[16] Owens began his musical career as the singer for Brainicide, a thrash metal band based in his home town of Akron, Ohio that had also been known as Dammage, Inc.

After finishing their original set, they would then take a break, which included a wardrobe change to emulate the subject of their tribute, Judas Priest.

Owens made headlines in 1996 when he went from being a fan of the English heavy metal band Judas Priest to being their lead singer, replacing Rob Halford.

With Judas Priest, he was nominated once for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999, with the song "Bullet Train" from the album Jugulator, but lost to Metallica's "Better than You".

Owens said of the movie, "They fabricated things and decided to pull away from my story and make their own because I guess mine was too normal.

Hayes would join Iced Earth as well in 2007 after bassist James "Bo" Wallace left due to family health issues.

[18] On February 26, 2008, it was announced that Owens would be the new lead singer for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, replacing Doogie White.

Owens now fronts a new project called Charred Walls of the Damned, a band founded in 2009 by Richard Christy, radio personality on The Howard Stern Show and former drummer for Iced Earth and Death.

's rotating cast of members include Owens, Andreas Kisser, Paul Bostaph, David Ellefson, Mike Portnoy, Jimmy DeGrasso, and Roy Mayorga.

The lineup consisted of Owens, Portnoy, Mark Anthony of the Letter Black, Phil Demmel of Machine Head, and Ellefson.

[22][23] Due to the death of previously announced bassist Paul Gray, LoMenzo agreed on one day's notice to fly to Portugal for the Rock in Rio festival where HAIL!

[citation needed] In 2015, Owens recorded music for the fictional band Witches' Lips for the heavy metal horror film Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre: The Movie.

[citation needed] Ted Kirkpatrick, drummer and songwriter for the Christian metal band Tourniquet, announced on July 25, 2018, that Owens would be doing lead vocals for all the songs (except the title track "Gazing at Medusa") on their next album.