Well it has been over 3 years since their last release, a bit of a prolonged absence for their standards, but Iced Earth has returned with one of the most diverse records of their career titled Incorruptible. The title serves as an ode to the fact that after almost 30 years in the business Iced Earth has refused to compromise their integrity as a band, and have stayed the course for what founder Jon Schaffer had envisioned for Iced Earth so many years ago. This new album Incorruptible feels like one of the most carefully crafted albums of the bands career, and truly gives fans of every era of Iced Earth something to love. Metal Exiles had the privilege to talk to the main-man himself Jon Schaffer about some of the different themes on the new record, as well as the overall creative process behind the bands 12th studio release.
An interview with Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth
By Michael Knowles
Metal Exiles: To me this album stylistically touches upon every era of Iced Earth, and may be one of the most diverse records you’ve ever made, would you say that is a fair assessment?
Jon Schaffer: Yea I actually think it is man, even though it was not conceived that way, it just sort of happened. The only contrived decision on this whole album cycle was that it would not be a theme or a concept record, and that was simply because I had so many different subject matters that I wanted to write about and Stu did as well and none of them connected really. So it was just like ok well it’s not going to be a concept or a theme album and that’s not a bad thing because that’s probably been really since the very first record that was just a collection of songs. I mean you know even if you get into, like Stormrider was a concept record, and Burnt Offerings wasn’t but it had like 3 songs that were connected to Dante’s Inferno. Then you get into Dark Saga which was a concept album, then Something Wicked had the big Something Wicked trilogy and then a collection of songs around it. So, there was always something else that would lend itself to bigger story telling that was connected, but this one was just a collection of stand-alone songs.
Metal Exiles: A lot of really cool themes on this record, do you decide what story concept you want to run with before you write the music or does that come after you write the music?
Jon: No always before because that’s what helps me set the landscape of a song, you know the soundscape as it were. You know I start with a working title or at least a theme, and when I start a session in pro tools I’ll title it something so that I know. Like I said it could be a working title, like “Ghost Dance” was called trail of tears for a long time so the immediate plan was that was going to be attributed to the native Americans. Where it’s going to go ultimately, I’m not certain until I get started on it, but I have to have a target and then I just sort of open myself up and let the music channel through me which is basically just energy that’s channeling through. And then the soundscape is created and then at the end is where we focus on lyrics and vocal melodies, because I’ve always approached it sort of like a soundtrack you know of a movie. If you watch a drama or whatever and you mute the soundtrack, that movie will have a very different effect on you. It’s the thing that will make you scared, it’s the thing that’s going to make you cry, it’s not going to be the text it’s going to be something that’s hitting you at a level that you don’t really understand. So the bulk of the time is spent on the musical arrangements. That’s what really takes the time, and to me the key is to channel the right energy for whatever subject matter you are going for, and what you are trying to say story wise.
Metal Exiles: This album was recorded in the brand new Iced Earth studio, what was that process like, and how do you feel having your own studio to work in benefited the record?
Jon: Well it was amazing because it is really killer sounding, both rooms sound great. The biggest benefit is always in the comfort zone of pre-production because that is where the bulk of the work is done. It’s nice to be in a position to where I have the time, and I don’t have to feel rushed or worried about budgeting so much because it’s my place. You have to think about that too during master tracking because there’s a lot of people that are being paid and all that, so you have to keep things under control, but if you do your pre-production properly and spend the right amount of time during pre-production, then master tracking can be done very efficiently. And you know we were so prepared for this that we master tracked the album in 20 days, but that’s because the pre-production was like 4 or 5 months or something like that. So you know that’s a shit load of like 15/16 hours a day, mostly me working by myself because the band is international. We can’t just get together and jam, I wish we could. That would be really cool you know get together 4 or 5 days a week and just plow through this stuff. Instead I have to do a lot of work, spending a lot of time making very detailed pre-production demos and building the songs, playing the parts, and getting everyone to where they learn the stuff. You know because, Luke’s in England, Stu’s in Canada, Brent’s in Florida, Jake even though he came into the process towards the end, really the songs were done when he came in, except for the solos which he did, but you know he’s in California. So still no matter what you do, for Iced Earth to get together and jam together it’s expensive you know what I mean, it’s a costly endeavor.
