So it seems that Matt Barlow is back in metal

Nah I've seen him quoted many times refuting that. His interview excerpts from this announcement go into why he left Iced Earth etc. and for what reasons. They're a good read.

I'll check it out. I read Schaffers explanation for why Barlow left IE, so I'm familiar with the reasons, but I've also heard that Schaffer is supposed to be very difficult to work with, so I just assumed that may have had something to do with it.