Iced Earth - New Vocalist & European Tour Dates Announced
Official press release
In the wake of vocalist Matt Barlow's retirement, dozens of demos and resumes flooded Iced Earth's management team. But one name kept popping up - Into Eternity vocalist Stu Block, who has been named the new lead singer for Iced Earth.
According to Schaffer, Robert Kampf, CEO of Century Media, early on suggested Block, whose band Into Eternity was previously on the CM label. That reminded Schaffer of one night in September, 2008, when Into Eternity opened for Iced Earth.
"Iced Earth was backstage waiting to go on," said Schaffer. "We heard one of Stu's incredible wails. I remember turning to Matt and saying, 'Damn, that dude has serious range.'"
So while Iced Earth's management team sifted through the growing number of prospective vocalists, Schaffer got in touch with Block. After several phone conversations with the then-prospective Iced Earth vocalist, Schaffer asked his manager to e-mail Block several key Iced Earth songs, with the vocals stripped. Block went into his studio and recorded himself singing, then sent the files back to the team. The result landed Block an intense two days at Schaffer's studio where the two musicians hit it off.
"I felt a lot of chemistry between us, we knocked out a couple of great original pieces of music in no time" said Schaffer. "He's very good at coming up with catchy melodies, and will help with lyrical duties as well. There's no doubt Stu has an amazing vocal range and a lot of energy, but he also has the touring experience, which is a big plus for our plans of performing in all corners of the world."
In addition, Schaffer said Block has what Iced Earth needs in a front man: "stage presence that includes high energy, passion, and focused rage."
"Stu is charismatic and understands the depth and varying emotions in Iced Earth's music," said Schaffer. "So he will embody not only the emotion of our songs, but he will be able to perform them in a dynamic way. I believe fans are in for some incredible records and live shows in the coming years."
(Photo courtesy of Cortney Roth)
New Iced Earth vocalist Stu Block concurs: "Iced Earth fans are wonderful, wonderful people," he said. "The music is so passionate. So they're passionate, and very loyal to the band. I am, too. I'm a huge fan of Iced Earth myself. So I share that same passion, and I will show it on stage. I think the fans are really going to dig it."
Block continues: "It's a huge honor to be doing this, to be part of this team," he said. "It's a dream come true, for sure."
Schaffer is totally stoked. "This is a new beginning," he said. "It's game-on time. Iced Earth is going to record and tour like it never has before. The band is really amped-up and ready to hit the ground running in November."
And to prove it, Iced Earth has released the European leg of a world tour that will take the band to countries it has never previously played. All told, the 2011-2012 Iced Earth world tour will be the largest the band has undertaken since its inception.
Iced Earth - European Tour Dates:
01.11.2011 - NL - Amsterdam, Melkweg
02.11.2011 - NL - Uden, De Pul
03.11.2011 - BEL - Antwerp, Trix
04.11.2011 - GBR - London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
05.11.2011 - GBR - Birmingham, O2 Academy
06.11.2011 - GBR - Bristol, O2 Academy
08.11.2011 - FRA - Paris, Elysée Montmartre
09.11.2011 - FRA - Lyon, Transbordeur
10.11.2011 - ESP - Barcelona, Salamandra 1
11.11.2011 - ESP - Madrid, Sala Heineken
12.11.2011 - ESP - Bilbao, Rock Star Live
14.11.2011 - ITA - Milano, Alcatraz
15.11.2011 - ITA - Rome, Alpheus
18.11.2011 - GRE - Athens, Gagarin 205
19.11.2011 - GRE - Athens, Gagarin 205
20.11.2011 - GRE - Thessaloniki, Principal Club
21.11.2011 - BUL - Sofia, Yubileina Hall
22.11.2011 - ROM - Bucarest, The Silver Church
23.11.2011 - SER - Belgrade, SKC
24.11.2011 - HUN - Budapest, Club 202
25.11.2011 - SVK - Bratislava, Majestic Music Club
26.11.2011 - POL - Warsaw, Stodola
27.11.2011 - LTU - Vilnius, Forum Palace
29.11.2011 - RUS - Moscow, Milk
01.12.2011 - FIN - Helsinki, Nosturi
03.12.2011 - DEN - Copenhagen, The Rock
04.12.2011 - GER - Hamburg, Markthalle
06.12.2011 - GER - Herford, X
07.12.2011 - GER - Köln, Essigfabrik
08.12.2011 - GER - München, Backstage Werk
09.12.2011 - GER - Geiselwind, Christmas Metal Festival
10.12.2011 - SWI - Pratteln, Z7
11.12.2011 - GER - Ludwigsburg, Rockfabrik
In the wake of vocalist Matt Barlow's retirement, dozens of demos and resumes flooded Iced Earth's management team. But one name kept popping up - Into Eternity vocalist Stu Block, who has been named the new lead singer for Iced Earth.
According to Schaffer, Robert Kampf, CEO of Century Media, early on suggested Block, whose band Into Eternity was previously on the CM label. That reminded Schaffer of one night in September, 2008, when Into Eternity opened for Iced Earth.
