Good news for Iced Earth fans

[SickBoy]

Ripper is definitely the better singer, but Matt's vox fit's Iced Earth just way better....cause IT IS Iced Earth.

Well, that's the theme for an endless debate, eh...
I suppose it's all up to ones taste(s).
Ripper never did anything for me, yes he's technically proficient singer, but IMO lacks a certain emotional edge big time (not just in IE but in JP as well). Matt may not be as perfect technically, but his emotional delivery wins me over. Just the beginning of Melancholy leaves absolutely no doubts for me...

 

[Exocaster]

Holy crap, THAT'S what he looks like?! Jesus, I hate his voice, but I can't believe that bellow comes from such a moderately-sized dude (I thought he'd be a whale!)

I saw IE live with In Flames in '01 or so. Matt Barlow is a very tall individual. You don't really get a sense of that in the vid. That whole band looked like they just stepped out of a biker bar to come and kick your ass. Dracula's one of his best vocal performances, I think. Probably my favorite track from Horror Show. I think his vocals kept improving from album to album, techinique-wise.

Anyway, I always preferred Barlow's voice to Ripper's. I agree wholeheartedly with SickBoy's comments about Ripper lacking an emotional edge. IMHO, he's all technique. His voice doesn't really make me feel anything, and IE is very vocal-driven, especially for a metal band. Ripper just makes them sound too "generic power metal" for my tastes. Barlow's voice has a lot of character to it, and I like the fact he's a natural baritone (I remember reading interviews where he talked about having to seriously train to hit those high notes, as they're way, way out of his natural range) in a genre dominated almost exclusively by tenors. It gives Iced Earth a darker, heavier sound, which I prefer. I'm not big on power metal to begin with, and I usually think of IE as a thrash band with a "real singer".

 

[SickBoy]

Barlow's voice has a lot of character to it, and I like the fact he's a natural baritone (I remember reading interviews where he talked about having to seriously train to hit those high notes, as they're way, way out of his natural range) in a genre dominated almost exclusively by tenors.

Well, if I'm not mistaken all the singers with heavy balls are really baritones with extended upper range...
There's no way a real tenor could have such a massive voice as a baritone when hitting the same note.