Intro
"MINE IS PURE DARKNESS, IT IS AS BLACKNESS IS.
DAMN THE LIGHT WHICH COMES FROM YOU, AS A MOTH TO FLAME I BURN..."

ICED EARTH CHAPTER:
Matt Barlow. It's not just about the longest red hair I've ever seen, he's got one hell of a metal voice. 
Power, control, range, emotion, conviction, depth, passion, he's got it all. Matthew easily conveys
the needed emotions of rage, love, hate, anger, sorrow, hope, desperation... which makes him quite 
unique singer, specially in category of the heavy metal music.

        
Matthew Barlow was the vocalist of the power metal band Iced Earth. He joined Iced Earth after 
the "Night of the Stormrider" tour with Blind Guardian in Europe, as a replacement for John Greely. 
The first album Barlow can be heard on is "Burnt Offerings" (1995). He is considered by many to be 
the best vocalist Iced Earth had to date.

        
He had left the band in 2003, much to the chagring of many fans. His reasons for leaving was due 
to personal beliefs related to the September 11th terrorist attacks. He took a look at his life and
realized that he wanted to contribute to the 'real world' instead of living the "illusion of a rock star". 

        
He approached Jon Schaffer with this in late 2002, but Schaffer, known for his persuasive personality, 
convinced Barlow to stay with the band. When the band recorded 'The Glorious Burden' Schaffer 
decided that Barlow's vocals were not what he desired them to be; he believed they lacked the 
passion and quality that Barlow was so famous for. He decided to let him go after all. Matt Barlow
left post of the frontman in Iced Earth 2.6.2003.

        
FIRST STATE FORCE BAND CHAPTER:
Matthew Barlow is currently employed as a police officer in the Georgetown Police Department 
in Georgetown, Delaware. He has been employed with the Georgetown Police Department since 
September of 2003. Matthew Barlow is currently assigned to Patrol where he is responsible, along 
with other patrol officers, for a long list of duties including, but not limited to, responding to 
emergency calls for service and enforcing the criminal and traffic laws of the State of Delaware. 
Patrolman Barlow is a member of the Georgetown Police Department's Emergency Response Team.

    
Matthew was also a vocalist for the "First State Force Band", which is comprised of law enforcement
members from different departments throughout the State of Delaware. The band performs for 
schools, stressing such ideals as "Say no to drugs"; "Stay away from violence"; "Respect your parents, 
teachers, yourselves, others and life" or "Stay in school" through music.

    
PYRAMAZE CHAPTER:
Friday, 13. April 2007 Michael Kammeyer shocks all fans of Matthew Barlow with his statement about 
Matthew joining danish band Pyramaze as a lead singer.

    
Pyramaze, now again being in song writing mode, are preparing to hit the studio early 2008 with Matt 
Barlow behind the microphone.

ICED EARTH (II.) CHAPTER:
Tuesday, 11. December 2007 Jon Schaffer announces on the official website, that Matt Barlow returns 
back to Iced Earth.  On March 2, 2011, vocalist Matt Barlow announced his intentions to leave the band 
after their 2011 European tour, citing family reasons and the band's impending tour schedule. 
On March 16, 2011, Stu Block, from Into Eternity, was named as Iced Earth's new singer

    




This site was basically meant to be just about Matt Barlow, not about Iced Earth. My first idea 
was to cover only albums from his era. Starting from the Burnt Offerings album and ending with 
the Horror Show album. But as Matt used to sing even songs from albums before he joined band, 
I figure they belong here too. Most of them band later re-recorded with Matt on vocals on the 
album Days Of Purgatory. And as he co-worked (even as author) on the album The Glorious Burden, 
it belongs here as well, though lead vocals on the final release were redone by Tim Owens. After
Tim Owens recorded two albums with Iced Earth, and Matt Barlow started to work on the new 
album with Pyramaze, Jon Schaffer suddenly asked Matt to come back. So Matthew came back
and re-did some tracks from the Framing Armageddon album. After the new album The Crucible 
Of Man was released, Matt decided to prioritize his family before music career and left the band
again. As fan I'm very disappointed with this decision, but as wife and mother I fully understand 
his reasons and I admire the courage to take this step. He got his priorities straight. Matthew is 
gone, but who knows, maybe one day he will be back... I'll be waiting.
So, planned or not, this site is about Iced Earth after all...