This one may seem a bit odd, but I'm wondering if Kiss' the Elder was in influence on the story of the two recent albums. There are references to "elder," as well as, "the order of the rose." These are just as likely coincidences, but I know he likes Kiss, and am wondering if it is just a little "nod" to them.
I too would like to know if they will be doing these albums live from start to finish.
Also, he has an endorsement deal with Gibson now. I'm wondering if he contacted them, or the other way around. Also, I've heard different things over the years about this kind of thing, and I'm really wondering if he got a bunch of free guitars out of that!
Finally, Matt Barlow had said previously that being in Iced Earth will not keep him from continuing his Hiway Patrol job. But with quite a few tourdates coming up, I'm wondering if he's decided to do this fulltime again. Seems like a lot of time to take off! Initially they were only going to do, "special shows," but there schedule looks pretty full to me.