HARDWARES

Ripper is a busy man, what with touring the globe with super-group Hail, compiling an even greater array of guests/stars to help him with his first “real” solo effort and then forming a band to play (his Game) live, including Caffery (TSO/Savatage) and Ellefson (ex-Megadeth). For the record, Owens considers Beyond Fear (yet another entity with his fingerprint, albeit long dormant) a band album, whereas these 12 offerings came directly (exclusively from his mind/pen), as opposed to working within a band structure. An admitted fan of Dio (in and out of Sabbath), as well as Soundgarden (check out ‘No Good Goodbyes’), little surprise the template of slower/mid-tempo numbers is employed here (as opposed to the speedier thrashy modern approach of Beyond Fear). The list of notable players backing Owens (almost a new band on each song, if not multiple guitars within the same track) would exceed the word-count allowed for BW&BK reviews, so check it out elsewhere. Suffice to say, lots of “ex-members” looking for recording work. Caffery co-wrote and plays on the album-closing ‘The Shadows Are Alive’, while Nevermore shredder Jeff Loomis contributes a solo to the historic alien invasion tale ‘The Cover Up’. Elsewhere, the lyrics take on a personal significance, including ‘To Live Again’, which seems steeped in Owens’ recent tumultuous professional life.