The central figure of Iced Earth is rhythm guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer, who formed the band under the name Purgatory in Indiana in 1984. After moving to Florida and changing their name to Iced Earth, the group's Enter the Realm demo was popular enough that they released an eponymous debut LP with Century Media Records. Gene Adam was originally going to perform on the follow-up record, Night of the Stormrider. However, Schaffer was concerned that Gene wouldn't be able to handle the vocal melodies for the new material and asked him to take singing lessons. Adam refused and as a result he was replaced by John Greely. Greely was ejected from the band after making anti Semite comments while on tour with Blind Guardian in Europe. Jon Schaffer took John Greely to a former concentration camp in hopes of trying to change Greely's attitude. While they were there, John Greely made anti-Semite comments towards a Jewish man who was praying. Greely also expected that since he was the front man of a band that he should be getting more money. When his wishes were not met, he tried to steal money from the bass player Dave Abell. He was immediately kicked out when the tour ended.

Since then, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes. Vocalist Matt Barlow joined the band (after a three-year band hiatus following Night of the Stormrider) for Burnt Offerings, largely based on Dante's Inferno. Barlow's vocals proved extremely popular and he remained with the band for many years, recording the albums The Dark Saga, Days of Purgatory, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Alive in Athens, Horror Show and Tribute to the Gods. Barlow eventually parted amicably with the band in June 2003 to pursue a career with the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Conveniently, singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens soon left Judas Priest (to make room for returning original vocalist Rob Halford) and became Iced Earth's new vocalist. His first album with the band, The Glorious Burden, is an examination of many aspects of warfare and military figures who have shaped the modern world. Its topics range from the Declaration of Independence to 9/11 to Napoleon Bonaparte, and there are three songs dealing with the Battle of Gettysburg. There is a limited edition where the Gettysburg Trilogy is moved to a second disc and the songs Waterloo and the unplugged version of When the Eagle Cries are added to the first disc. The album's theme became the centre of a recent controversy after Schaffer gave an interview to Canadian heavy metal magazine Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. After the interview was published, Schaffer accused the magazine of taking him out of context and of pushing an anti-American bias, and subsequently announced that the band would boycott the magazine in the future.

Together with Hansi Kürsch - lead singer and former bass player of Blind Guardian - Schaffer is also part of a side project called Demons & Wizards.

In 2005, lead vocalist Tim Owens and some friends of his started a new heavy metal band called Beyond Fear.

Iced Earth is currently working on their new album, which is due for release in 2007. Schaffer has stated in interviews that the new album will be a double CD, and will continue the "Something Wicked" story he started on the Something Wicked This Way Comes album. [1]

In June 2006, Ernie Carletti became the new guitarist, and was to handle most of the guitar solos on Iced Earth's upcoming album. [2]. However, Ernie Carletti has been hit with rape charges [3].

In October 2006, Schaffer announced that Carletti will not be participating in Iced Earth, and will be replaced by Tim Mills. [4] Also, drummer Brent Smedley is returning to Iced Earth for the recording and touring of the new albums, so Bobby Jarzombek had left the band. [5].


[edit] Sound
Iced Earth's music is often described as Iron Maiden combined with 1980s thrash metal. The most distinctive element of the band's sound is the stuttering right-ha

Iced Earth's music is often described as Iron Maiden combined with 1980s thrash metal. The most distinctive element of the band's sound is the stuttering right-hand gallop of rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, which sounds something like the 'eighth-note, two-sixteenth-notes' gallop made famous by Iron Maiden's bass player/songwriter Steve Harris (in such songs as "Run to the Hills", "The Trooper", and "Caught Somewhere in Time"), sped up tremendously and varied rythmically. Overtop of this gallop are typically laid strong melodic hooks, sometimes doubled by two guitars playing in harmony. The vocals are often high-pitched, but express a full range of emotion, while the rhythm section uses thrash and power metal techniques such as double-bass-drumming to keep the speed and energy high. Iced Earth's drumwork is often highlighted by frequent use of drags and flams on the bass drum, usually intended to complement Schaffer's rhythm guitar.

Iced Earth lyrics tend to deal with theological issues such as punishment and sin, destiny, heaven and hell, the antichrist and the apocalypse. Many of the band's recent albums have been concept albums written around a theme, e.g. the antihero Spawn (The Dark Saga), horror movies (Horror Show), and historical wars (The Glorious Burden).

In some songs (such as "Dante's Inferno," "Angels Holocaust," "Damien," and "The Coming Curse") Iced Earth uses the technique of Gregorian chant. Two Iced Earth songs contain female vocals: "A Question of Heaven" and "The Phantom Opera Ghost," in addition to a remake of "Burnt Offerings" on the Days of Purgatory album.