ICED EARTH bassist Freddie Vidales has issued a summer tour report in two parts via Facebook. An excerpt is available below:

Rehearsals for Dystopia:

"For the next ten days or so, me, Troy, Brent and Jon settled into a rehearsal room somewhere near Dusseldorf, Germany and worked on the songs for the next album. I won’t get into too much detail about the songs or the rehearsals because you’ll be hearing the results soon enough. So our schedule for the rehearsal was we’d leave the hotel around 11am and for the next 8 hours or so play the new material over and over and over again until it just flowed out of us without having to think about it. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. There wasn’t much to do at the hotel afterwards since it was in the middle of nowhere, but we managed to have our moments. Me, Troy and Jon played a little basketball. Jon’s actually pretty good. I got pissed off at one point and kicked the ball over the fence, unfortunately it was into the middle of a thicket of thorny bushes. A half-hour later I emerged with the ball from the brush looking like I tried to give a jaguar a bath. After days and days of practicing, we were feeling great about the new stuff, and it was time to head to another festival."

Graspop:

"We arrived in Belgium to once again play the Graspop festival. This is a huge event with tons of bands. As soon as I got off the bus, I headed straight to the crowd to catch the DIO DISCIPLES, JOURNEY, FOREIGNER, SEPULTURA, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and VOLBEAT before it was time for us to go on. After another successful Graspop performance we hung around talking to familiar faces and listening to more bands. The SCORPIONS closed the night. We chatted a bit with our friends in Volbeat before hitting the road back to Germany for the next fest."

Rock am Hartsfeldsee:

"This festival was held next to a small lake in the rolling green hills. We walked around the grounds for a while and ran into a fan who traveled all the way from South America just to see us. Wow – 6,000 miles, now that’s what it’s all about folks. We played to a great and energetic crowd. After us was the mighty KREATOR. This was the first time I’d ever seen them live after being a fan for so many years - f’ing amazing! SABATON closed out the night and put on a great show as well. After the usual hanging about throwing back a beer or two, we boarded the bus for the ride to the airport the next morning. It was time to go home for a while after more than two weeks away.

It was nice be home again so I could enjoy the New England summer. A few days after returning, I bought my first surfboard. It’s funny to think that I grew up in Hawaii but never tried surfing until moving to New Hampshire. After splashing around like an idiot for two weeks, it was nearing time to head back to Europe for more shows, but not without seeing KISS the night before I was to leave. It was the perfect night before a long flight. So back I went, headed for Germany."

The report is available in two parts. Click the links below to check it out:

Part 1

Part 2

The band's new album, Dystopia, is scheduled for release in Europe on October 17th, and in North America on October 18th, both via Century Media. Two bonus tracks have also been recorded for inclusion on special editions of the album. It will be available as very special Ltd. Deluxe Box Set (including digipak, bonus songs, buckle, top-flip lighter, wristband, patch, button set and beer coaster), Ltd. CD Digipak (with bonus songs and patch), CD, Gatefold LP and as Digital Download.

Tracklisting is as follows:

'Dystopia'

'Anthem'

'Days Of Rage'

'Soylent Green'

'V'

'Boiling Point'

'Anguish Of Youth'

'Iron Will'

'Dark City'

'End Of Innocence'

'Equilibrium'

'Tragedy And Triumph'

Iced Earth will embark on a massive European tour from the end of October until mid-December to introduce Dystopia and their new singer, Stu Block, to European audiences. Also, this week saw Iced Earth announce their support acts for the European tour - FURY UK and WHITE WIZZARD.

Jon Schaffer states: “I’m really looking forward to touring with these guys. Both bands bring a lot of energy to the table. I know fans will enjoy seeing them as much as we will.”

Tour dates are as follows:

October

30 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche

November

1 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
2 - Uden, Netherlands - De Pul
3 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
4 - London, England - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
5 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy
6 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy
8 - Paris, France - Alhambra
9 - Lyon, France - Transbordeur
10 - Barcelona, Spain - Salamandra 1
11 - Madrid, Spain - Sala Heineken
12 - Bilbao, Spain - Rock Star Live
14 - Milano, Italy - Alcatraz
15 - Rome, Italy - Alpheus
18 - Athens, Greece - Gagarin 205
19 - Athens, Greece - Gagarin 205
20 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Principal Club
21 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Yubileina Hall
22 - Bucarest, Romania - The Silver Church
23 - Belgrade, Serbia - SKC
24 - Budapest, Hungary - Club 202
25 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
26 - Warsaw, Poland - Stodola
27 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Forum Palace
29 - Moscow, Russia - Tochka Club

December

1 - Helsinki, Finalnd - Nosturi
3 - Copenhagen, Denmark - The Rock
4 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
6 - Herford, Germany - X
7 - Köln, Germany - Essigfabrik
8 - München, Germany - Backstage Werk
9 - Geiselwind, Germany - Christmas Metal Festival
10 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
11 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - Rockfabrik
13 - Istanbul, Turkey - Refresh The Venu
15 - Nicosia, Cyprus - Pavillion

To order tickets visit this location.