Metal Exiles: One of the stand out tracks for me is the pirate themed song Black Flag, one of those truly adrenaline inducing songs that sparks the imagination. Please go into the writing and recording of that song.
Jon: That one has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it was quite a challenge for me lyrically to tell the story of the pirates, because it’s a long history actually. To do that in like a 4 and a half 5-minute song was quite a challenge, but I was able to pull it off pretty well. The idea started, like I said it’s been floating around in my head for a while, I was talking to the guys while we were rehearsing for Bang your Head, where I was going with it. I said I just haven’t found the right intro yet. A few days later after I got back Luke sent me this idea for the intro, and I was like dude it’s perfect and so that was great. I mean it just developed, it’s one of my favorite songs too, and it’s one we are actually doing a proper video for on this album cycle should be pretty killer. I wanted it to be not like a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum pirate song, this is like a fucking vicious song, you know there’s a certain kind if vitriol, and Stu did an incredible job capturing that. I mean we really don’t have a problem relating to the life of a pirate anyway. I think anybody that’s in a heavy metal band and lives a lot of their life traveling and on the road doing the things that we do, I think there’s a certain connection there. So, it all felt pretty natural for all of us to do that song, but I did want it to be kind of angry and the feeling of the privateers being stabbed in the back by the Empire, because they were using those guys in a way that benefited them, and then when they decided to cooperate with each other, then they outlawed them and it was a total typical empire move. You know you fuck over whoever it is that you are doing business with. It was one of those things that felt really cool to do it and I think we captured the vibe pretty well.
Metal Exiles: To me Stu has truly reached his vocal prime, can you talk about his performance overall on the album, as well as how he’s progressed as a singer in this band?
Jon: Well I think Stu has always done an amazing job. Is he getting more comfortable in his role? Yea I’m sure he is that’s a question you would have to ask him, but for me I have a different perspective than you or any of the fans out there would because he’s my brother and we spend a lot of time together. And we hit it off immediately and we’ve done massive world tours and experienced so much shit together, and have been through so much shit together. From personal tragedies, whatever and we’ve been there for each other through that. And it’s one of those things where the bond is strong, and I’ve never felt like Stu ever did anything other than stellar on the records. I think what’s happening now is people are just starting to accept that Stu’s the guy and he’s not going anywhere. So, did he do anything more amazing on this album than he’s done in the past? I mean I think he’s always kicked ass so I can’t really say that. People are always going to have a lot of opinions about that especially when it comes to a singer but you know I’m on a different side of this. I have a completely different perspective, I’ve always been totally satisfied, I’ve never been disappointed in anything that Stu has done.
Metal Exiles: Another one of my favorite tracks is the song Raven Wing, amazing chorus and there’s just so many layers to that song. Can you talk about how that song came together, as well as the lyrical theme?
Jon: Yea that one really was something pretty special. I was working late in the studio you know early in pre-production and I slept for maybe 4 hours. I had a really early appointment in the morning up in Indianapolis, I had to go up there and I got back, figured I’d crash for a couple of hours before I started working again, but I had a lot of energy and I went back in, and for some reason I started a pro tools session, I called it Raven Wing and this is one of those rare cases where I didn’t really have a theme for a song. This title just came into my head and I started laying it down, and this was probably 8 in the morning. And when I looked up at my clock it was 4:30 in the afternoon, and I had never even gotten up to take a piss. I mean I got locked into this and you know played the guitars, the acoustic, the rhythms, the lead guitars, programmed the drums, played the bass and I’m just getting into this arrangement. I’m doing all this stuff and I look up at the clock and I go fuck man! It hit me at that point, I missed the appointment with tattoo Dave about the album cover artwork. We were supposed to get together at 2:30 that day and go over all of the details of the cover. I called him and went I’m so sorry dude I completely got into a zone, that just never happens because I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to miss appointments. Anyway, it ended up being this really cool music, I went later in the evening and met with him and we got started on the cover. A few days later I was, I take Reiki, I don’t know if you’re familiar with that, but it’s kind of an energy, it’s out there spiritual stuff, it’s kind of a massage but it’s done for your energy shield. The lady is a little, she’s not a little bit, she’s very gifted almost psychic type, very spiritual, very connected to the spirit. She gets information you know and she said to me you have ravens all around you, you have a giant raven around you, and there’s a ton of raven energy. And right there I just got chills all over my body because I just called this song Raven Wing, and she said you need to research that meaning. And so I got home and went what the fuck is going on? So I start reading about it and it’s in the Native American and in the Viking lore, and you know it’s the direction I said, well obviously I know where I’m going to take this song lyrically. It’s very much a personal song about my spiritual journey, and the raven is in the Native American lore, when a raven comes into your life it’s a message from the spirit realm. It’s basically the spirit world communicating to you, and that’s sort of where that song is, that’s where it went. So it became, I knew when that happened I was like man, I mean I knew anyway because of the whole series of events, but when she told me that I was like there’s something going on here. And when I wrote it and stuff and I had Stu demo it I was like this is going to be a big one man and it ends up that it’s the hit of the record so that is pretty cool.
