JON SCHAFFER Says ICED EARTH Was A 'Paycheck' For Former Singer TIM OWENS

Jeffrey Easton of Metal Exiles recently conducted an interview with ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Exiles: You mentioned consistency with your record labels so you could release the records right. What about consistency between "Framing Armageddon" and "The Crucible of Man" with [former singer] Tim "Ripper" Owens doing one and [current vocalist] Matt Barlow doing the other?

Jon: Things happen. Tim was great to work with in the studio and from a stand point of performing live he was great as far as being an incredible vocalist but he was not a true believer in this band. It was a job for him and ICED EARTH is not about that. The guys that were in the band before Matt were true believers in the band and the crowds went ape shit for them and there was a good feeling on stage. That was the thing that was missing and it became apparent to me that a change was going to have to be made. A change was coming regardless but it just so happened that Matt and I spoke after we did the European "Framing" tour and the first thing that we spoke about was doing a project together. As the conversation continued, why do a side project when we can just do ICED EARTH together?! This was not something that was planned and within two or three days from our conversation a decision was made. I was not vetting this out for months. As a composer, this does not change things for me much. I know some people will have trouble getting their heads around that but to me the voice is another instrument and when I write these parts I am writing for the song. I do not write for a singer, a singer must be able to deliver my songs. I do not sit around worrying about my material and by working with guys of this caliber they will be able to deliver what it is as a writer I require otherwise they would not get the gig.

Metal Exiles: So the passion for the band was missing from Tim?

Jon: Only from a performance standpoint because in the studio we did great stuff. He was more interested in doing his solo thing, that was where his head was at and it was becoming more and more obvious. This band was a means to an end for him.

Metal Exiles: ICED EARTH was a paycheck?

Jon: Absolutely, and that is not what ICED EARTH is about. I wish Tim all the best in the world, I am a big fan of his voice and I love the records that we did together. In a way it works anyway because "Framing" is the precursor to the birth of Set and "Crucible" is Set and it is mostly from his perspective so in a sense Framing is telling the prophecy and "Crucible" is Set.

Metal Exiles: You have the Tim Owens thing but you have always had a revolving door. Do you think that has affected ICED EARTH at all or is it all Jon Schaffer's vision?

Jon: ICED EARTH is a vehicle for my songs, that is all it has ever been. People follow a band so they have this fantasy about how a band operates and how it must be but 99% of the time it is all horseshit because they do not know what the reality of it is. I did not start this band to be some egomaniacal rock star, I do not give a fuck about that. I do not give a fuck about being a guitar hero, those are not my goals. The guitar is a tool to write songs and ICED EARTH is a vehicle for my compositions. It has also been a series struggle especially in those first 13 years with Century Media. It was a situation that most bands would have broken up under. These are all things that people do not know about and they make judgments about them and it does not bother me. Anybody that has worked with me knows that I am very fair and loyal but there is a point that I do not put up with anybody's bullshit. At the end of the day it does not make a big difference. It has everything to do with management, record companies, booking agents, publishers. Those are the four things that matters with a bands success. It has nothing to do with Joe Blow on the drums, bass or guitar, it does not matter. If the machine is there and the product is there, which it always has been and every ICED EARTH album has sold well regardless of who is in the band. People in the industry know that the record is going to sell well anyway. It is one of those things that does not concern me and no it is not all about me but it is all about my songs.

Read the entire interview from Metal Exiles.