Iced Earth news!

ICED EARTH: New Album Title Revealed - June 13, 2011

American power metallers ICED EARTH have set "Dystopia" as the title of their new album, tentatively due before the end of the year via Century Media Records. The CD will mark the band's recording debut with singer Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY), who joined ICED EARTH in March following the departure of Matt Barlow. (Note: Barlow is performing with the band on all summer festival dates. Block will take over from there, starting with the European leg of ICED EARTH's world tour in November.)

Commented ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer: "We begin master tracking [the new album] in Florida in two weeks and will be traveling between Europe and the U.S. this summer to play festivals and finish the new album."

He added, "I can honestly say that I haven't had this many songs give me goose bumps since we recorded 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' way back in 1998, so this is also very exciting.

"As you can imagine, it's a very busy time for us. I think we're all having emotional ups and downs as we're coming to the end of an era with Matt's retirement, and we're also very excited about the future with Stu coming onboard, so it's a little bit of a roller coaster ride for us. However, we are having a killer time, and Matt is performing at his absolute best and going out with pure class and style, which is always the way he rolls."

Fan-filmed video footage of ICED EARTH performing at this year's installment of the Rock Hard festival on June 11, 2011 at the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen, Germany can be viewed below.

ICED EARTH's long-awaited live DVD extravaganza, "Festivals Of The Wicked", boasts nearly six hours of material — three full headliner shows (over 40 live tracks!), a photo gallery shot by famed rock photographer Ross Halfin, plus a 90-minute documentary. It will be released on June 27 in Europe and July 12 in the U.S.

"Festivals Of The Wicked" shows ICED EARTH in its favorite element — facing tens of thousands of screaming fans — and playing songs that demonstrate why ICED EARTH fans are some of the most loyal in metal.

The three soon-to-be-released festivals are:

* Germany's Wacken Open Air (2007) with Tim "Ripper" Owens on lead vocals. The blistering 13-song set begins with a jaw-dropping rendition of "Burning Times" and closes with the band's signature track, "Iced Earth".

* Germany's Rock Hard Festival (2008) with Matt Barlow on lead vocals. This festival, the first to feature Matt's return, storms through 15 songs, with "Dark Saga" leading the charge.

* Slovenia's Metalcamp (2008) with Matt Barlow on lead vocals. A not-to-be-missed 16-song facemelter of a concert that proves why some say ICED EARTH is one of the top live bands in the world.

"I'm very proud of this DVD, and I'm grateful to fans for their patience," said Schaffer. "Getting this ready for release has been an enormous job, but a true labor of love. It will be worth the wait. I promise."



Wargod52

Ill give it a listen when its out. I didnt care much for the last cd but I enjoy IE.

I'm an Iced Earth die hard and I like Into Eternity's vocalist (one of the most amazing falsettos I've ever heard) so I will definatly get this when it comes out.

Don't know a thing about the new siinger but I'm very interested in this. I think I may be one of the few people who enjoyed the last 2 Iced Earth releases.

I stand by what I've said over the last few years - Framing Armageddon was great, Crucible of Man was massively disappointing. I'm very curious to hear the new album as I assume much of the over-blown concepts are being put by the wayside. Plus, it'll be interesting to hear how the new singer handles things.

Still, going to miss Matt's voice.

I hope they go back to a less orchestrated sound.

exact33 wrote:

I hope they go back to a less orchestrated sound.

Ditto.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this album. I hope it's more back-to-basics and leaves the wanna-be 'epic' sound of the last couple of records behind.

If it sounds like "Something Wicked Part III," that'll be three strikes for me. I'll be done with'em.

Quote :

He added, "I can honestly say that I haven't had this many songs give me goose bumps since we recorded 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' way back in 1998, so this is also very exciting.

So all the times he has said this before about previous albums he was lying? I'll believe it when I hear it.

exact33 wrote:

Ill give it a listen when its out. I didnt care much for the last cd but I enjoy IE.

My opinion as well. I hope this one can bring back the IE magic.

Fat Freddy wrote:

exact33 wrote:

I hope they go back to a less orchestrated sound.

Ditto.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this album. I hope it's more back-to-basics and leaves the wanna-be 'epic' sound of the last couple of records behind.