Metal Exiles: Have you ever had this sort of special connection to a song before, is “Raven Wing” unique in that aspect?
Jon: I have had, yea for sure but in this way, let’s say have I had this powerful of a connection, as many songs as I have written? Yes. But have I ever had it unfold in this way? No. The way that happened, never happened before. I mean was I in a mode on this record where I’m channeling energy the way I feel does this specific subject matter justice? Yea. I really think I was in a zone on this one like with the Irish Brigade in “Clear the Way,” or “Ghost Dance” in a tribute to the Native Americans. I mean I was feeling that energy, and I’ve spent more time getting in tune with my spirit, and balancing and meditating, and doing that type of stuff more than I ever have in my life, and I think all of that has opened me up to be able to really channel the energy probably better in some ways than I ever have, it feels like a pretty cool step that’s going on.
Metal Exiles: You mentioned the artwork, how much creative direction do you provide, is it more just communicating the theme, and you just let the artist run with it, or is it more hands on than that?
Jon: Well I’ve been involved heavily on pretty much every cover except in those early albums where Century Media had control over that stuff. I mean I would give a concept to the guy but down to the details I didn’t have much involvement. And when we get to Dark Saga that was just using Todd McFarlane’s image of Spawn. So it really started on Something Wicked and from there on I was really involved in almost every detail, working with the artist. This one, when I went and met with Dave on the cover, we spent a lot of time going through different images of crucifixion, I wanted Set to be on a pinnacle and there’s a reason for that, and the look on his face of defiance as he’s being engulfed in the flames, he’s like fuck you, and the whole idea of being incorruptible. There’s parallels between some of the stuff within the something wicked story even though there’s none of that lyrically on the album, but it’s also parallels between that and the dedication to Iced Earth, and the fact that the vison has remained incorruptible. And even though there’s been some really heavy shit that’s happened, from you know business stand points and, a lot of hardships to go through just to keep this going. I feel like I’m standing fucking strong in saying, fuck you doubters you know what I mean. So there’s a lot of stuff going on with the way this cover is, but it’s definitely, I’m involved in every step man I mean there’s no doubt and sometimes to the point, and it depends on the artist too how quick they get the vison. I mean I communicate things but sometimes I may need to have 500 emails back and forth, or maybe it’s going to be a few, it just depends on how quickly they’re connecting with it. It’s somewhat a pain in the ass for me to be that connected with the vision that it is that I’m chasing, because then I have to get it you know what I mean, and I probably drive people crazy in the process but I have to get it so clear. When I do stuff with Sons of Liberty, I had no vision for those covers at all none. And with Demons and Wizards that’s usually just a discussion with Hansi and I and we throw the artist an idea and I’m like yea that’s cool, but it’s not like It’s right there. With Iced Earth man the shit is there and I have to, when it hits me it’s like that’s what it’s got to be and I will push until we get there, and it’s that way kind of at every step of the production weather it comes down to the details in the song, the cover, the layouts, like the whole thing. Believe me it takes a lot of energy and sometimes I wish I didn’t, sometimes I don’t know if it’s a gift or a curse sometimes honestly.
