Metal Reviews

New Single Info / Guitarist UpdatePosted by Jon Schaffer on 2007-03-28 07:55:58:

Hello Everyone,

I regret to inform you that Tim Mills will not be able to continue working with the band. As you may know, Tim is the founder of Bare Knuckle Pickups and that is his main business. He's had recent employee problems and has now found that his main worker, his right hand man as it were, has been diagnosed with cancer. So, he will not be able to do the record and tours that we had planned on. I knew it was risky bringing someone in that had an established business, I know exactly how hard it can be to be involved in multiple business', but we both felt that we'd be able to pull it off. Of course him living in the UK and the band living in the States makes things more challenging as well, but these events were completely unforeseen. I really feel for him and his employee and wish them the best through this difficult time.

I know this lineup situation has become a familiar issue with Iced Earth but please realize that it will have little or no effect at all on our plans, recording, touring and otherwise. The core is solid, focused and ready to kick some serious ass.

As has been the case since the first Iced Earth CD I have played every rhythm and lead, every clean and acoustic guitar track that you've heard, with exception of the solos, and I even did a few of those in the old days. This will not cause any delay of the recording or any shows to be canceled so don't worry about a thing, we're right on track as planned.

Tim played the guitar solos on the re-recording of the Something Wicked trilogy, that appears on the upcoming "Overture of the Wicked" 4 song single that's due to be released in early June. Unfortunately, this news just came up and he's really sorry, as am I, that he won't be able to continue on with us.

Also, I think there is some confusion as to what "Overture of the Wicked" consists of. First, the song "Ten Thousand Strong" is the single track, and it will appear on "Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1)", albeit a bit different than the single version.

Second, the Something Wicked trilogy that is comprised of the songs "Prophecy", "Birth of the Wicked", and "The Coming Curse" has been completely rerecorded. From the ground up this is a more vicious and more atmospheric version of the epic piece. I played all of the guitar tracks with a baritone guitar and Brent and I are locked up like a machine gun with the double kicks following many of the detailed picking patterns. This makes for a more Intense and wicked sounding rhythm section. All of the vocals have been redone, obviously by Tim Owens, who did a masterful job at retaining the passion and honesty of the original, and still put his stamp on it and made it his own. We also put in some teaser atmospheric things that will give you a hint of things to come on Part 1. But just a hint.......we don't want to spoil any surprises.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the old version or the Something Wicked story at all, you should check it out. The original trilogy is just an overview of the story that begins 12,000 years ago and leads us to modern day. You should look at the trilogy as an introduction to this whole epic. What is coming next in the 2 parts is a far more in depth look into this very tragic, heavy and apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy story.

I can't give anymore away at the moment, but keep checking the IE site for more updates.

Further announcements will be made in regard to the guitar player spot in the very near future.

Take care all,

Jon Schaffer

Source: http://www.icedearth.com/wwwbb_msg.php?m=31

I know there are a few here that hate Tim's voice in IE but me personally I can't wait to hear him do the Something Wicked trilogy.

Looking forward to the new single and the upcoming albums.

Impossible! I'm not a hater of Tim Owens but I cannot believe he will do a better job than Barlow did.

No matter what, I bet the majority of people dig the new song and hate on the re-recorded trilogy. It's the nature of people to listen and not compare, and if you compare you'll probably be disappointed. I can't imagine Owens doing a better job than the original tracks. I only hope that he does a good job, and that they're different enough that I feel like he belongs singing them.

Im actually looking forward to hear Owens singing the trilogy.

Though Barlow did very well with the Something Wicked Trilogy, I prefer Owens to Barlow. They do have very different vocal styles, though, so we'll see how it works out.

Me, too. I just hope Owens doesn't copy Barlow note-for-note. He needs to make the song his own.

Agreed! I think you just have to listen to the new songs as new songs and avoid comparison.

I won't do anything but that. But we all know that these will endlessly be compared to the originals, and most hardcore Barlow fans will probably rip it to shreds.

Well here is a quote from the above statement that Jon made:

"All of the vocals have been redone, obviously by Tim Owens, who did a masterful job at retaining the passion and honesty of the original, and still put his stamp on it and made it his own"

So let's hope what Jon said holds true and that Owens does his own thing while still maintaining the quality of the original trilogy.

Me too.I'm one of the few that actually enjoyed The Glorious Burden and made it my fav IE album with SWTWC coming in second.

I just wish some people would get off of Tim's back and give him a chance.Barlow is gone live with it.

Well, I wouldn't say I enjoyed Glorious Burden (give it something around 50/100) but thats no fault of Ripper, and he was definitely the best part of the album.

There ain't a damn thing wrong with Owens. The dude is one of the best voices in metal right now. I like The Glorious Burden. I think the mastering on it sucks, but I like the album. And I think the Gettyburg trilogy is one of the most epic and baddest pieces of metal I've ever heard.

Although I hope he's beefing up his clean mid-range singing voice to match up to the level of power and intensity in his aggressive mid-range vocals and high-pitched wails, Owens is an excellent vocalist. I think he just has the unfortunate stigma of having joined two bands immediately after the departure of legends (one a legend to most of that band's fans, the other a "Metal God"). It's tough. Imagine if a band had come out and hit it fairly big with Tim at the helm before he joined Judas Priest? He'd probably have become popular and very well-respected in his own right. Instead, he lives with endless comparisons to other great frontmen.

I rarely buy many singles and EPs unless there's a specific reason (i.e. Edguy's Superheroes for Judas at the Opera), and I will get this one because I can't wait to hear Tim wail "He has the power to bring the end!"

You're right, Owens is a very good singer. Just not as good as Barlow. Now let's hope he can do some justice to the trilogy and not screw it up.

Owens did a great job with the Something Wicked trilogy when I saw them live. He's been singing those songs for years now, I'm not too worried.

For me, Barlow will always be better than Ripper, and as much as its not gonna happen, I wish Barlow would return to singing metal in some shape or form.

That being said, Ripper is a good vocalist and is deserving of more credit than some people, including myself, have given him in the past. The problem with TGB was not the vocals, but the overall generic sound of the music itself.

I'm a little concerned with the rerecording of the Something Wicked Trilogy. Not the vocals, but making the songs more atmospheric?? I guess we'll have to see.

I might have missed it, but did Jon announce a new bassist yet??

I love how no one's bothered that yet another line-up change has been announced. Keep on rolling, Jonny.

Because that's totally irrelevant.

Ya, at this point, I'd be more worried if there weren't line up changes every six months. Jon's a dick who doesn't give creative licence to anyone in the band (except Ripper now, it seems). IMO, I was hoping this would change for this album; to keep me interested for two full CDs, Iced Earth is going to have to go beyond the "triplet song, ballad song, triplet song, ballad song" formula they've been going on for the past while.