ICED EARTH INTERVIEW |
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Beginning in the late 80'es/ early 90'es as an act close to death metal, and evolving into one of the strongest contesters for the power metal throne, Iced Earth strikes again. This time the band hits us with the theme CD called "Horrorshow" - a lesson for most power bands out there, in how to do the ultimate stuff. I hooked up with the man, who puts the dot over the i, namely Matthew Barlow, Lead vocalist extra ordinaire. Here's what came out of the conversation…
Interview by Lars F. Larsen |
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How long time did you spend in the studio this time?
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"Well, we had a little more time than usual, but the whole thing wasn't recorded in the studio. A lot of it was done at Jon's place. Drums and guitars were done in the studio, and I came in some nights to record my stuff."
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So it wasn't like you had to work 10 hours a day?
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"No, and that's cool, that you don't have to constantly look at the clock, but just be there when you have to."
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On the song "Dracula", it sounds to me, as if you've had Hansi Kürsch as supervisor on the choir parts?
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"No we didn't. It was a coincidence. We wanted these real choirs in the beginning of "Damien". In the past, we have always done it with me, Jon and Jim (Morris - producer) singing and making a choir out of that. This time we wanted it for real. So we gathered these 2 girls as well as some guys for "Damien". After having done that one, we had some spare time, so we used them as much as possible, and there you have the choir in "Dracula". It hasn't been a matter to us, to sound like Blind Guardian. It just turned out this way."
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I believe the music has become more mature. Is that because of the enrolment of the new drummer and bass guitarist?
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"No, it's due to Jon's writing skills maturing. The 2 new guys haven't written anything for the album, so that's Jon."
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What about lyrics?
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"Jon and I have split the lyrics between us this time. In the past Jon did almost everything by himself, so I'm happy to be able to contribute with a little more this time."
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How on Earth do you maintain that fabulous voice of yours?????
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"The keyword is: Limitations….know your own limit, and don't cross that line (as if Matthew has a limit!!!!). I have taken lessons, and have developed over the years, but have always known what I can and cannot do."
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Do you do anything special before a show? How do you warm up the voice?
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"Well, I try not to stand there in the backstage room and sing for half an hour, because it will only tire the voice during the show. I mean, if you're doing a 2 hour set, you will have sung for 2½ hours when you're at the last song, and there's no need for that, so I just warm up for a couple of minutes."
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What are your own inspirational sources?
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"Singers like Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate. These guys are fantastic singers."
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Is that the kind of music you listen to yourself?
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"Yeah. That, and all kinds of stuff."
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Which bands have you performed in?
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"Actually I have never before been in a band that released anything but very limited demo's."
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Then how did you get in contact with Iced Earth?
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"Me and my brother were jamming in this old warehouse, and I knew the old drummer from Iced Earth (Rodney Beasley, who participated on the Burnt Offerings album), and he told Jon about "this singer that would suit Iced Earth", when their old one was "outsted". So we got in contact, and I'm very glad that we gave it the time to develop, coz' I wasn't really the singer I am now back then. I had only been doing some thrash metal at that time, which is basically a total different style. We're all happy about it, since Jon had 2 bad experiences with the former singers."
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How old are you guys?
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"I'm 31 and Jon is 33."
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So you have a lot of years ahead of you still.
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"Ha ha, yeah, I definitely hope so."
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How about European tour? I heard something about you and Jag Panzer?
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"Well, Jag Panzer doesn't have the time for doing it, so I think we will do the whole tour ourselves without any support. It will probably be a 2 - 2½ hour show with lots of cool shit for the fans."
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Are you finally visiting Denmark? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSEEEE.
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"I have absolutely no idea. It's for the management and tour promoters to decide, but I surely hope so, because I want to cover as much ground as possible, to reach ALL of the fan base. But honestly, I don't know."
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How was the sales for "Something Wicked.." in Europe?
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"It sold about 75.000 in Europe alone."
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Are you doing a video for a song on this album?
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"No, there's absolutely no economy in it for the record label, so we won't do that. You know, it really costs a lot to do, and there's no value in it, without heavy metal programs on the TV."
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No, and MTV tries hard to kill metal…
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"Well, they don't fuck with us, and we don't fuck with them, if you get my point, hehe."
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Ok, I saw you on the Wacken open Air. You chose to do a cover of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper". That was really a downer for me and for a lot of the people I talked to, as we would rather have had some more Iced Earth. How come you did that one?
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"We just did it for the fun of it. It was really our only live performance that year, and we thought it would be cool to do it. But I'm glad that you'd rather have some Iced Earth. Anyway, we all like Iron Maiden, so let's call it a tribute to them."
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So it's not like you always play cover tunes at your shows?
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"No way. I don't recall us doing that before."
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Well, last question for today - an ever returning one: What's your favorite beer?
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"Whoah….you caught me there. I really don't know…. I do like all beer. Sometimes it has something to do with the food that goes with it. If the food is rich, it's cool with a pilsener, whereas if it's light food, I'd settle for some heavier brew. But as said, I love all beer."
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Ok, Matthew I thank you for the interview, and hope for you that "Horrorshow" will sell 15 million copies.
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"Thank you Lars. Then you will be one of the boys, for promoting it. Take care."
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