Metal Exiles: Think you saved the best for last with the epic track Clear the Way, to me this is the biggest highlight on the album. What was the inspiration behind that song?
Jon: Yea it’s been in my head bouncing around for probably 15 years and just the idea of doing it. And there’s a lot of songs like that, that haven’t been written yet, where I was thinking yea man I want to do something about that, and when the time is right that will happen, but “Clear the Way” is a tribute to the Irish brigade. For some reason, ever since I read about that story it just resonated with me, it’s so tragic and so brutal, and it was such a slaughter that I thought I would write a song about it and you know, and even though it’s not a song like Gettysburg where it’s educating you about the battle, that’s not what this is. This isn’t a you know, troop movements on the days leading up to and the day of and all that. I didn’t want to get into all that because then it would turn into a 30-minute thing, and this song I did it natural I just wanted to make it a tribute to the guys and to just create the atmosphere that was created. You know get to the point, not make it so overblown epic and kind of make it more of a tribute to the Irish Brigade, and not the Battle of Fredericksburg. I think one of the biggest tragedies of that day was the fact that there was Irish against Irish you know on both sides, because depending on where you lived or where you boat was coming into, they were escaping some pretty brutal tyranny from the British. You no famine, poverty, their lands were being stolen from them, and there was a lot of horrible things going on. A lot of them were escaping to the States and then the United States was in the middle of a Civil War, so depending on what port you pulled into you’re getting propaganda from the North or from the South or whatever. And so, they ended up on that day faced off against each other and you have guys that were crying their eyes out from the South that were very well entrenched behind a stone wall shooting down at their countrymen. And just the absurdity of it you know, and just the fact that it was an obvious slaughter, there were many troops that went before them that were slaughtered, but I love Ireland man it’s one of my favorite places in the world and I have a pretty strong connection to the place for whatever reason, and I just felt like I need to write a song for these guys. So there it is it’s been bouncing around for a long time and it happened and you know, it’s a song where if somebody has a short attention span they’re probably not going to be into it. It is one of those meditative things, where you close your eyes, like what I see when I hear the beginning is just bodies all over you know, and I see the heaviness of a battlefield and dead bodies everywhere, and that’s where that intro comes in. And it probably does feel long to some people but it’s a statement man and you know it’s setting the stage.
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An interview with Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth
By Michael Knowles
Metal Exiles: To me this album stylistically touches upon every era of Iced Earth, and may be one of the most diverse records you’ve ever made, would you say that is a fair assessment?
Jon Schaffer: Yea I actually think it is man, even though it was not conceived that way, it just sort of happened. The only contrived decision on this whole album cycle was that it would not be a theme or a concept record, and that was simply because I had so many different subject matters that I wanted to write about and Stu did as well and none of them connected really. So it was just like ok well it’s not going to be a concept or a theme album and that’s not a bad thing because that’s probably been really since the very first record that was just a collection of songs. I mean you know even if you get into, like Stormrider was a concept record, and Burnt Offerings wasn’t but it had like 3 songs that were connected to Dante’s Inferno. Then you get into Dark Saga which was a concept album, then Something Wicked had the big Something Wicked trilogy and then a collection of songs around it. So, there was always something else that would lend itself to bigger story telling that was connected, but this one was just a collection of stand-alone songs.
Metal Exiles: A lot of really cool themes on this record, do you decide what story concept you want to run with before you write the music or does that come after you write the music?
Jon: No always before because that’s what helps me set the landscape of a song, you know the soundscape as it were. You know I start with a working title or at least a theme, and when I start a session in pro tools I’ll title it something so that I know. Like I said it could be a working title, like “Ghost Dance” was called trail of tears for a long time so the immediate plan was that was going to be attributed to the native Americans. Where it’s going to go ultimately, I’m not certain until I get started on it, but I have to have a target and then I just sort of open myself up and let the music channel through me which is basically just energy that’s channeling through. And then the soundscape is created and then at the end is where we focus on lyrics and vocal melodies, because I’ve always approached it sort of like a soundtrack you know of a movie. If you watch a drama or whatever and you mute the soundtrack, that movie will have a very different effect on you. It’s the thing that will make you scared, it’s the thing that’s going to make you cry, it’s not going to be the text it’s going to be something that’s hitting you at a level that you don’t really understand. So the bulk of the time is spent on the musical arrangements. That’s what really takes the time, and to me the key is to channel the right energy for whatever subject matter you are going for, and what you are trying to say story wise.
