Jon Schaffer and IcedEarth.com got together on March 13, 2009 for an update on the band's forthcoming live DVD as well Jon's plans for the immediate future.

The audio interview can be downloaded here (mp3 format, 8.4 MB). The main talking points of the interview are outlined below.

Regarding the immediate plans for ICED EARTH:

JS: “Well, right now I’m wrapping up the post-production for the, “FESTIVALS OF THE WICKED” DVD which I expect will come out late Summer or Fall of this year. I don’t know that for sure, it depends on when we wrap things up, but that’s the plan. That’s the next project.

“ICED EARTH is going to be taking some downtime. I’ve been very, very busy. I haven’t taken any kind of vacation in six years and I have been non-stop ICED EARTH for three-and-a-half years - from the beginning of the writing of both of these records through the recording, the touring – and there has been a lot of touring…it’s just time. I need to step back from it a little bit. And I’ve got other things planned for this year which I’ll be announcing in due course, but my goals are for right now are to get the DVD finished and (then) to get away completely – no cell phones, no e-mail, no contact with the outside world, just me and my family at a very nice isolated place, no music business, no nothing, and it’s going to be awesome. That’s going to be cool and I plan to come back completely recharged and ready to kill.”

Regarding the kind of projects Jon will be working on after returning from vacation:

JS: “You’re going to have to wait and find out my man. I mean, I’m just not ready to divulge yet. I’ve got a few irons in the fire and some things I’m very excited about. Hansi and I have planned late in 2009 to get together to do DEMONS (and WIZARDS) stuff so that’s going to be cool. We saw each other in Cologne (earlier this year) and made plans and I think it’s realistic to say that there will be a third DEMONS and WIZARDS album probably mid- to late 2010. We’re going to have two song writing sessions. We are committed to doing the bulk of this in-person. One of the things I felt like from the last Demons album was that we had this window of opportunity where we had to get it done and we kind of let time dictate the schedule instead of our feelings and that was probably a mistake. I mean I’m proud of that record (“Touched by the Crimson King” 2005) and it sold killer and it’s a good album but I think Hansi and I are capable of a lot more especially when we get back to the root reasons of why we did this thing together.

"We are not going to be bogged down by schedules – we’re going to do this as we see fit and we’re not going to let a particular window of opportunity dictate that this is when we have to do it. We’re going to do it as it feels natural – and if we feel that in Spring of 2010 that we don’t have the songs yet then we’ll push it back. I mean, we don’t have to do it on any specific schedule. We had a really long talk about it and I’m really looking forward to it because I always enjoy working with Hansi and just spending time with him. So, our first get-together is going to be late in the year, but before that I’ve got a few things going on and like I said, we’ll announce it in due course.”

Regarding the name and content of the forthcoming ICED EARTH Live DVD:

JS: “It’s going to be called, “FESTIVALS OF THE WICKED.” It is going to be (include) Wacken 2007 (with Tim Owens. The four headliners that particular year were Saxon, ICED EARTH, Blind Guardian, and In Flames – at that point the most successful Wacken ever – 70,000 people. It was a massive show. We’re (also) including Rock Hard 2008 and Metal Camp 2008, and there will be some extras like a behind-the-scenes kind of documentary, videos from “Framing Armageddon” and “The Glorious Burden” era, the EPK – the electronic press kit. I think it will be interesting for the fans to see. It’s kind of a video biography that was done for industry people. It’s something that the fans would not typically see. It’s going to have a Ross Halfin photo gallery. Rudy De Doncker from Belgium who’s done a lot of photos of the band through the years – we’re going to have his photo gallery there too. There’s going to be a lot of stuff. I think we’re looking at a three DVD set. I guess it’s possible it could end up being four, but I think the plan right now is to squeeze all the stuff on three, so we should be able to do that.

