'We're a pretty well-oiled machine'

American heavy-metal band ‘Iced Earth’ are gods of metal in their own right. From their formation in 1985, they have churned out ten albums and are currently working on the 11th, titled ‘Plagues of Babylon’.

Though they could not headline ‘Bangalore Open Air’ last year, they made it down to the City this time and unleashed their genius.

Over the years, there have been many line-up changes in the band, with guitarist Jon Schaffer being the only remaining member from the original line-up. But he doesn’t see this as a bad thing.

 “I think it’s necessary. Surviving as a mid-level heavy-metal band is difficult. It’s challenging but everyone that’s come into the band has put their unique personality into it,” says Jon. Talking about his songwriting process, he says that the music “just comes”.

“It’s a different process from performing, which is a complete opposite of the way my brain works. I like to get focussed when I’m writing and not have distractions around. To come up with riffs and stuff is one thing. But arranging and building songs is an emotional process and there’s a lot of pressure involved that I create for myself,” shares Jon.
Is he calm or angry while writing? He laughs and answers, “A little bit of both. It depends on what particular emotion is happening at that time.”

Lead guitarist Troy Seele shares that the songwriting is why he took on “Jon’s vision” of ‘Iced Earth’. “I get to express myself musically within Jon’s vision. ‘Iced Earth’ is my life. I dedicate every ounce of energy I have to it,” shares Troy. Elaborating on the vision, he adds, “I can come up with guitar riffs all day long but I’m not a songwriter. Jon can take all the little things and turn them into a magical moment. That’s the stuff that separates the men from the boys.

The songs move people. I’ve seen guys holding up their father’s medals from war over ‘Watching Over Me’ and falling apart right in front of me, making me fall apart on stage. And then you realise you’re standing on stage with the guy who wrote that.”

As vocalist Stu Block puts it, music is what the band “eats, breathes and lives”. If they aren’t on tour, they’re locked up in a recording studio somewhere.  “After some time, you don’t even have to think about what you’re doing. We’re a pretty well-oiled machine at this point,” admits Jon.For the band’s new drummer Raphael Saini, it’s a teenage dream come true to be playing with the band he once played covers of. “There’s a lot of pressure but everything’s been great so far. I’ve had situations worse than this one. I’ve been called 24 hours before a tour and learnt 11 songs in one night. But I think that’s why they have me because they knew that I could handle it in such little time. I care about making the new album the best I ever did in my life so people will really accept me,” he wraps up.