caption current_members years_active alias label image_size article_title landscape past_members background genre image origin name
iced earth in 2013 . jon smedley schaffer troy seele stu block luke appleton brent 1985 -- present purgatory century 2002-2010 -rrb- media -lrb- 1990-2002 , 2010-present -rrb- spv -lrb- 250 iced earth
 yes -lrb- see : list of former band members -rrb- group_or_band heavy metal , power metal , thrash metal icedearth2013band.jpg tampa , florida , united states iced earth
iced earth

iced earth is an american heavy metal band from tampa , florida .
it was formed in 1985 under the name purgatory by guitarist and main songwriter jon schaffer and original drummer greg seymour .
iced earth released their debut album in 1990 , have since released eleven studio albums , four eps , three compilations , three box sets , three live albums and one cover album .
after releasing two studio albums in 1990 and 1991 , respectively , iced earth took a three-year layoff from 1992 to 1995 , after which the band returned with new lead vocalist matt barlow .
iced earth went on to release four studio albums with barlow between 1995 and 2001 , respectively ; 1995 's `` burnt offerings '' , 1996 's `` the dark saga '' , 1998 's `` something wicked this way comes '' and 2001 's `` horror show '' .
after `` horror show '' , barlow quit the band and joined the police force , while iced earth continued on with tim `` ripper '' owens , of judas priest fame , on vocals .
with owens , the band released two studio albums -lrb- 2004 's `` the glorious burden '' and 2007 's ' -rrb- , until late 2007 , when it was announced that matt barlow would be rejoining the band , after five years apart .
iced earth recorded the album ' with barlow in 2008 , but in 2011 it was announced that he would be leaving the band once again , this time for good .
later that year , into eternity frontman stu block was announced as iced earth 's new lead vocalist .
`` dystopia '' , block 's first album with the group , was released in october 2011 , and was met with a very positive response , with some critics calling `` dystopia '' one of iced earth 's best albums .
block 's second album with the group , plagues of babylon , was released in january 2014 .
since its inception , iced earth has had numerous line-up changes , with founder jon schaffer staying as the only constant member .
as of 2013 , there have been over twenty musicians in and out of iced earth since its formation in 1985 -lrb- see : list of iced earth band members for more details -rrb- .
currently , the band is composed of rhythm guitarist jon schaffer , lead guitarist troy seele , singer stu block , bassist luke appleton and drummer brent smedley .
