BraveWords scribe Carl Begai recently caught up with ICED EARTH guitarist/founder Jon Schaffer to discuss the band's new album, Plagues Of Babylon. An excerpt is available below:

Schaffer: "For me the highlight of the record is 'The Highwayman', where I have my closest friends in the music business on the song singing lead vocals. It's a cover of the song originally done by Willie, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. It's me singing with Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB), Stu Block (Iced Earth), and Michael Poulsen from VOLBEAT. We're singing in that order, each of us doing a verse. And Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) also does guest vocals on the record on some of the choruses and on 'Among The Living Dead'. I have my best friends in this business on the album and it's so fucking cool. We had a great time, and having Russell and Michael on 'The Highwayman'... I wouldn't have done it without them. I've been talking about doing it for a few years and we were finlly able to make it happen. I'm totally thrilled about that."

Iced Earth return on January 21st with their new studio album Plagues Of Babylon on Century Media Records. The band will bring the new album to their North America homeland when their headlining Worldwide Plagues Tour hits our shores April 4th for a six-week run with SABATON and REVAMP in support.

"This is a seriously heavy album with a seriously brutal album cover," says Jon Schaffer about Plagues Of Babylon. "I'm sure it will go down as a classic in the epic Iced Earth catalog. We feel that the package with Sabaton and Revamp is very strong and we are very excited to tour the U.S. and Canada again and kick some major ass!"

Exclusive pre-sale tickets and VIP packages for the entire Iced Earth North American tour are available now at Enterthevault.com. Pre-sale tickets will remain onsale until December 4th, when remaining tickets are made available to the general public through the traditional retail outlets (check your local venue for details). VIP packages will remain onsale exclusively at Enterthevault.com while supplies last.

Beginning with their groundbreaking self-titled debut album, ICED EARTH has remained steadfastly committed to championing heavy metal and continues to be one of America's greatest classic metal bands. Plagues Of Babylon is no exception. From the sheer power of the title track and neck-breaking thrashers like "Among The Living Dead," to the haunting "Cthulhu" and the colossal "If I Could See You" and "Spirit Of The Times," Plagues Of Babylon takes fans on the thundering power trip that has become ICED EARTH's trademark.

Plagues Of Babylon tracklististing:

'Plagues Of Babylon'

'Democide'

'The Culling'

'Among The Living Dead'

'Resistance'

'The End?'

'If I Could See You'

'Cthulhu'

'Peacemaker'

'Parasite'

'Spirit Of The Times'

'Highwayman'

'Plagues Of Babylon' lyric video:

Tour dates (with Sabaton, Revamp)

April

4 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
5 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
6 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
7 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
10 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
11 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
12 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
14 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
15 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial Theater
16 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
17 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
18 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater
19 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
21 - West Springfield, VA - Empire
23 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
24 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues Orlando
25 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
26 - Saint Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
28 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
29 - Dallas, TX - Trees

May

1 - Tempe, AZ - Club Red
2 - West Hollywood, CA - House Of Blues Sunset
3 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
5 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House
6 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
7 - Vancouver, BC - The Venue
9 - Edmonton, AB - The Starlite Room
10 - Calgary, AB - Republik
11 - Regina, SK - Riddell Centre
12 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre
14 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall
15 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
16 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom