Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida that combines influences from thrash metal, power metal, progressive metal, opera, speed metal and NWOBHM. Iced Earth has been known to have a volatile and oft changing line-up. Founding member, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer being the only original member who has remained, handling nearly all of the songwriting and leading the band. Current vocalist Matt Barlow and former lead guitarist Randall Shawver are the next longest-tenured members, the only people besides Schaffer to have spent a full decade in the band. Shawver, the first lead guitarist to record with the band, joined in 1988 and remained until 1998. Barlow joined in 1994 and remained until 2003, when he was inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. to leave the band and become a law enforcement officer. However, he returned to the group in late 2007. In 1999 Jon Schaffer teamed up with Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch to form a side project called Demons & Wizards and have released two albums to date.

Iced Earth's musical style is often[who?] described as a medley of many major '80s metal acts such as the NWOBHM bands Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, combined with 1980s Thrash bands such as Metallica and Testament. The most distinctive element of the band's sound is the stutter-like 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, sped up tremendously and varied rhythmically. Strong melodic hooks are typically laid over the top of this gallop, sometimes doubled by two guitars playing in harmony, such as in "The Reckoning." They often vary rhythms by using the two dotted eighth note followed by a quarter note or four dotted eighth notes followed by two quarter notes, known as the clave or chopped clave pattern. This is often used by Judas Priest.

During Barlow's period in the band, the vocals were often low-pitched but with occasional high-pitched screams, however after Owens joined the band the emphasis shifted to the higher-pitched spectrum. Common throughout since the release of Something Wicked This Way Comes is the practice of recording multiple vocal tracks to simulate the sound of a small choir. Schaffer claims that this is probably due to his work with Blind Guardian. A common element of the band's sound is the frequent usage of double-bass-drumming. Iced Earth's drum work is often highlighted by frequent use of drags and flams on the bass drum, usually intended to complement Schaffer's rhythm guitar.

Discography

Main article: Iced Earth discography

* Iced Earth (1991)
* Night of the Stormrider (1992)
* Burnt Offerings (1995)
* The Dark Saga (1996)
* Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)
* Horror Show (2001)
* Tribute to the Gods (2002)
* The Glorious Burden (2004)
* Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 (2007)
* The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked Part 2 (2008)

Band members

Current members

* Matt Barlow – lead vocals (1994 – 2003, 2007 – present)
* Troy Seele – lead guitars (2007 – present)
* Jon Schaffer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1984 – present)
* Freddie Vidales – bass (2008 – present)
* Brent Smedley – drums (1996 – 1997, 1998 – 1999, 2006 – present)

Former members

Lead vocals

* Gene Adam (1985 – 1991)
o Performed on Enter the Realm demo (1989) and Iced Earth (1991).
* John Greely (1991 – 1992)
o Performed on Night of the Stormrider (1992).
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (2003 – 2007)
o Performed on The Reckoning EP (2003), The Glorious Burden (2004), Overture of the Wicked EP (2007) and Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) (2007).

Lead guitars

* Bill Owen (1985 – 1987)
o Did not perform on any albums.
* Randall Shawver (1988 – 1998)
o Performed on Enter the Realm demo (1989), Iced Earth (1991), Night of the Stormrider (1992), Burnt Offerings (1995) and The Dark Saga (1996).
* Larry Tarnowski (1998 – 2003)
o Performed on Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998), The Melancholy E.P. (1999), Alive in Athens (live album) (1999), Horror Show (2001) and Tribute to the Gods (2002).
* Ralph Santolla (2003 – 2004)
o Performed on The Reckoning EP (2003) and The Glorious Burden (2004).
* Ernie Carletti (2006)
o Did not perform on any albums.
* Tim Mills (2006 – 2007)
o Performed on Overture of the Wicked EP (2007) and collaborated on Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) (2007).

Bass guitar

* Richard Bateman (1985 – 1986)
o Did not perform on any albums.
* Dave Abell (1987 – 1996)
o Performed on Enter the Realm demo (1989), Iced Earth (1991), Night of the Stormrider (1992), Burnt Offerings (1995) and The Dark Saga (1996).
* Keith Menser (1996)
o Did not perform on any albums.
* James MacDonough (1996 – 2000, 2001 – 2004)
o Performed on Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998), The Melancholy E.P. (1999), Alive in Athens (live album) (1999), The Reckoning EP (2003) and The Glorious Burden (2004).
* Steve DiGiorgio (2000 – 2001)
o Performed on Horror Show (2001) (uncredited).
* James "Bo" Wallace (2006 – 2007)
o Did not perform on any albums.
* Dennis Hayes (2007)
o Played on 2 tracks on Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) (2007).

Drums

* Greg Seymour (1984 – 1989)
o Performed on Enter the Realm demo (1989).
* Mike McGill (1989 – 1991)
o Performed on Iced Earth (1991).
* Rick Secchiari (1991 – 1992)
o Performed on Night of the Stormrider (1992).
* Rodney Beasley (1992 – 1995)
o Performed on Burnt Offerings (1995).
* Mark Prator (1995 – 1996, 1997 – 1998)
o Performed on The Dark Saga (1996) and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
* Richard Christy (2000 – 2004)
o Performed on Horror Show (2001), Tribute to the Gods (2002), The Reckoning EP (2003) and The Glorious Burden (2004).
* Bobby Jarzombek (2004 – 2006)
o Did not perform on any albums.

Keyboards

* Rick Risberg (1999)
* Howard Helm (1992 - 2007)

some put them in power, some in heavy so I put them in heavy

now that's what I call good music
great band, saw their show in Zagreb, fucking brutal \m/