JON SCHAFFER Doesn't Rule Out New ICED EARTH Music With Singer MATT BARLOW: 'Anything's Possible' But 'I Need To Be Really Inspired'

In a new interview with Spain's Metal DJ Phoenix, ICED EARTH's founding guitarist Jon Schaffer, whose band effectively split up after he was arrested for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, was asked if there is a chance that he could reform the band with former ICED EARTH singer Matt Barlow. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think anything's possible. I just don't know, because the music has to be there. I'm not interested in going out and playing old ICED EARTH records. I'm not saying that if we put the band back together that we won't. That's not what I'm saying. But to do that, it doesn't feel right. There's gotta be new music that's truly inspired. Because I hate the music business. I always have. So to get back into that… I created the cage for myself. ICED EARTH is like a cage. It's a machine. And I don't wanna get back to the way things were before. So the only way that I would be interested in doing that is if the music is really speaking to me."

Jon continued: "It would be pretty easy to put the band back together and to go out and make money and start doing the whole thing over again. That's, like, probably 30 minutes of phone calls, and it's on. But I'm not in that space right now. I don't wanna do that. So it may come, and it probably will at some point, but it's gotta be determined on the music. That's it. Because just putting the band back together to go out and play this record or that record — I can't think of anything that's less interesting to me to do. It would feel a little bit cheap to do that. So there's gotta be truly inspired music. If that comes, then everything's on the table."

After Metal DJ Phoenix noted that ICED EARTH fans shouldn't expect to see Schaffer going out and performing the entire "The Dark Saga" album to celebrate the LP's 30th anniversary, Jon said: "No. Not right now, no. I have no interest in that right now. There's been plenty of offers, believe me, but that's just not something I'm interested in doing, unless there's new music.

"I did my time in the music business — I did decades of time in it — and, frankly, I think it sucks. I hate it," Schaffer explained. "So, the music has to be there because then there's a purpose. But just to go out and live in the past and sell t-shirts, it's just not something that's interesting for me at this moment in time."

Regarding his plans for releasing new music in the not-too-distant future, Jon said: "I'm only going with my instincts and what my spirit is telling me to do, and what I'm inspired by. And right now that's [Jon's side project] SONS OF LIBERTY, and we'll see when I really start assembling and doing production work, like pre-production work… There are some ICED EARTH parts that I've already come up with, but whether I'm gonna work on developing those songs in a year or two, or not at all, I don't know yet. I'm focused on the SONS stuff right now. And I know the fans want it. They're just gonna have to wait, because I'm not gonna be pressured by anybody. Not by the fans, not by former members, not by management people or labels or whatever. It's not gonna happen. This is gonna be organic, it's gonna be real, it's gonna be inspired, because that's worth it. It'll be worth the wait. I mean, I know how this works."

Jon, who recently issued "Sons Of Liberty - Thought Crimes (Volumes 1 & 2)", combining the "Brush-fires Of The Mind" LP (2009) and the "Spirit Of The Times" EP (2011),with newly recorded drums by Mark Prator and a new mix by Jim Morris, went on to say that he is not motivated by the financial offers that have been thrown at him in the eight years since ICED EARTH last performed live.

"This is not about money for me. It never has been," he said. "I mean, of course I need money, you need money, everybody does because we have to live and we have bills to pay, but I'm not gonna — at the expense of sacrificing my personal integrity, there is no money that can do that. So it's gotta be inspired.

"If I wouldn't have [gotten] Mark Prator to play drums and do the remix on the SONS OF LIBERTY album, I might not be doing any music stuff right now. So that started it. Now I'm going through this process because it's what I need to do."

Circling back to the possibility of working with Barlow again, Jon said: "I feel certain that Matt and I are gonna do something together eventually, whether it's ICED EARTH or whether we do another SCHAFFER/BARLOW PROJECT, or whether we do both, or whether we do something completely different. I mean, he's my bro, man — [he] has been forever — and we have a great thing together. But he also understands that I need to be really inspired. I gotta have my heart in it. If it's gonna be great, my heart's gotta be in it. I gotta really be in. And I know that I'm not right now, so why would I do it? It would only be to chase dollars at that point. The heart and soul have to be there if you wanna have the best music, and the music is gonna outlive me. So it's important that — I just gotta trust my instinct on this."

Schaffer, who has been vocal about the role his relationship with Jesus Christ played in helping him to get through the aftermath of his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot, was also asked if his newfound faith will influence his music going forward. He responded: "I don't know the answer to that. This is all just starting. This is the thing with creative — with the art, with following your heart and your soul, it's just gonna happen. And it could be the kind of thing that… I mean, I do know some specific historical things that I will be writing about, but I don't know. There's no limitations.

"Being a Christian is actually pretty heavy," Jon explained. "You're talking about having a level of understanding about the spiritual war. There isn't really much heavier than that. So, I think the influence in that, it could be pretty strong, but it won't lack any heaviness, let's put it that way. So I have no concerns about that. And maybe I define heavy a little bit differently than some people do. I think heavy is, how does it move you emotionally? It's not just detuned guitars and [guttural vocals]. To me, that doesn't define heavy. It defines how does the music move an individual. Does it bring you to tears? Does it make you wanna shake your fists and, like, whatever? But whatever the reaction is, if it moves you in a really powerful way, that's heavy to me. I mean, I know acoustic songs that are very heavy and very moving and very powerful.

"I don't know. I'm too early in this," Schaffer added. "And I think whatever it is that comes, it's gonna have to be great or I'm just not gonna do it. There's other things that I can do. So that's the stage that I'm at right now, is starting, and I'll be doing this for many months now, and preparing everything, and making sure that it's feeling good to me. Because at the end of the day, I have to satisfy myself as an artist. My preference is that people would enjoy it. If they don't, that's okay too. I have no control over that. The only thing I have control over really is making the decisions that are gonna make me sit at ease with my legacy and with my work. And at this point in my life, it's really important that anything that I do or am involved with going forward is something that I can really be comfortable with. I mean, I am really pretty comfortable with almost all of my catalog. When you have a career that long — and this is the machine that I'm talking about — sometimes through the years there's been albums that I don't think are as great. Some people feel differently. Some people love them. And some of that — I believe that you can work incredibly well under pressure if you're inspired. If you're not feeling super inspired because maybe you're burned out, but you've already got a tour booked on one side of the thing, and you've got a deadline, and you've got to get the record done… I mean, there's been times... Or you've got really heavy personal situations going on in your life, but you've got to push through because the deadline. I'm not willing to compromise on that anymore. It's just not an option. I don't have anybody breathing down my neck about it, and they're not going to, because I'm not gonna tolerate it. It has to be inspired, man. It has to be inspired, and if it's not inspired, and if it's not inspiring me, and I'm not getting the goosebumps, and I'm not really believing it, then I'm just not gonna do it. I'd rather leave it where it is. Because if [2017's] 'Incorruptible' was the last ICED EARTH album ever, it's a great album. That one, I really enjoy that record. I think there's maybe a couple spots that are a little bit filler, but most of it's really strong, and I would be okay with that. So it's gotta be inspired. It's gotta be fire — really, really hot."

In October 2024, Schaffer was sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. At the sentencing hearing, Jon was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment. Schaffer later became one of about 1,500 people accused of crimes related to the riot who were pardoned by U.S. president Donald Trump.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January 2021, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.

In April 2025, Schaffer said in an interview that the legal issues and professional setback he faced as a result of his involvement in the Capitol riot have been "the biggest gift" of his life, in part because "it is what led" him "to [Jesus] Christ."