique their interest.

There is no question that the Ripper has talent and a great voice for metal (even if it is someone else's...) Based on BEYOND FEAR, and what little I heard of his recent outing with ICED EARTH, it seems that Owens just needs to find the right project/collaborators to fulfill his potential in a post-PRIEST world. Good luck to him, but for now, it's back to the drawing board.

- Broadbent

OFFICIAL SITE: www.timripperowens.com

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.