It's official - MATT BARLOW REJOINS ICED EARTH!

The Fiddler

Just Do It.
Nov 27, 2002
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Heaven and Hell
Spent over an hour on the phone with Jon today, and was very surprised to find out that...

http://www.icedearth.com

Hello Dear Friends!

Once again the winds of change are upon us, and this time I can say that I am very happy about the result.

While out on the European tour I had several in depth discussions with many loyal Iced Earth fans. A common theme of these discussions was how much Matt is missed. I agreed with the fans that things were not the same and that it was a very special period in Iced Earth’s history.

When I heard several months ago that Matt was going to be doing a project in music again, I was thinking about contacting him and seeing what his intentions were. I didn’t act on this because I was so focused on the writing of the new epic, and frankly, it just didn’t seem realistic.

Well, after getting out on the road and speaking with many of you directly, I decided to call Matt and see how he was doing and if he was interested in working together again. I am proud to say that he is coming back to Iced Earth and we will be getting back to work in the studio very soon.

Matt will be singing on Part 2 of the Something Wicked concept CD and we will be looking forward to getting out on tour and delivering a series of Iced Earth shows that will rival any in the history of the band. And there will be a proper DVD filmed from this period, something we’ve all been waiting for.

I want you all to know that it was you who made this a reality. I have missed Matt’s presence onstage and in my personal life in a big way over the past few years, so I appreciate your honesty in our discussions. It did help me realize the decision to move forward with pursuing this. The fans have spoken and we have delivered!

You true fans know that I’m a straight shooter, I say what I mean and mean what I say. And though I value your opinions greatly, you must believe that this is a decision that comes completely from the heart and is not motivated by anything other than what feels the best for Iced Earth. This is the way that things have always been dealt with, for better or for worse, but always honestly and from the heart.

Tim Owens is a great and talented singer and I wish the best for him and his future on a personal and professional level.

There will be more news soon as to further developments and plans. This will push back the release of Part 2 a bit. Not because we couldn’t be ready to record in time, but because of a new addition to Matt’s family in early 2008!

I am very happy to announce that Iced Earth is truly BACK!

Have a great holiday season. We’ll be in touch very soon with more details.

Jon Schaffer
 
Tim was great, i wish people would have given him some fucking credit when he was in iced earth, although the last cd wasnt up to par for me. it just kind of made me sick that since tim and matt were two diff singers people just referred to tim like he was a crappy singer, and hes fucking brilliant, i hope he finds himself a killer band to sing with.

maybe tim should go to pyramaze haha!

i love matt barlow too though, and it is nice to hear that he is back with them, since most of the iced earth material is along matts lines rather than tims.

i love both singers, and im happy to see matt come in but sad to see jon go
 
I can't help but feel for Tim Owens. He didn't do anything wrong and he gets kicked out of the band on an instant. This seems like a decision that will bite Jon on his ass like it did for Anthrax and John Bush. Flame on
 
OMFG !!!:OMG:
*hyperventilates and faints*

I loved Ripper's vocals on SW Pt1, and was really looking forward to hearing Part 2, but DAMN !!! BARLOW !!!! :worship: *faints again*

*starts dreaming about Iced Earth headlining PPUSA IX*
 
I can't help but feel for Tim Owens. He didn't do anything wrong and he gets kicked out of the band on an instant. This seems like a decision that will bite Jon on his ass like it did for Anthrax and John Bush. Flame on

I ain't gonna flame ya, but how do you know Tim wasn't in on any of this? I doubt Jon just called him up and said "hey dude, your fired"..this has probably been going on for a while.

I don't know, but maybe Tim was already on his way out. He has his own band, plus, according to some news I read recently, he was "in talks" to sing on a future Winter's Bane album.

This is great news for all IE fans, hopefully Barlow turns in the performance of his life on this new cd, and Tim focuses on his own band, playing stuff he writes, not being a hired gun.
 
What an ass Jon comes across as... I know a big chunk of IE fans are Matt fan boys and girls... but, man... Jon could have been a bit nicer about disposing of Tim. They could have tried a two-singer approach... something...

I am kinda disgusted right now.
 
Well, let me be the first to say....i'm disappointed with this decision. Matt Barlow's voice never really appealed that much to me (let the flaming begin). I love Iced Earth, but i've always preferred hearing Tim sing the classics.
 
OH MY FUCKING GOD
THIS IS SERIOUSLY ONE OF THE GREATEST DAYS OF MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE

THANK THE GODS

THE MAN IS BACK

HAIL ICED EARTH
 
Too bad this couldn't have happened before Something Wicked Part 1 was already released and Barlow had committed to working with Pyramaze. The timing now seems to be a bit messy, I can't image Ripper or the guys from Pyramaze are too happy about this coming out of nowhere (assuming Barlow will no longer be working with Pyramaze on their upcoming album, I have no idea how far that had progressed). The sentiments expressed in Jon's statement are surprising given the undertones of resentment in many of his previous comments. It wasn't that long ago that Jon was proclaiming what a perfect match Ripper was for IE.

Having said that I look forward to more IE albums with Barlow. There are a lot of songs on Framing Armageddon that I find myself thinking "that would have been so much better with Barlow" while listening.