Metal Exiles: This album was recorded in the brand new Iced Earth studio, what was that process like, and how do you feel having your own studio to work in benefited the record?
Jon: Well it was amazing because it is really killer sounding, both rooms sound great. The biggest benefit is always in the comfort zone of pre-production because that is where the bulk of the work is done. It’s nice to be in a position to where I have the time, and I don’t have to feel rushed or worried about budgeting so much because it’s my place. You have to think about that too during master tracking because there’s a lot of people that are being paid and all that, so you have to keep things under control, but if you do your pre-production properly and spend the right amount of time during pre-production, then master tracking can be done very efficiently. And you know we were so prepared for this that we master tracked the album in 20 days, but that’s because the pre-production was like 4 or 5 months or something like that. So you know that’s a shit load of like 15/16 hours a day, mostly me working by myself because the band is international. We can’t just get together and jam, I wish we could. That would be really cool you know get together 4 or 5 days a week and just plow through this stuff. Instead I have to do a lot of work, spending a lot of time making very detailed pre-production demos and building the songs, playing the parts, and getting everyone to where they learn the stuff. You know because, Luke’s in England, Stu’s in Canada, Brent’s in Florida, Jake even though he came into the process towards the end, really the songs were done when he came in, except for the solos which he did, but you know he’s in California. So still no matter what you do, for Iced Earth to get together and jam together it’s expensive you know what I mean, it’s a costly endeavor.
Metal Exiles: One of the stand out tracks for me is the pirate themed song Black Flag, one of those truly adrenaline inducing songs that sparks the imagination. Please go into the writing and recording of that song.
Jon: That one has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it was quite a challenge for me lyrically to tell the story of the pirates, because it’s a long history actually. To do that in like a 4 and a half 5-minute song was quite a challenge, but I was able to pull it off pretty well. The idea started, like I said it’s been floating around in my head for a while, I was talking to the guys while we were rehearsing for Bang your Head, where I was going with it. I said I just haven’t found the right intro yet. A few days later after I got back Luke sent me this idea for the intro, and I was like dude it’s perfect and so that was great. I mean it just developed, it’s one of my favorite songs too, and it’s one we are actually doing a proper video for on this album cycle should be pretty killer. I wanted it to be not like a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum pirate song, this is like a fucking vicious song, you know there’s a certain kind if vitriol, and Stu did an incredible job capturing that. I mean we really don’t have a problem relating to the life of a pirate anyway. I think anybody that’s in a heavy metal band and lives a lot of their life traveling and on the road doing the things that we do, I think there’s a certain connection there. So, it all felt pretty natural for all of us to do that song, but I did want it to be kind of angry and the feeling of the privateers being stabbed in the back by the Empire, because they were using those guys in a way that benefited them, and then when they decided to cooperate with each other, then they outlawed them and it was a total typical empire move. You know you fuck over whoever it is that you are doing business with. It was one of those things that felt really cool to do it and I think we captured the vibe pretty well.
Metal Exiles: To me Stu has truly reached his vocal prime, can you talk about his performance overall on the album, as well as how he’s progressed as a singer in this band?
Jon: Well I think Stu has always done an amazing job. Is he getting more comfortable in his role? Yea I’m sure he is that’s a question you would have to ask him, but for me I have a different perspective than you or any of the fans out there would because he’s my brother and we spend a lot of time together. And we hit it off immediately and we’ve done massive world tours and experienced so much shit together, and have been through so much shit together. From personal tragedies, whatever and we’ve been there for each other through that. And it’s one of those things where the bond is strong, and I’ve never felt like Stu ever did anything other than stellar on the records. I think what’s happening now is people are just starting to accept that Stu’s the guy and he’s not going anywhere. So, did he do anything more amazing on this album than he’s done in the past? I mean I think he’s always kicked ass so I can’t really say that. People are always going to have a lot of opinions about that especially when it comes to a singer but you know I’m on a different side of this. I have a completely different perspective, I’ve always been totally satisfied, I’ve never been disappointed in anything that Stu has done.