"Iced Earth was backstage waiting to go on," said Schaffer. "We heard one of Stu's incredible wails. I remember turning to Matt and saying, 'Damn, that dude has serious range.'"
So while Iced Earth's management team sifted through the growing number of prospective vocalists, Schaffer got in touch with Block. After several phone conversations with the then-prospective Iced Earth vocalist, Schaffer asked his manager to e-mail Block several key Iced Earth songs, with the vocals stripped. Block went into his studio and recorded himself singing, then sent the files back to the team. The result landed Block an intense two days at Schaffer's studio where the two musicians hit it off.
"I felt a lot of chemistry between us, we knocked out a couple of great original pieces of music in no time" said Schaffer. "He's very good at coming up with catchy melodies, and will help with lyrical duties as well. There's no doubt Stu has an amazing vocal range and a lot of energy, but he also has the touring experience, which is a big plus for our plans of performing in all corners of the world."
In addition, Schaffer said Block has what Iced Earth needs in a front man: "stage presence that includes high energy, passion, and focused rage."
"Stu is charismatic and understands the depth and varying emotions in Iced Earth's music," said Schaffer. "So he will embody not only the emotion of our songs, but he will be able to perform them in a dynamic way. I believe fans are in for some incredible records and live shows in the coming years."
(Photo courtesy of Cortney Roth)
New Iced Earth vocalist Stu Block concurs: "Iced Earth fans are wonderful, wonderful people," he said. "The music is so passionate. So they're passionate, and very loyal to the band. I am, too. I'm a huge fan of Iced Earth myself. So I share that same passion, and I will show it on stage. I think the fans are really going to dig it."
Block continues: "It's a huge honor to be doing this, to be part of this team," he said. "It's a dream come true, for sure."
Schaffer is totally stoked. "This is a new beginning," he said. "It's game-on time. Iced Earth is going to record and tour like it never has before. The band is really amped-up and ready to hit the ground running in November."
And to prove it, Iced Earth has released the European leg of a world tour that will take the band to countries it has never previously played. All told, the 2011-2012 Iced Earth world tour will be the largest the band has undertaken since its inception.
Iced Earth - European Tour Dates:
01.11.2011 - NL - Amsterdam, Melkweg
02.11.2011 - NL - Uden, De Pul
03.11.2011 - BEL - Antwerp, Trix
04.11.2011 - GBR - London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
05.11.2011 - GBR - Birmingham, O2 Academy
06.11.2011 - GBR - Bristol, O2 Academy
08.11.2011 - FRA - Paris, Elysée Montmartre
09.11.2011 - FRA - Lyon, Transbordeur
10.11.2011 - ESP - Barcelona, Salamandra 1
11.11.2011 - ESP - Madrid, Sala Heineken
12.11.2011 - ESP - Bilbao, Rock Star Live
14.11.2011 - ITA - Milano, Alcatraz
15.11.2011 - ITA - Rome, Alpheus
18.11.2011 - GRE - Athens, Gagarin 205
19.11.2011 - GRE - Athens, Gagarin 205
20.11.2011 - GRE - Thessaloniki, Principal Club
21.11.2011 - BUL - Sofia, Yubileina Hall
22.11.2011 - ROM - Bucarest, The Silver Church
23.11.2011 - SER - Belgrade, SKC
24.11.2011 - HUN - Budapest, Club 202
25.11.2011 - SVK - Bratislava, Majestic Music Club
26.11.2011 - POL - Warsaw, Stodola
27.11.2011 - LTU - Vilnius, Forum Palace
29.11.2011 - RUS - Moscow, Milk
01.12.2011 - FIN - Helsinki, Nosturi
03.12.2011 - DEN - Copenhagen, The Rock
04.12.2011 - GER - Hamburg, Markthalle
06.12.2011 - GER - Herford, X
07.12.2011 - GER - Köln, Essigfabrik
08.12.2011 - GER - München, Backstage Werk
09.12.2011 - GER - Geiselwind, Christmas Metal Festival
10.12.2011 - SWI - Pratteln, Z7
11.12.2011 - GER - Ludwigsburg, Rockfabrik
| icedearth.com | |
| Band profile: | Iced Earth |
| Event: | Iced Earth: World Dystopia Tour 2011-2012 |
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| Symmachus Posts: 2002 |
Written by Ag Fox on 16.03.2011 at 20:17 Because of the comments on this thread, I decided to listen to that song as well. Those vocals are phenomenal and varied. One other thing I liked about the song is the drumming.
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| Arcticus Posts: 190  |
Listening to 'Timeless Winter', Stu's high-pitched vocals remind me a little of Midnight from Crimson Glory, although more forced...still not bad, I'll certainly be interested to see what Iced Earth come up with next. Never give up hope! 
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| Evican Ann O'War Posts: 232  |
Written by BloodTears on 16.03.2011 at 22:16 Agreed. Not to mention with the new album coming up they will need to tour... I hope the release date doesn't get pushed back. I was really holding out for them to be on next year's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. Being Canadian (as UMC is a Canadian company) and having a new album releasing this year puts them as a logical choice and relatively high chance of being booked.
