On July 12th, Iced Earth guitarist / founder Jon Schaffer held a live Facebook chat with the fans, fielding political questions as well as discussing plans for a 30th anniversary edition of the band's self-titled debut album, his Sons Of Liberty project, a follow-up to the band's Incorruptible album from 2017, and his forthcoming book, Wicked Words And Epic Tales.

Schaffer recently announced the release of his first ever book, Wicked Words And Epic Tales. The book is the debut release from Schaffer and his new publishing company, Wicked Words, LLC, and is the first of many original concepts planned for future release by Schaffer.

Wicked Words And Epic Tales is a collection of lyrics, interviews and pages of artwork that Schaffer’s work has inspired throughout the years. The book is an anthology of lyrics from Schaffer that span his 35 years in making music in various projects including Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards, Sons Of Liberty and Purgatory.

The book comes in two unique covers: one created by Jonboy Meyers (above) and another by Jim Balent and Roy Young (below), and is over 200 pages.

The coffee table art book also features original drawings from some of the most notable artists including Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, Monte Moore and numerous others.

The book also features an audio CD of 15 tracks that is exclusively available with the purchase of the deluxe edition book. Dubbed “A Narrative Soundscape” by Schaffer, these recordings are a completely re-imagined delivery of the lyrics of Iced Earth songs created exclusively for this release. Longtime collaborator Jim Morris worked with Jon Schaffer on these versions.

Fans can pre-order Wicked Words And Epic Tales here.

“I wanted to put something together that would be a truly unique experience not only for the fans of my bands, but for newcomers as well,” explains Jon Schaffer.

The tracklisting for Wicked Words and Epic Tales is:

"Dystopia" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Declaration Day" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Wolf" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Dante’s Inferno" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Melancholy (Holy Martyr)" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Dracula" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Raven Wing" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Angels Holocaust" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"The Clouding" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Something Wicked Trilogy" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Watching Over Me" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Seven Headed Whore" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Damien" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"A Question of Heaven" (A Narrative Soundscape)
"Come What May" (A Narrative Soundscape)

Artists that have contributed pieces for Wicked Words and Epic Tales: Jim Balent, Jonboy Meyers, Roy Young, David Newman-Stump, Nathan Perry, Leo Hao, Eliran Kantor, Axel Hermann, Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, Tim Vigil, Monte Moore, Danny Miki, Sun Khamunaki, John Gallagher, Emile Levaique, John Giang, Felipe Machado, Jamie Tyndall, Dylan Andrews, Lucio Parrillo, Travis Smith, Richard Ortiz.

(Photo - Tim Tronckoe)