Rob Halford left Judas Priest in 1992 and was eventually replaced by Tim "Ripper" Owens, though there were plenty of other choices.
In an interview with The SDR Show, Devin Townsend reveals both he and vocalist Warrel Dane (Nevermore, Sanctuary, etc.) were among the candidates that tried out for Judas Priest in Halford's absence. Townsend also joked that if he got the position and got on stage with Judas Priest in front of a crowd, "I'd be crucified."
"Technically, yes, that happened, but it wasn't like they were knocking down my door. Basically, they threw out a blanket thing to a bunch of singers — Warrel from Nevermore, myself, a couple of other people. It [came as] a letter with the [Judas Priest logo on it].
"Unleashed In The East was the shit for me, and so to have that was… But I also remember thinking that singing was this thing that happened to me because of my involvement with Steve [Vai], because I never really set out to be a singer. I learned to sing because I was a guitar player and most of the singers I auditioned, I didn't relate to.
"So I thought, 'Okay, I'm gonna learn to sing until I don't have to fucking sing anymore. And then, here we are, so many years later, where it's kind of my deal. But, as a result of that, the technique that I had was so shoddy that had I gotten to a situation with that level of expectation, to sing like Rob Halford — dude, I'd be crucified."
Owens would end up doing two records with Judas Priest – Jugulator in 1997 and Demolition in 2001 – before Halford returned in 2003.
