Judas Priest From 1969 Beginnings To Metal Fame

In 1992, after about two decades as the lead singer of Judas Priest, Rob Halford left the band for various personal and creative reasons, according to Rolling Stone. "I think it was important for me to do that." But the rest of Judas Priest soldiered on, faced with the difficult task of replacing its most visible and famous member. The man for the job was the closest thing the rest of Judas Priest could find to Rob Halford: a professional Halford impersonator.

According to Rolling Stone, singer Tim "Ripper Owens," who took his nickname from a Priest song, had fronted a Priest-influenced band called US Metal, a play on "British Steel," the name of a Priest album as well as a Priest cover band with which he'd performed. Some fans gave a tape of Owens performing to Priest drummer Scott Travis, who shared it with his bandmates, because by 1996, he'd secured an audition with the full group in Wales, which he aced.

Owens toured and recorded as the lead singer of Judas Priest until 2003, when Halford asked to return, according to the BBC. By then, Owens' story had inspired the Mark Wahlberg movie "Rock Star," and years later, after K.K. Downing had also left Judas Priest, according to Goldmine, he teamed up with the guitarist to form a new metal band called K.K.s Priest.

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