Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana.

Iced Earth went on to release four studio albums with him in over half a decade: Burnt Offerings (1995), The Dark Saga (1996), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998) and Horror Show (2001).

After Horror Show, Barlow quit the band and joined the police force, while Iced Earth continued on with Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Judas Priest, on vocals.

Iced Earth has had numerous lineup changes; as of 2021, there had been over thirty musicians in and out of the band since its formation, with Schaffer as the sole constant member.

Following Schaffer's January 2021 arrest by the FBI for his involvement in the 2021 United States Capitol attack, the rest of the lineup departed, and the band was dropped from their longtime label Century Media.

The central figure of Iced Earth is, and has been, guitarist Jon Schaffer, who formed the band on January 20, 1985,[5] in Tampa, Florida.

[2] During this downtime, the band was faced with issues that almost resulted in them breaking up,[2][12] but eventually Iced Earth resurfaced with Burnt Offerings.

Guitarist Larry Tarnowski handled lead guitar duties on the album, but wasn't credited as a full-time member of the band, but as a session musician.

While on the supporting tour for Something Wicked This Way Comes (with Brent Smedley back on drums), the band recorded their first live album in Athens, Greece on January 23 and 24, 1999.

Originally conceived as a radio-only single, the EP contained three previously released songs ("Melancholy (Holy Martyr)", "Watching Over Me" and "I Died for You"), as well as two new ones (cover versions of Bad Company's "Shooting Star" and Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral").

[19] Released on June 26, 2001, the album was the band's first to feature drummer Richard Christy, and the third with guitarist Larry Tarnowski (now a full-time member).

It was Iced Earth's seventh studio album, featuring songs from such bands as Iron Maiden, Kiss and Blue Öyster Cult.

[23] After Barlow's departure, Iced Earth continued work on their next album, and eventually Schaffer got Tim "Ripper" Owens, from Judas Priest, to sing on the record as a favor.

[24] Prior to the recording process, Tarnowski was let go from the band, so the lead guitar parts on the album were played by producer Jim Morris and session guitarist Ralph Santolla.

In July 2006, Ernie Carletti was chosen as the group's new lead guitar player, but after being faced with rape and kidnapping charges,[28] he was replaced by Tim Mills.

[29] Incidentally, Mills was also forced to leave Iced Earth in order to concentrate on his own business, "Bare Knuckle Pickups".

[31] Because the band were left without a bassist and lead guitar player, Schaffer ended up performing most of the lead guitar and bass parts on the album (although some tracks featured playing from producer Jim Morris, guitarist Troy Seele and bassist Dennis Hayes) In May 2007, Seele was announced as a permanent member of the band,[32] as was Dennis Hayes two months earlier.

[40] In March 2011, Barlow issued a statement on Iced Earth's official website, stating that he was retiring from the band due to family commitments, among other things.

[41] Barlow still took part in the band's 2011 summer tour,[41] and played his final show with Iced Earth on August 6, 2011, at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

Shortly after announcing Barlow's departure, Iced Earth revealed that Into Eternity frontman Stu Block had been chosen as the band's new lead vocalist.

[49][50][51] On April 7, 2015, following a period of inactivity as a result of Schaffer requiring cervical fusion surgery, the band announced that Iced Earth would begin writing for their 13th studio album.

The announcement also revealed that drummer Smedley had rejoined the band, replacing Dette, and that the new album was to be tentatively titled The Judas Goat, with an expected release date and subsequent touring cycle in early 2016.

[54] On December 6, 2016, Schaffer spoke in an interview with Fernando Bonenfant from Metal Wani and announced that the new album would be called Incorruptible, originally due for release in May 2017.

[59] In a Facebook Live chat that took place on April 14, 2020, Schaffer confirmed that, after "a little bit of time off", Iced Earth would start working on their thirteenth studio album for a spring 2021 release.

"[60] In early January 2021, Schaffer appeared on the Most Wanted section of the FBI after being photographed taking part of the 2021 United States Capitol attack.

[61] On January 9, Block posted a message via his personal Instagram account on behalf of the rest of the band members regarding Schaffer's situation:[62] "Some of you have been concerned by our silence, which we understand.

[72] A compilation album A Narrative Soundscape was released in January 2022 as a companion of Schaffer's lyrics anthology Wicked Words and Epic Tales.

On the group's 1990 self-titled debut album, the band's sound was characterized by time changes, acoustic passages and Iron Maiden-type galloping rhythms.

[11] 1995's Burnt Offerings has been heralded as Iced Earth's heaviest album, and included the band's longest song to date, "Dante's Inferno".

[15] Iced Earth continued to expand their sound throughout the 2000s, like adding a full-piece orchestra to the song "Gettysburg" from 2004's The Glorious Burden.