ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer recently spoke to
Lucem Fero's Welsh interviewer Anthony Morgan. Topics
of discussion included the U.S. band's upcoming two
albums "Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1)"
and "Revelation Abomination (Something Wicked Part
2)", and also the media reaction towards 2004's "The
Glorious Burden". Several excerpts from the interview
follow:

Lucem Fero: Can you give me an overview of the
"Something Wicked" story, and what it's about and so
on?

Jon Schaffer: "Well, an overview is really pretty
difficult because it's so complex. Basically the story
that I wrote back in late 1997, an original album
called 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', ended with
the trilogy. That trilogy was a point in time in the
story that I wrote, so it's always been planned to
actually do this big giant concept album. We had to
put it on hold for a while due to changing record
companies and what not, but it felt like it was time
about a year and half ago to carry it on which is what
I did. It's a big science fiction, fantasy thriller
oriented story. It basically comes with the idea that
mankind is alien to the planet Earth, and that there
was a culture in ancient Earth, a culture here before
us. The ones who had survived mankind are actually
manipulating, and manipulating everything that we do
now by the creation of religion - mankind divided, and
blah blah blah. It's a big story which covers the
period of about twelve thousand years, and that's what
I mean when I say we could talk about it for hours.
There's not any way to give you a short overview of
the tale."

Lucem Fero: Do you feel that the concept has benefited
because you've had so many years to ponder about it
and so on?

Jon Schaffer: "The basics of the concept were there
back then, so it wasn't like a matter of really
sitting down to ponder and contemplate through the
years. I already knew what it was that I was going to
do. I started collecting the world instruments and so
on because I knew that was going to be a texture of it
back seven or eight years ago, so this isn't really a
new thing. It was February 2006 when I built my studio
and got the ProTools ready and everything, and that's
when I started writing. For a year straight I
basically worked on it like every day, and I took
about four days off in a year. We started cutting drum
tracks in February 2007, so I've been working really
hard on this thing for quite a while."

Lucem Fero: Are there any lyrics written yet for that
second album?

Jon Schaffer: "No, but I know the themes of the songs
and the titles of the songs and everything. I designed
the music around that, but I haven't really sat down
and started working on it. That's going to happen
after Wacken, in between Wacken and the headline tour
that starts in October. I will finish all the writing
of the lyrics and the vocals, and then we get done
touring the U.K. with HEAVEN AND HELL. We then come
back, go into the studio and finish recording the
album."

Lucem Fero: Do you feel these albums will provoke a
lot of debate on the themes and so on, and the story
et cetera?

Jon Schaffer: "No, I don't think so. I think it's just
a very cool, in-depth, science fiction thriller story
of sorts, so I don't think there's anything to... I
tell you what? Whatever, dude. Fucking assholes. Those
with those sort of opinions are like assholes, and
somebody's always going to have some kind of thing to
say about it. The idea though is a very cool sci-fi
fantasy story that you take from the realities of the
world, and enjoy it being what it is. If they want to
play political music and for us to create controversy,
then they need to look for a different band because
that's not ICED EARTH."

Lucem Fero: Does it piss you off when people read more
into the lyrics than there actually is?

Jon Schaffer: "Only when it happens, like in the case
of 'The Glorious Burden' album. People tried to turn
it into a political album when in actual fact it was a
military history record, so I don't happen to be a big
fan of the people who tried to turn it into this
holistic, political thing that it wasn't. That's what
pissed me off, but not even the fans think that.
That's shit that journalists pull. They're trying to
look for a fucking colorful punch line, so they stir
up a bunch a shit so they can try to sell magazines or
whatever. That's the only point that makes me angry,
though the fans are free to interpret the lyrics any
way they want which is the beauty of it in some
respects. I might listen to a song and get one feeling
about it, whereas you may get another feeling about
it. That's a part of art. If somebody tries to change
my intentions and tells people, 'This is what you
meant when you wrote the song,' then I get fucking
pissed because they have no idea what I meant."

Lucem Fero: Do you know if the story will extend
beyond these two albums?

Jon Schaffer: "Well it certainly could, but will it
with ICED EARTH? I don't know. I don't know, but I
doubt it actually. It's possible, but I doubt it."

Lucem Fero: Would you like it to, or not?

Jon Schaffer: "I tell you man. At this point I don't
really, though I can't think that far ahead. I just
think my gut instinct says right now I really don't
want to do that, but in a period of two years I could
change my mind. Who knows? I don't make decisions
which are set in stone."

Lucem Fero: How would you describe these upcoming two
albums in musical terms?

Jon Schaffer: "They're very melodic, very heavy, very
epic and atmospheric. I also think they're fresh in a
lot of ways because there are definitely elements in
there that I've never heard mixed with a heavy metal
band, though I'm not saying it hasn't been done. I
haven't heard it; I've never heard anybody use world
instruments in the context I have."

Lucem Fero: How would you like the "Something Wicked"
story to be remembered in the coming years?

Jon Schaffer: "I want people to remember it as
something really cool, and as a special record. I hope
that 'Part 1' and '2' will be looked at as a highlight
in the ICED EARTH catalogue, and it's my goal to make
it our 'Dark Side of the Moon' or 'The Wall' or
whatever for ICED EARTH. So, that's the goal and
hopefully people will look at it as really special.
The story itself though, beyond the band, and what it
develops into... well anything goes. I'm just not
going to get ahead of myself."




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