Metal Injection correspondant Noa sat down with Jon Scaffer of ICED EARTH during the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. She spoke to Jon about playing the boat, if we can expect new DEMONS & WIZARDS music and what the future holds for Iced Earth.

Watch the interview below:

Schaffer, hard at work in his studio, promises the next Iced Earth album will be “pretty fuckin’ heavy.”

“I can tell you from the riffs and the attitude behind it,” he said, “this is going to be a bad-ass record. This is inspired, focused, and to the point.”

The album – set for release later this year – will be Iced Earth’s tenth studio outing, and the first since 2008’s The Crucible of Man. Unlike Crucible and Framing Armageddon (which was released in 2007), the new album won’t be a concept. Instead, Schaffer promises a return to the raw-and-heavy sound of Iced Earth’s classic fan-favorite albums.

“This is really heavy stuff,” Schaffer said. “It’s a kick in the nuts.”

He added: “People probably think I don’t have it in me any more. But they’re going to be proved wrong about that. I can tell you this: we’re coming back with a vengeance. We’re out for blood.”

This promises to be a grand year for Schaffer and company. Not only will Iced Earth release a new album (followed by a world tour – which management promises will take the band to countries it hasn’t previously played), but the band will also release its long-awaited six-hour, three-concert live DVD this Spring titled Festivals of the Wicked.

In addition, the band just announced two new summer festival dates: The Ilosaarirock Festival in Joensuu, Finland, on July 16th, and the Sweden Rock Festival, on June 10th, in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

With those two dates, Iced Earth has been confirmed to play a total of five summer festivals, including Wacken, Graspop, and Rock am Härtsfeldsee. More festival dates will be announced soon on the band’s official website, MySpace, and Facebook pages.

(Photo credit: Ross Halfin)