During a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked if he has listened to Demolition and Jugulator, the two albums band made with singer Tim “Ripper” Owens during a period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Halford was out of PRIEST.
“No. I still haven’t,” Halford responded. “This might sound selfish, but because it’s not me singing, I’m not attracted to it. I sound like a twat, but I’m really just not interested. And that’s no disrespect to Ripper, ’cause he’s a friend of mine.”
He went on to say that he first met Owens “when the band went through Ohio, [and Tim] came to the show. Was it awkward? Not in the least,” he said. “We gave each other a hug. He’s a massive PRIEST fan, and when the opportunity came for me to go back, he was, like, ‘Thumbs up, it’s great. I’m happy for the band, I’m happy for Rob.’ I respect his chops; he’s a great singer.”
During a last year’s interview with “The SDR Show,” Halford said he would be open to perform a song from Jugulator or Demolition during a PRIEST set: “Those two PRIEST records, it’s not just because it’s not my voice, because that would be a silly thing to say; Tim is a very good friend of mine. I think it’s just that with connecting with music, particularly with PRIEST, I know my place and I know where I wanna be. And so there’s never really been a sense of [wanting to listen] to those records.
“Having said that, though, numerous times I’ve been asked would I ever do a song from Jugulator, would I ever do a song from Demolition. Well, absolutely, I would, because those two albums are just as valid as everything else in the PRIEST catalog. So who knows? That day may yet come.”
In a 2019 interview with Ultimate Guitar, Owens said that he believes his era of JUDAS PRIEST is largely overlooked. “Yeah, I think it definitely deserves more [attention],” he said. “I mean, they don’t do anything. [Laughs] It’s kind of amazing that they just totally erased it that they won’t play… I mean, ‘Burn In Hell’ [off Jugulator], the crowd would like to hear ‘Burn In Hell.’
“They don’t have to give me a tribute or anything, but it would be nice to play a song from… You know, that was a pretty big thing, I did two studio records, two live records, and a DVD, starting from ’96 to 2004. So it’s kind of crazy that it’s just been erased and they won’t even play a song from it live, because it is JUDAS PRIEST.”
