Brent Smedley

Source: Blabbermouth.net

Fan-filmed video footage of ICED EARTH‘s June 21 performance at the Dokk’em Open Air 2013 festival in Dokkum, The Netherlands can be seen below.

ICED EARTH recently parted ways with drummer Brent Smedley for “personal family reasons.” He has since been replaced by Raphael Saini (CHAOSWAVE).

ICED EARTH has set “Plagues Of Babylon” as the title of its new album, tentatively due in October via Century Media Records. The CD will be recorded and mixed in between a string of European festival appearances this summer.

Songtitles set to appear on the CD (among others):

* Plagues of Babylon
* Democide
* Among The Living Dead
* The Resistance
* If I Could See You
* Peacemaker
* Cthulhu
* Parasite

The first part of ICED EARTH‘s 2014-2015 world tour will kick off on January 9, 2014 in Saarbrücken, Germany.

ICED EARTH has been hitting it relentlessly, with the recent studio album, “Dystopia”, being the most toured album in the band’s illustrious history.

One of the many highlights of the “World Dystopia Tour”, a headline show at the historic Kourion Amphitheatre in Cyprus, was recently released on Blu-ray, DVD and in many other formats under the title “Live In Ancient Kourion”.

“Dystopia” was released in October 2011 via Century Media Records. The CD marked the band’s recording debut with singer Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY), who joined ICED EARTH in March 2011 following the departure of Matt Barlow.

ICED EARTH have announced via their facebook page that drummer Brent Smedley has stepped down from the band due to personal family reasons. the statement can be read below:

“ICED EARTH have announced that Brent Smedley will be stepping down from drum duty in ICED EARTH for personal family reasons. The new drummer will be RAPHAEL SAINI and will be performing with the group starting this summer.

“I have family members that are elderly and frail and need my help here in Jacksonville”, Brent Smedley says. “It’s been one of the hardest decisions of my life but I simply cannot commit to the kind of schedule the band deserves and requires so I decided to ask permission to step down from my post.”

“Brent has been a valued member of the group for a long time. We thank him for his contributions, friendship and energy and wish him all the best for the future. We want to welcome Raphael with open arms and are expecting for our fans to give him the welcome he deserves” – ICED EARTH.

ICED EARTH just released a concert from their “WORLD DYSTOPIA TOUR” in many different formats, including BluRay, DVD and CD. Entitled “LIVE IN ANCIENT KOURION” it shows the band playing to a rabid, packed house in an ancient amphitheater in Cyprus and storming through an encompassing setlist of both fan favourites and deep catalog material.

The summer will be spent recording and mixing a new studio album entitled “PLAGUES OF BABYLON” and playing various summer festivals. A headline tour has been announced kicking off in January 2014.

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