Iced Earth

I don't believe Matt Barlow should join Iced Earth as a singer. Would I have any problems with him touring as a +1 for limited dates? Nope, not a single problem. But yeah, basically...maybe next time I'll go to Baltimore to see them, in hopes it happens again.
 
Barlow will probably never return full-time, I'm just hoping for a few special shows with him on vocals (at least for some songs), so that I can cross that off from my wishlist.

Keep It True festival does those special shows all the time, so I hope they can get them to do it. Maybe Alive In Athens lineup reunion with a similar setlist or something like that. Doesn't matter to me who's in the lineup apart from Schaffer and Barlow.
 
Love the look on Barlow's face. He isn't too exuberant with his joy. He has respect for the current singer. Doesn't want too steal too much attention. It's an emotional moment and I also like the faces from the other band members.
 
I really want to know what Barlow did to his hair. What happened to all that mass of hair? Did he sell it? Did he give it away? Did he strangle terrorists with it?
 
Maybe gave it away to the Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for children who've lost their hair due to chemotherapy.
 
Black Wizard said:
An 'Icies United' tour would be nice. It would be hard to find a stage big enough for all the ex-members of the band though.

I like Stu Block as Iced Earth singer a lot. He's done three good albums with Iced Earth with some of the band's all-time great songs. However, Matt Barlow will always be the true voice of Iced Earth and Stu seems to know that himself. 'Watching Over Me' sounds so much better with Matt singing it again - can anyone remember what the song is about? I don't think Jon ever said. I hope that Jon doesn't start looking to the past again and try to coax Matt back onto the road. He's got a good thing going with Stu and it would be really harsh to end that just to get Matt back for a few months before he gets homesick again. It's awesome to see Matt make a cameo appearance with Iced Earth again, and I wish I could've seen it, but Jon can't keep looking backwards.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. I really, really enjoy Stu in IE, and I want the current nucleus with him and Jon to continue as long as they gel so well together as they've done so far. On the other hand, no one in their right mind would have any problem with Matt joining for a song or two whenever their respective schedules allow it (not too often thought, it still has to be a special thing).
Like Perun puts it, sometimes divorced couples make it work for the sake of their children :)
 
That whole video was hilarious and awesome a little sad.

1. Stu is literally singing "He's watching over me!" as he stares off stage to where Matt is standing. He knows he's only the appetizer.
2. Jon's face looking at Matt the whole time is pure joy.
3. In 2 mins Matt takes control of the crowd without even trying too hard, just a couple hand gestures and he's got them hooked.

Man, this band just is on a different level with Matt singing, even if his voice has aged a tad and he's a little rusty. The tone is so much more pure and clear than Stu's and it changes the sound immediately once he starting singing.
 
Very true, but it's not necessarily the performance. Matt's vocals here aren't perfect by any means, but his tone is perfect. It cuts right through and enhances the sound. Stu's voice is lost somewhere in the mix and it's not mic volume, it's just their inherent tonal differences.
 
I remember seeing Iced earth with Nevermore back in 1997 ( I think). Damn, those were the days.
 
Saw Iced Earth last night. The band seemed to be having a great time, which makes sense as it was the last show of the tour. Stu came out on fire and quickly deteriorated throughout the set. He might have been drunk. His vocals weren't terrible, it's just that his lower range cannot be heard. I could hear the sound guy turning him up again after every song and you still couldn't hear him when he was singing low over anything heavy. Highs were fine until Dracula, then he pretty much got exhausted. Also, he started introducing Brothers before Vengeance is Mine and Schaffer had to whisper something like, "You know we're playing Vengeance right now," into his ear. His vocals during the second verse of Watching Over Me were atrocious.

They did, however, pull out The Hunter during the encore which was an awesome treat (even if Stu forgot the second verse and missed his cue for the chorus).

All in all, the show was a lot of fun but it's hard not to be critical of a vocalist who clearly doesn't have the range for half of the songs. Travel in Stygian was amazing, and easily the highlight, along with Stormrider and Clear the Way.
 
Stu complained on FB about people complaining about him, that's not a good sign. I don't wanna be too harsh on him since he's a cool guy, but he's been deterioriating since he joined. Good frontman, underused in the studio (since he was also great at harsh vocals), but we all know what's best for Iced Earth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top