ICED EARTH have announced they will be filming and recording material for their next Live DVD/CD entitled Live In Ancient Kourion at the Kourion Amphitheatre in Limasso, Cyprus.

As previously reported, Iced Earth recently announced a new string of European tour dates in support of their Dystopia album. Their schedule is currently as follows:

December
12 – Praha, Czech Republic – Meat Factory
13 – Wien, Austria – Szene
14 – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
15 – München, Germany – Backstage
16 – Ludwigsburg, Germany – Rockfabrik
18 – Antwerpen, Belgium – Trix
19 – Bochum, Germany – Matrix
20 – London, England – Electric Ballroom
21 – Rotterdam, Holland – Maassilo

Support comes from EVERGREY, STEEL ENGRAVED and DEAD SHAPE FIGURE.

Metal Shock Finland‘s Mohsen Fayyazi has conducted an interview with ICED EARTH main man Jon Schaffer.  When asked about recording a new album, Jon said: ” We’re gonna start writing in the fall, the album will probably be in the middle or fall of 2013. We still have more touring to do for Dystopia. Then we will be recording a live DVD on August 19th in Cyprus, which will be in an ancient theatre. It’s a very busy period, but we will be working on new material.”

You can read the whole of the interview at this location.

Source: Bravewords.com

ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer has checked in from the road:

“Just wanted to write a thank you to all the fans on the last leg of the tour. You guys were amazing every single night, no matter where in the world we were. It was a truly special run, and one that will remain high in my memories for years to come.

We will start song writing in the fall this year and will continue that, and the subsequent production for the new album, in between and around upcoming tour plans for the remainder of 2012-2013. Busy, focused, and energizing times lie ahead, but we are stoked and ready! Count on it!

I’m currently in South America, hanging with friends, and taking care of some personal business here. Home sweet home is just around the corner, and I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! AHHHHH!!!!

I’d also like to say good luck to Freddie Vidales, we had a lot of fun through the years and I wish him all the best for his future. We totally understand his decision and support it 100%. Best to you brother!

Until next time, thank you once again… take care, and I wish you all the very best life has to offer!”

Iced Earth’s complete tour schedule can be viewed at this location.

Source: Bravewords

Tom Murphy at Westword.com recently caught up with ICED EARTH guitarist/founder Jon Schaffer. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: Was there a receptive audience for the kind of music you were doing earlier in your career and what kind of local scene was there at that time?

Schaffer: “When I really first started playing out with Purgatory, which was my first band, there was a really good scene in the Tampa Bay area for more traditional metal. Then later in the ’80s, and certainly in the early ’90s when the death metal took over where the melodic metal scene kind of died around there. We started working internationally at that point. We came up in a very difficult time because of the grunge thing that took over and really became the trend in the early ’90s all the way through a large part of the ’90s.

It’s always been kind of an uphill battle for Iced Earth. I think if the first album had come out in 1980, we would have reached that IRON MAIDEN status, JUDAS PRIEST. I think we would have been right there with the big guys. But since we came up a decade later, we were fighting just to survive and never had the support machinery around us until many years later which is a record company firing on all cylinders, management, all of that. There are so many cogs in the machine that make a band successful. It’s been an uphill battle and we still face some of that today, but I have to say, things are moving better than they probably ever have. The chemistry in the band is better than it’s ever been. And that goes to say also for our crew and people behind the scene too and it’s really feeling great.”

Q: I have to think that Iron Maiden’s Number Of The Beast had a big impact on you as you were starting to play music more seriously. Why is that such an important record to you?

Schaffer: “I was really right around the time that I heard Number Of The Beast that I got my first guitar because I had begged my dad for years after seeing KISS in ’79. He finally realized I wasn’t going to give up on that and got me one. I got that album, and it blew my mind because I had never heard anything like that. I grew up with the old wave of British heavy metal, so we’re talking BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE. I wasn’t really into LED ZEPPELIN that much but I heard it because my older sister was into it. ALICE COOPER, BLUE OYSTER CULT, so it was more mid-tempo rock stuff.

Then Maiden comes out, and they have this wild rhythm section. The bass player, Steve Harris, just blew my mind. His compositions, the tempo changes, the guitar harmonies, the subject matter of the lyrical content. The whole thing was the ultimate package. It just felt like that was the direction for a vision of a band I had before I had a guitar. Once I heard those guys it was, ‘That’s the direction I want to go in.’ Not the old wave of British heavy metal. It’s more theatrical and I think that’s the big thing with Iced Earth. I’ve always tried to make the music kind of a rollercoaster ride of emotion for the listeners. If you have parts in songs that can take you down to the melancholy vibe of PINK FLOYD up to the raging thrashy stuff of SLAYER and everything in between, then you’re really taking your listeners on a journey.”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Iced Earth are currently on the road in North America in support of their new album, Dystopia. They recently checked in with the following update:

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, our March 3rd show at The House Of Blues in Lake Buena Vista, FL has been moved to a new venue. The show is now happening at The Beacham in Orlando, FL. Go to this location for venue information.

All original tickets remain valid. Please note earlier doors and stage times – details can be found on the venue website. Iced Earth is closing the show that night.

We understand if this upsets some fans. We are also not happy about this unfortunate change in plans.”

Go to this location for Iced Earth’s complete 2012 tour schedule.

Iced Earth recently released their new video for ‘Anthem’, shot in Cologne, Germany during the European leg of the band’s world tour.

“We had a blast making that video,” said Schaffer. “I think the fans can see it on our faces. ‘Anthem’ captures the energy of our live shows, as well as the fun we’re having together as a band.”

Produced and directed by Kosch Fabian Film, ‘Anthem’ is the second music video released from Iced Earth’s 10th studio album, Dystopia. Check it out below:

Source: Bravewords