“The DVD thing is new to me – we haven’t done one before with the exception of the Gettysburg thing, but that doesn’t really count. That was just a Surround Sound version of that song that sorta snowballed into a little documentary about the battle. This is an actual concert release. When we hand in a CD master there is a three month turnaround time – that’s what the labels like to have to prep things up and get press in order. It also depends on whether we can reach the goal of getting this thing wrapped up before I leave, but I would expect the latest release day would be Fall of this year.”

http://www.icedearth.com/multimedia/interview_031309.mp3

SAXON and ICED EARTH are forced to cancel the final three shows of their current European co-headline tour due to scheduling conflicts.

The following shows are cancelled:

FEB.27.2009 - Bilbao, Spain - Rockstar Live - CANCELLED
FEB.28.2009 - Madrid, Spain - La Riviera - CANCELLED
MAR.01.2009 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz - CANCELLED

SAXON is working on announcing new dates for these shows as soon as possible; however, Iced Earth will not be partaking in these moved events.

The remaining dates on the European co-headlining tour are as follows:

FEB.16.2009 - Zlin, Czech Republic - Masters of Rock Cafe
FEB.17.2009 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
FEB.19.2009 - Budapest, Hungary - Petofi Hal
FEB.20.2009 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Mediapark
FEB.21.2009 - Zagreb, Croatia - Boogaloo
FEB.22.2009 - Milan, Italy - Rolling Stone
FEB.24.2009 - Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus
FEB.25.2009 - Strassbourg, France - La Laiterie
*** FEB.26.2009 - Cologne, Germany *** - Live Music Hall

**Note that the Cologne show was originally scheduled for February 4. The show date has changed to Thursday, February 26, 2009. The venue has also changed. The new venue is Live Music Hall in Cologne. The tickets purchased for the February 4 show at Essigfabrik ARE VALID FOR THE FEBRUARY 26 SHOW. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY NEW TICKETS IF YOU PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED TICKETS FOR THE FEBRUARY 4 SHOW. Live Music Hall WILL HONOR THE FEBRUARY 4 SHOW DATE TICKETS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED AT Essigfabrik.

The Cologne show which was originally scheduled for February 4, 2009 at Essigfabrik has been resceduled at a later date and new location. The show date has changed to Thursday, February 26, 2009. The venue has also changed. The new venue is Live Music Hall in Cologne, Germany. The tickets purchased for the February 4 show at Essigfabrik ARE VALID FOR THE FEBRUARY 26 SHOW. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY NEW TICKETS IF YOU PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED TICKETS FOR THE FEBRUARY 4 SHOW. Live Music Hall WILL HONOR THE FEBRUARY 4 SHOW DATE TICKETS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED AT Essigfabrik. See you in Cologne at Live Music Hall on February 26!!!

http://www.livemusichall.de/

Concerts to be accompanied by new releases...

Titans among themselves: 1 February 2009 will see the launch of a four-week tour by the two metal legends, Saxon and Iced Earth, in Paris. This sensational co-headlining package is certainly among the strongest of recent years and will take the two bands through countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Italy. Fans can look forward to dynamic power metal at its very best, especially since both groups will also present thoroughly exciting new releases to accompany the tour. Tickets for the concerts are available from ticketing agencies.

Saxon are considered one of the most charismatic acts of today's metal business. Their latest album release, "Into The Labyrinth", out on 12 January 2009 (Germany: 9 January 2009, US: 13 January) via Steamhammer/SPV proves that Saxon mark 2009 haven't lost any of their expressiveness, enthusiasm and inspiration. Along with numerous classics, vocalist Biff Byford & Co. will present the strongest tracks from their new album during the tour, expertly combining present and past.

For Iced Earth, this will be the first full European tour since the return of frontman, Matt Barlow. I am pleased Matt is back, explains guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer. We are brothers with a long, meaningful relationship behind us. The band will present songs from their current album, The Crucible Of Man, and for spring Schaffer has also announced the release of a new DVD.


FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009 TOURDATES

FEB.01.2009. F-Paris - Bataclan
FEB.02.2009. B-Brussels - AB
FEB.03.2009. NL-Tilburg - 013
FEB.04.2009. D-Cologne - Essigfabrik
FEB.06.2009. LUX-Luxembourg - Den Atelier
FEB.07.2009. D-Herford - X
FEB.08.2009. D-Hamburg - Docks
FEB.10.2009. NO-Oslo - Rockefeller
FEB.11.2009. SE-Stockholm - Annex
FEB.12.2009. DK-Copenhagen - Pumpehuset
FEB.13.2009. D-Berlin - Huxleys
FEB.15.2009. PL-Warsaw - Spodac
FEB.16.2009. CZ-Zlin - tba
FEB.17.2009. A-Vienna - Gasometer
FEB.19.2009. HU-Budapest - Petofi Hall
FEB.20.2009. SI-Ljubljana - Mediapark
FEB.21.2009. HR-Zagreb - Boogaloo
FEB.22.2009. I-Milan - Rolling Stone
FEB.24.2009. CH-Zurich - Volkshaus
FEB.25.2009. F-Strassbourg - La Laiterie
FEB.27.2009. E-Bilbao - Rockstar Live
FEB.28.2009. E-Madrid - La Riviera
MAR.01.2009. E-Barcelona - Razzmatazz

ICED EARTH will be playing the METRO in Chicago this Friday, November 14. Order your ticket from the METRO website now, and get two tickets for the price of 1. On the ticketing page, you will be asked to enter a password to receive this special offer. The password to enter is, "WICKED". Doors open at 6 pm, and all ages are welcome. Also appearing are Early Man, Dirge, and Septer.

ICED EARTH and Scrape Records will be conducting an autograph signing at Scrape Records in Vancouver to commemorate the store's 11th Anniversary on Wednesday, November 19. The in-store signing will take place at the store's location on 323 E. Broadway from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm local time. Later that night, the band will be the headlining the annivesary show at the Commodore Ballroom with support from EARLY MAN and OVER THE COALS. For more details, visit the Scrape Records website.

ICED EARTH have launched their very own webshop - the only place on the web to buy authorized, official ICED EARTH merchandise directly from the source. New items will be added as they become available, so check back often to the one and only, WEBSHOP OF THE WICKED!

ICED EARTH will be kicking of another North American tour leg in support of their latest release, "The Crucible of Man - Something Wicked Part II" tonight, November 7, in Tempe, Arizona at the Marquee Theater. The full schedule of November dates is as follows:

NOV.07.2008 - Marquee Theater. Tempe, Arizona
NOV.08.2008 - Sunshine Theater. Albuquerque, New Mexico
NOV.09.2008 - Bluebird Theater. Denver, Colorado
NOV.11.2008 - Ridglea Theater. Fort Worth, Texas
NOV.12.2008 - Beaumont Club. Kansas City, Missouri
NOV.13.2008 - Station 4. St. Paul, Minnesota
NOV.14.2008 - Metro. Chicago, Illinois
NOV.16.2008 - Odeon. Saskatoon. Saskatchewan, Canada
NOV.17.2008 - MacEwan Hall. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
NOV.19.2008 - Commodore Ballroom. Vancouver, British Columbia
NOV.20.2008 - Studio Seven. Seattle, Washington

"Child of the Wicked" VIP ticket packages are available for all shows. More information about the VIP package can be found here.

Visit the Official ICED EARTH website for venue information.

PREPARE TO BE VIOLATED!!!

The full allotment of ICED EARTH "Child of the Wicked" VIP packages requested by band management for the FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 show at the THE METRO in Chicago, Illinois has been granted by the show promoter this week. Therefore, a limited number of additional VIP ticket packages are available to fans on a first-come, first-serve basis for the Chicago show at THE METRO. General information and ordering instructions for the VIP ticket packages, can be found here.