If it sounds like "Something Wicked Part III," that'll be three strikes for me. I'll be done with'em.

yeah. I want to like the new material, kinda like I feel with Hammerfall, but didnt find the last one all that good...

I lost interest in these guys a few albums back, but I'm curious to hear the new material with the new guy.

I'm scared. I just can not imagine the new singer in IE...

kmorg wrote:

I'm scared. I just can not imagine the new singer in IE...

I THOUGHT THE SAME THING WHEN RIPPER TOOK OVER.

Stu will sound great. And Iced Earth haven't put out a bad album yet, so I'll just wait and see what happens.

Eyesore wrote:

And Iced Earth haven't put out a bad album yet

As much as I lauded Barlow's return, I'd say that Crucible was a genuinely bad album. Three good songs and the rest dull and superfluous.

As I say though, I'm intrigued to hear the new one with Into Eternity singer.

Smindas wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

And Iced Earth haven't put out a bad album yet

As much as I lauded Barlow's return, I'd say that Crucible was a genuinely bad album. Three good songs and the rest dull and superfluous.

As I say though, I'm intrigued to hear the new one with Into Eternity singer.

ditto on both points.

Smindas wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

And Iced Earth haven't put out a bad album yet

As much as I lauded Barlow's return, I'd say that Crucible was a genuinely bad album. Three good songs and the rest dull and superfluous.

As I say though, I'm intrigued to hear the new one with Into Eternity singer.

I liked Crucible, probably on par with Framing Armageddon, in my opinion. Good, not great.

I read awhile back that John was going back to his early roots and sound on the new cd. I love Iced Earth and everything they have put out so it's a no brainer in picking this up.

Oh the new DVD & live cd come out in 3 weeks.

Wargod52

Eyesore wrote:

Smindas wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

And Iced Earth haven't put out a bad album yet

As much as I lauded Barlow's return, I'd say that Crucible was a genuinely bad album. Three good songs and the rest dull and superfluous.

As I say though, I'm intrigued to hear the new one with Into Eternity singer.

I liked Crucible, probably on par with Framing Armageddon, in my opinion. Good, not great.

Well, it's all subjective but I pretty strongly disagree, haha. Something about Crucible is painfully lifeless in comparison to Framing. I'm not saying Framing was a pinnacle for Iced Earth or anything, but after finding The Glorious Burden a bit mediocre, I thought it was a major step up. Then Crucible was worse than Burden. It was as if Jon had used up all the good ideas for the new 'Something Wicked' stuff on the first record of the two.

I really enjoyed The Glorious Burden. Gettysburg is one of the best tracks around..

'Gettysburg' is pretty spectacular, I can't deny. I don't think TGB is bad or anything, but as a whole album, I don't think it's particularly great either. It's far from my 'go-to' Iced Earth album, at least.

Yeah, I liked The Glorious Burden as well, but definitely not their best. Nor are Framing Armageddon or The Crucible.

As for The Crucible, in particular, I think "The Revealing," "Minions of the Watch," "I Walk Alone," "Harbinger of Fate," "Crucify the King," and a few others are great songs.

The Glorious Burden was fantastic. Ripper sounded great on it. Framing Armageddon was pretty good (too many interludes/orchestral parts for my liking) and I'd place the Crucible Of Man just below Framing (not as many interludes but not quite as memorable songs on it). I haven't owned Crucible very long so it may grow on me.

007 wrote:

The Glorious Burden was fantastic. Ripper sounded great on it. Framing Armageddon was pretty good (too many interludes/orchestral parts for my liking) and I'd place the Crucible Of Man just below Framing (not as many interludes but not quite as memorable songs on it). I haven't owned Crucible very long so it may grow on me.

I agree with this. At first I liked Crucible more than Framing but that only lasted a few spins. However, none are the albums I go to first when in an IE mood. If I am I go with Stormrider, Burnt Offerings, Dark Saga, Something Wicked, or encompass them all with Alive In Athens (wich I personally rank as one of my top 5 live albums).

really got bored with these guys during the Dark Saga/Something Wicked albums & gave up on them after that for the most part. i'll probably check this one out though for the new pipes & Jon's claim of going a little more old school again.