Metal Exiles: Another one of my favorite tracks is the song Raven Wing, amazing chorus and there’s just so many layers to that song. Can you talk about how that song came together, as well as the lyrical theme?
Jon: Yea that one really was something pretty special. I was working late in the studio you know early in pre-production and I slept for maybe 4 hours. I had a really early appointment in the morning up in Indianapolis, I had to go up there and I got back, figured I’d crash for a couple of hours before I started working again, but I had a lot of energy and I went back in, and for some reason I started a pro tools session, I called it Raven Wing and this is one of those rare cases where I didn’t really have a theme for a song. This title just came into my head and I started laying it down, and this was probably 8 in the morning. And when I looked up at my clock it was 4:30 in the afternoon, and I had never even gotten up to take a piss. I mean I got locked into this and you know played the guitars, the acoustic, the rhythms, the lead guitars, programmed the drums, played the bass and I’m just getting into this arrangement. I’m doing all this stuff and I look up at the clock and I go fuck man! It hit me at that point, I missed the appointment with tattoo Dave about the album cover artwork. We were supposed to get together at 2:30 that day and go over all of the details of the cover. I called him and went I’m so sorry dude I completely got into a zone, that just never happens because I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to miss appointments. Anyway, it ended up being this really cool music, I went later in the evening and met with him and we got started on the cover. A few days later I was, I take Reiki, I don’t know if you’re familiar with that, but it’s kind of an energy, it’s out there spiritual stuff, it’s kind of a massage but it’s done for your energy shield. The lady is a little, she’s not a little bit, she’s very gifted almost psychic type, very spiritual, very connected to the spirit. She gets information you know and she said to me you have ravens all around you, you have a giant raven around you, and there’s a ton of raven energy. And right there I just got chills all over my body because I just called this song Raven Wing, and she said you need to research that meaning. And so I got home and went what the fuck is going on? So I start reading about it and it’s in the Native American and in the Viking lore, and you know it’s the direction I said, well obviously I know where I’m going to take this song lyrically. It’s very much a personal song about my spiritual journey, and the raven is in the Native American lore, when a raven comes into your life it’s a message from the spirit realm. It’s basically the spirit world communicating to you, and that’s sort of where that song is, that’s where it went. So it became, I knew when that happened I was like man, I mean I knew anyway because of the whole series of events, but when she told me that I was like there’s something going on here. And when I wrote it and stuff and I had Stu demo it I was like this is going to be a big one man and it ends up that it’s the hit of the record so that is pretty cool.
Metal Exiles: Have you ever had this sort of special connection to a song before, is “Raven Wing” unique in that aspect?
Jon: I have had, yea for sure but in this way, let’s say have I had this powerful of a connection, as many songs as I have written? Yes. But have I ever had it unfold in this way? No. The way that happened, never happened before. I mean was I in a mode on this record where I’m channeling energy the way I feel does this specific subject matter justice? Yea. I really think I was in a zone on this one like with the Irish Brigade in “Clear the Way,” or “Ghost Dance” in a tribute to the Native Americans. I mean I was feeling that energy, and I’ve spent more time getting in tune with my spirit, and balancing and meditating, and doing that type of stuff more than I ever have in my life, and I think all of that has opened me up to be able to really channel the energy probably better in some ways than I ever have, it feels like a pretty cool step that’s going on.
Metal Exiles: You mentioned the artwork, how much creative direction do you provide, is it more just communicating the theme, and you just let the artist run with it, or is it more hands on than that?
