Tim “Ripper” Owens and The Michael J. Miller Band team up to Live It Up in their party-hearty new single and lyric video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The hard-rock juggernaut known as MJM know how to throw one heck of a blowout. And they’re happy to welcome a true legend to the fun. Case in point: The room-shaking new remix of their most recent single Live It Up — now featuring a killer lead vocal by esteemed metal mouthpiece Tim “Ripper” Owens.
Beloved by headbangers across the globe for his peerless wailing on the Judas Priest albums Jugulator and Demolition — and currently rocking the mic for fellow JP alumnus K.K. Downing in KK’s Priest — Owens lends his immaculate voice to a wild reimagining of the track that elevates its gleeful excess to a whole new level. With a throat full of razor blades and an unmistakable devotion to the cause, he hurtles headlong into the song’s admonitions to carpe the hell out of that fabled diem:
“Life can change in a New York minute
It’s a battle, we’re in it to win it
Live it up, flying high, having some fun
Live it up, it’s a wild ride, as we circle the Sun.”
This is a hedonistic anthem like they just don’t make anymore — a party number that stomps and struts as if there is still nothing but a good time. The classic, AC/DC-inspired riffing and huge chorus soar on the wings of call-and-response verses that fight valiantly for their own right to party. To hear Owens tell it, he was more than happy to apply his leather lungs to the remake. “I loved singing on it, and I love doing things that are a little bit out of the box for me,” he says. His final verdict? “A real fun and good hard-rocking tune!”
Having Owens along for the ride, even temporarily, is a major step in the upward trajectory of MJM guitarist and creative kingpin Michael J. Miller. Formerly the brains and fingers behind the cult metal acts Rapid Tears (whose albums Honestly and Cry For Mercy are distributed by Sonic Age Records) and Adrenalin (heard on Dedicated, released by Germany’s Long Island Records), Miller founded MJM to better convey his keen musical vision. With a lineup rounded out by bassist Zsolt Henczely, drummer Tom Eakin and vocalist Stephany Dudas, the Toronto quartet have released four albums of its own — three that balance lyrically poignant singles with guitar-based instrumentals, and another made up entirely of hard-hitting wordless explorations.
Their most recent collection MJM IV — a loose concept album about the consequences of space travel — led into the more straightforward mayhem of Live It Up, which was produced by Tom Atom at TomAtom Recording Studios in Toronto, and is now getting a new lease on life thanks to Owens’ amped-up revamp.“The lyric concept is ‘life is short,’ ” Miller explains. “Live It Up is about having a good time and keeping a positive outlook on the challenges we face. We’re in it to win it!”
MJM know something about winning, having earned Best Rock Song honours 14 times at the Akademia Music Awards in Hollywood. Over the past five years, they’ve also netted the competition’s Akademia Executive Award, Artist Vision Award, Rising Star Award and (both in 2022) its Outstanding Legacy Award and Rock Artist of the Year award. In 2023, they were inducted into the Akademia Music Hall of Fame.
Watch the lyric video for Live It Up above, hear more from The Michael J. Miller Band below, and join the party on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
