Having been ousted from Judas Priest in favour of the returning Rob Halford, Tim 'Ripper' Owens lost no time in joining up with Iced Earth for the fantastic 'Glorious Burden' album. However Beyond Fear is the first album on which he has been able to show his own writing skills, being responsible in part for all of the songs that make the record.

Whilst Beyond Fear may not quite live up to the quality that was 'The Glorious Burden' it is certainly as good as the two Judas Priest albums in which Owens was involved. It will come as nor surprise either, given past history, to learn that Beyond Fear is an album of in your face power metal very much in the Priest mode. Indeed opening track 'Scream Machine' definitely takes its inspiration from said band, so much so that it could actually be Painkiller in all but name. All high octane guitars and stratospheric vocals and this very much sets the pattern for the rest of the record.

It's actually hard to criticize any of the songs on Beyond Fear as they are all decent enough in and of themselves, however it almost appears to be power metal by numbers. All of the ingredients are in place, machismo aplenty, double kick drums, razor edged guitars and more helium fuelled vocals than you could use to fill an airship... it's just that Owens does not seem to have stamped his own personality anywhere throughout the whole record. It's almost like he is still stuck in a position where he has to recreate what a past metal god has done. Where Owens does attempt something slightly different in the biographical, I would guess, 'Dreams Come True then the album reaches it's high point. Slightly less aggressive than the rest of the album, the song shows a different side to Owens' voice, more emotion filled and slightly progressive in nature.

However this song is very much in the minority. For the majority of the record Owens sticks very much to a mid-paced tempo and plays it safe. Nothing overtly thrashy or nu-metal here. The power metal genre is currently over crowded as hell and an album as stereotypical of the genre as this may well become lost in the plethora of releases that hit the shops on a weekly basis. Whether the Owens name is strong enough a marketing tool to overcome this handicap remains to be seen. if nothing else though  'Beyond Fear' shows Owens' credentials as a song writer and proves that he doesn't need to rely on other people to provide material ready made for his vocals. Good but not great...

Let us know your views on 'Beyond Fear'

Track List

Scream Machine
And... You Will Die
Save Me
The Human Race
Coming At You
Dreams Come True
Telling Lies
I Don't Need This
Words of Wisdom
My Last Words
Your Time Has Come
The Faith

Line  Up

Tim "Ripper" Owens -  Vocals
John Comprix -  Guitar
Dwane Bihary -  Guitar
Dennis Hayes - Bass
Eric Elkins - Drums