Jon: Well I’ve been involved heavily on pretty much every cover except in those early albums where Century Media had control over that stuff. I mean I would give a concept to the guy but down to the details I didn’t have much involvement. And when we get to Dark Saga that was just using Todd McFarlane’s image of Spawn. So it really started on Something Wicked and from there on I was really involved in almost every detail, working with the artist. This one, when I went and met with Dave on the cover, we spent a lot of time going through different images of crucifixion, I wanted Set to be on a pinnacle and there’s a reason for that, and the look on his face of defiance as he’s being engulfed in the flames, he’s like fuck you, and the whole idea of being incorruptible. There’s parallels between some of the stuff within the something wicked story even though there’s none of that lyrically on the album, but it’s also parallels between that and the dedication to Iced Earth, and the fact that the vison has remained incorruptible. And even though there’s been some really heavy shit that’s happened, from you know business stand points and, a lot of hardships to go through just to keep this going. I feel like I’m standing fucking strong in saying, fuck you doubters you know what I mean. So there’s a lot of stuff going on with the way this cover is, but it’s definitely, I’m involved in every step man I mean there’s no doubt and sometimes to the point, and it depends on the artist too how quick they get the vison. I mean I communicate things but sometimes I may need to have 500 emails back and forth, or maybe it’s going to be a few, it just depends on how quickly they’re connecting with it. It’s somewhat a pain in the ass for me to be that connected with the vision that it is that I’m chasing, because then I have to get it you know what I mean, and I probably drive people crazy in the process but I have to get it so clear. When I do stuff with Sons of Liberty, I had no vision for those covers at all none. And with Demons and Wizards that’s usually just a discussion with Hansi and I and we throw the artist an idea and I’m like yea that’s cool, but it’s not like It’s right there. With Iced Earth man the shit is there and I have to, when it hits me it’s like that’s what it’s got to be and I will push until we get there, and it’s that way kind of at every step of the production weather it comes down to the details in the song, the cover, the layouts, like the whole thing. Believe me it takes a lot of energy and sometimes I wish I didn’t, sometimes I don’t know if it’s a gift or a curse sometimes honestly.
Metal Exiles: Think you saved the best for last with the epic track Clear the Way, to me this is the biggest highlight on the album. What was the inspiration behind that song?
Jon: Yea it’s been in my head bouncing around for probably 15 years and just the idea of doing it. And there’s a lot of songs like that, that haven’t been written yet, where I was thinking yea man I want to do something about that, and when the time is right that will happen, but “Clear the Way” is a tribute to the Irish brigade. For some reason, ever since I read about that story it just resonated with me, it’s so tragic and so brutal, and it was such a slaughter that I thought I would write a song about it and you know, and even though it’s not a song like Gettysburg where it’s educating you about the battle, that’s not what this is. This isn’t a you know, troop movements on the days leading up to and the day of and all that. I didn’t want to get into all that because then it would turn into a 30-minute thing, and this song I did it natural I just wanted to make it a tribute to the guys and to just create the atmosphere that was created. You know get to the point, not make it so overblown epic and kind of make it more of a tribute to the Irish Brigade, and not the Battle of Fredericksburg. I think one of the biggest tragedies of that day was the fact that there was Irish against Irish you know on both sides, because depending on where you lived or where you boat was coming into, they were escaping some pretty brutal tyranny from the British. You no famine, poverty, their lands were being stolen from them, and there was a lot of horrible things going on. A lot of them were escaping to the States and then the United States was in the middle of a Civil War, so depending on what port you pulled into you’re getting propaganda from the North or from the South or whatever. And so, they ended up on that day faced off against each other and you have guys that were crying their eyes out from the South that were very well entrenched behind a stone wall shooting down at their countrymen. And just the absurdity of it you know, and just the fact that it was an obvious slaughter, there were many troops that went before them that were slaughtered, but I love Ireland man it’s one of my favorite places in the world and I have a pretty strong connection to the place for whatever reason, and I just felt like I need to write a song for these guys. So there it is it’s been bouncing around for a long time and it happened and you know, it’s a song where if somebody has a short attention span they’re probably not going to be into it. It is one of those meditative things, where you close your eyes, like what I see when I hear the beginning is just bodies all over you know, and I see the heaviness of a battlefield and dead bodies everywhere, and that’s where that intro comes in. And it probably does feel long to some people but it’s a statement man and you know it’s setting the stage.
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