By Mark Gromen

On the phone, from his new South American enclave, ICED EARTH founder/guitarist Jon Schaffer whetted BraveWords and fans' appetite for the next studio effort, currently under construction. "We're writing demos for the new album, about half way through the process. I have just a fraction of the gear I have in the States. I'm using a Macbook Pro and Apogee 1 for the converter. I've got a couple of guitars and a friend down here lent me a bass. It's somewhat more old school. We're going to finish the record in Europe. I think were going to record and maybe even mix it there this year. I don't want to be flying back and forth between Europe and Florida every weekend, like I did last time. You do festivals and then come back and record. It was a pain in the ass. I was jetlagged all summer. We're shooting for an October release, but if we don't catch that, it's no big deal, because the headlining tour starts in January. Starting from June on, we'll be busy for the next year and a half. We've got a serious plan and a big agenda rolling out right now. This next run, the goal is 200-plus shows on the next cycle. I've already got the title of the next studio album, the cover concept, the stage design happening."

As to the actual music, Schaffer contends, "We've got seven pretty complex songs, but I'm going to continue working over the course of the next several weeks. Then the band's going to get together, in Europe, to hammer out the rest. We're going to explore other things, in the moment,which is something we haven't don in year and years. There will probably be two or three songs that we work on, 'OK, who has a riff?' Let's put it together and jam as a band. I can't remember, but it's probably Burnt Offerings or Dark Saga since we jammed like that. It will be fun.”

Canadian vocalist Stu Block has been a revelation, his contributions and input continue to bring a smile to the main man's face. "Stu's been down here. He has a lot of influence on the vocal parts. I was set up in one room, doing musical arrangements. When I had something, I'd make a rough mix for him and he'd be in another room, working on melody and cadences. We'd get together and discuss what works and what doesn't. Right now, we're working on scratch lyrics. I wrote one song that's a ballad, for someone who was influential in my lifetime, but is no longer with us. It's a very personal song, so that's my composition. In terms of the rest of the stuff, Stu has been contributing. He'll do some lyrics. I'll do some. Some we'll do together, just like Dystopia."

A lengthy chat with Schaffer, about the new Live In Ancient Kourion DVD/double CD will be posted on the site, soon.

More on Iced Earth at this location.