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| Novas Posts: 234  |
I just listened to "Timeless Winter" and DUDE this guy can just about sing every style of metal. No lie. Though i wont be too thrilled if he will sing in his black metal vocals. The deepest and darkest vocals Iced Earth went was on Burnt Offerings. So i think his growling will be sweet for those songs. But it also sounds like Iced Earth will be going back to their debut and Night of the Stormrider albums blended with Burnt Offerings due to how he sings. But he may just sing in his clean & his high pitched vocals with Iced Earth. But i dont know, gotta wait and see.....
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
Written by Evican on 17.03.2011 at 05:00 As far as I know, there hasn't been much tours in the last few years. I don't know if I'll ever see them live, since they seldom come to Europe. We'll see what happens. But there is a possibility that they'll have to take even more time releasing the new album.
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| TrollandDie Posts: 274  |
Seems like a worthy vocalist. His death metal vocals alongside his high-pitched shrieks will be very interesting to see how it mixes with Iced Earth's heavy/US power/thrash metal rather than melodic death metal. I just hope they give him some creative space and not just try to cover previous vocalists as accurately as possible.
---- Hello, my name is Mr......Snrub and I think it would be a capital idea to invest the money back in the nuclear plant.
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675  |
Written by TrollandDie on 17.03.2011 at 13:52 Well, Ripper Owens has said that he felt very restricted creatively in Iced Earth, because of the way Jon runs the band. He wanted to write more for Iced Earth, but he wasn't able to.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by Angelic Storm on 17.03.2011 at 15:02 I remember him saying something like that, indeed.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| WorpeX Made of Metal Posts: 1353  |
Written by Angelic Storm on 17.03.2011 at 15:02 Judging by the Ripper's solo work, I'm quite glad he didn't write for Iced Earth.  Perhaps it wasn't that John was running it strictly, it was that the Ripper's ideas weren't very good.
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by WorpeX on 17.03.2011 at 17:57 Oh come on, there isn't a single song in Iced Earth's history that doesn't have Jon in the writing credits for it.  Of course he runs the band strictly, he's very much like Dave Mustaine or Jeff Waters in that respect. It does seem like he is a bit of a dictator in the band, and likes to have his own way most of the time. Besides, Ripper's solo album is better than "The Crucible Of Man", at least overall it is.
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| WorpeX Made of Metal Posts: 1353 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 17.03.2011 at 18:10 I dunno, comparing the two is like trying to figure out which worm infested apple is the most edible. They were both pretty bad, although Framing Armageddon wasn't much better either in my opinion. I really liked Glorious Burden though... not sure why it has such a low score here on MS.
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by WorpeX on 17.03.2011 at 18:32 Haha! Touche' Well, at least I don't feel incredibly bored sitting through Ripper's album, as unremarkable as it is for the most part. lol Whereas I find TCOM to be incredibly monotonous for most of it's runtime. ("I Walk Alone" and "Divide/Devour" being rare decent interludes from the boredom.) For me at least, though "Framing Armageddon" has some flaws, and certainly isn't a classic IE album, I find it to be overall, far better than TCOM. I love about half of what's on that album. Wheras TCOM has less than a handful of songs (and one of them is a short interlude type song. lol) that I like. Totally agreed with you on "The Glorious Burden" though, it's a very underrated album IMO. "Hollow Man" is the only song I really dislike on it, a very consistent album it is. xD
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094  |
Written by Angelic Storm on 16.03.2011 at 21:08 you also forgot Jon Schaffer as he does some vocals too(and he's quite good too, he's almost indistinguishable from Barlow when it comes to the hard-hitting low register). if they get another vocalist they're gonna be the band with the most number of vocalists in history..
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by Valentin B on 21.03.2011 at 20:03 I think "Stormrider" is the only Iced Earth song that features Jon on lead vocals, (for a full song) so I'm not sure if he would count as being one of their lead vocalists. lol There are some songs though, where his trade off vocals with Matt really enhances the sound, as is the case with "Burnt Offerings". The song "Iced Earth" itself, is a good example of Jon's vocals enhancing a song as well. xD
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| Yasmine Posts: 1485  |
Written by RavenKing on 16.03.2011 at 19:50 Completely agree, his vocals are pretty bad. Kiddie whiney type of voice. At least Ripper has strong vibrato.
---- "Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." G B Stern "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum float u
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by Yasmine on 24.03.2011 at 03:48 Looks like most people don't agree with us but it doesn't matter to me. Personally, I have a general dislike for high-pitched clean vocals the kind you usually find in Powermetal. Anyway, I listen almost exclusively to Metal with harsh vocals nowadays. By the way, you nearly have the same name as my best female friend. Her name is Jasmine.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Yasmine Posts: 1485 |
Written by RavenKing on 25.03.2011 at 00:49 Not a common name in the USA at all. I love power metal vocals, the skill different between it and harsh stuff is so unbalanced. However that said I like a real singer but I love death and black metal, just love it for the music, the vocals are just alright for the most part. There's a few who actually do something different now and then.
---- "Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." G B Stern "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum float u
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by Yasmine on 25.03.2011 at 00:54 Yasmine or Jasmine?
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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