Matt Barlow rejoins Iced Earth!

If this turns out to be true, I'd bet this was more of Tim's doing than Jon's.

From Pyramaze's official forum:

"Just so you guys know, Matt is still in Pyramaze and the recording is going as planned. Matt will issue his own press statement soon, so stay tuned. cheers -jonah w"

So I guess it's not April 1st after all.

Eyesore wrote:

If this turns out to be true, I'd bet this was more of Tim's doing than Jon's.

I'm wondering if it may have been SPV's doing more than either of them. The new album did not get the greatest reviews, dunno how well (or not) it's selling, but if the album was tanking, who's to say that the head of SPV might have gently nudged Jon into giving Matt a call?

romeolimagolf wrote:

From Pyramaze's official forum:

"Just so you guys know, Matt is still in Pyramaze and the recording is going as planned. Matt will issue his own press statement soon, so stay tuned. cheers -jonah w"

How does that work?

Wow. I can't believe this. I never would have thought Matt would ever be back in Iced Earth. This is crazy.

Chairman_Smith wrote:

romeolimagolf wrote:

From Pyramaze's official forum:

"Just so you guys know, Matt is still in Pyramaze and the recording is going as planned. Matt will issue his own press statement soon, so stay tuned. cheers -jonah w"

How does that work?

Pyramaze have decided to stop being a touring band and just release CDs and do a few one-off shows each year, all of which Matt could do without quitting his current career.

With that in mind, I think this may turn out to be something similar to what went down with Threshold recently. Their singer bailed, so Damian Wilson, their previous singer, stepped in so they could finish thier tour. I think Tim bailed and Matt is stepping in. It wouldn't surprise me if Matt is just doing the upcoming album so it can get released and then Jon will seek another vocalist.

But who knows. Just stirring the pot.

I don't know about Matt re-recording part one, but he DID record vocals for The Glorious Burden. Will that version now be released?

Eyesore wrote:

Chairman_Smith wrote:

romeolimagolf wrote:

From Pyramaze's official forum:

"Just so you guys know, Matt is still in Pyramaze and the recording is going as planned. Matt will issue his own press statement soon, so stay tuned. cheers -jonah w"

How does that work?

Pyramaze have decided to stop being a touring band and just release CDs and do a few one-off shows each year, all of which Matt could do without quitting his current career.

With that in mind, I think this may turn out to be something similar to what went down with Threshold recently. Their singer bailed, so Damian Wilson, their previous singer, stepped in so they could finish thier tour. I think Tim bailed and Matt is stepping in. It wouldn't surprise me if Matt is just doing the upcoming album so it can get released and then Jon will seek another vocalist.

But who knows. Just stirring the pot.

I think Jon prides himself on line-up changes, in pretty much everything i've read he seems to think its positive.

romeolimagolf wrote:

I don't know about Matt re-recording part one, but he DID record vocals for The Glorious Burden. Will that version now be released?

That would be cool, but remember, Jon said his heart wasn't in it and his vocals didn't sound good enough. Of course, he also said Tim Owens is the kind of vocalist he always envisioned singing for Iced Earth.

But hey, Iced Earth is BACK!!

Eyesore wrote:

romeolimagolf wrote:

I don't know about Matt re-recording part one, but he DID record vocals for The Glorious Burden. Will that version now be released?

That would be cool, but remember, Jon said his heart wasn't in it and his vocals didn't sound good enough. Of course, he also said Tim Owens is the kind of vocalist he always envisioned singing for Iced Earth.

But hey, Iced Earth is BACK!!

He said that about Matt too!

In fact in that greatest hits collection, released after The Glorious Burden there was an interview saying Matt was there to stay

romeolimagolf wrote:

I don't know about Matt re-recording part one, but he DID record vocals for The Glorious Burden. Will that version now be released?

I would love to hear Matt do the Glorious Burden.

-where the metal meets the meat!!!

Chairman_Smith wrote:

He said that about Matt too!

When did he say that?

meh, Jon should join up with Scott & Charlie from Anthrax & just share a singer. maybe Messiah Marcolin. that way all of the difficult divas would be together in one single band.

....What the hell can I say. On one hand I am exstatic that Matt is back with IE, on the other hand, how will Matt work with IE and remain a cop (unless he quits the force)? Was Tim fired or did he quit? Will Framing Armegeddon be re-recorded? Questions that must be answered. This is wierd to the thousandth degree and I am uterly speechless. I will wait til further details before I comment further seeing as I'm starting to ramble on.

Well I never had any problems with Tim's voice. I think he's a great singer in fact. Although I JUST JUST started getting into Iced Earth so I'm not really going to say anything.

Although I know that Matt is a fan fave so it's probably a good thing.

The more I think about this, the more I think Tim walked away. I mean, this is Jon's epic, the album he refused to give to Century Media, fearing they'd screw it up on him. So why this? Why would he switch vocalist mid-story? It doesn't make sense, knowing the kind of person Jon has been with his music. It just seems like too stupid a mistake for him to make.

I think this is going to be a case of Jon having no choice but to find a new singer, and Matt being the best and most logical choice.

Yeah, but now we'll have a concept album with two singers. Stupid! Matt and Tim are two completely different singers. Are they going to re-record part 1 with Matt? It will sound stupid if they don't.

This had better be a hoax. [/quote]

My thoughts exactly!!! I hope they redo Part 1 now!

mc666 wrote:

meh, Jon should join up with Scott & Charlie from Anthrax & just share a singer. maybe Messiah Marcolin. that way all of the difficult divas would be together in one single band.

HA!!! Classic

Eyesore wrote:

Chairman_Smith wrote:

He said that about Matt too!

When did he say that?

Blessed and The Damned booklet and Dark Genesis boxset.

I like both Ripper and Matt,so it doesnt matter to me one way or the other.

in greece there's a special nickname for barlow....but i don't know exactly how to write it in english,hehehehe....sure it will be edited....

woooooooo, i'm happy

barlows amazing

I wonder where this leaves Barlow's law-enforcement career? Is he giving it up??

Maybe he got shot at while he was out on patrol one night and thought, "Hmm, y'know, maybe that heavy metal gig wasn't as bad as I thought it was."

exact33 wrote:

I am shocked as well... the apr 1 was my first thought too! I have to say though that I really like Ripper. I have enjoyed his IE work and while some may not like him I thought he did a great job.

I agree. I don't have the new one yet, but "The Glorious Burden" was a great album IMO. This is crazy.

My favorite IE albums will probably always be "The Dark Saga" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes", but IMHO, I actually thought that "The Glorious Burden" was far superior to Barlow's last studio album with the band, "Horror Show". I don't actually know that I like this news. Tim Owens seemed to fit nicely in Iced Earth. I've not heard "Framing Armegeddon" yet though ... but still.