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9 июл 2025
Ex-ICED EARTH Singer MATT BARLOW: 'I Wish More Musicians Would Not Try To Alienate Their Fans' By Preaching Politics
He continued: "I don't preach politics. It's a personal thing for me that I don't do, because I'm not trying to alienate people that are friends or fans of music or just my friends in general. 'Cause I have friends that are on all sides of the spectrum, where that's concerned. And it's just not my job. And maybe that's part of me being a police officer for 22 years. I am not gonna put myself in a spot where I'm picking sides, because oftentimes I'm called to protect people that are maybe politically on another side of the table from me. And so I have to be remain neutral in a lot of things. And that's my, job. And I feel that responsibility a lot with music too, man. I think that that's one of the reasons that I don't — in my lyrics or anything like that, if there's anything that's political or socially something, I try to leave it as ambiguous as possible so you can fill in your own blanks. A lot of the stuff that I do is thought out. I can release my rage and my demons in the music and make it aggressive because I know that that's what a lot of people need to release. That's what I needed. That's what drove me to metal, really, is that energy release and 'shake your fist in the air' and all that. But I'm not gonna be a RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guy, or FIVE FINGER [DEATH PUNCH] or whatever. And I don't really follow FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, but everybody's, like, 'Well, they're conservative.' But I'm just not gonna put myself out there like that. I just choose not to. That's not the kind of music that I wanna do, and that's not the kind of music that I will do. Because I feel that I have a responsibility as an entertainer because I am an entertainer, and I have the privilege of performing these songs and writing these songs and performing them for people of all types, of all walks of life. I don't discriminate against anybody that's a metal fan. People that don't like my music, then that's fine — move along. But I know that I have friends and fans that are of all walks of life, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that relationship that I have with them. So that's kind of where I'm with that."
Elaborating on how he feels about other musicians voicing their political views, either through interviews and their lyrics, Barlow said: "Like I said, I don't begrudge people their opinion. I can only say that I wish that more musicians would not try to alienate their fans. And I think that a lot of them do, whether that's right or left. They end up so far in the weeds where that's concerned. And if you feel like you really need to get into politics like that, then just kind of get into politics. And again, man, my opinion is like anybody else's. I mean, most of them smell, but that's my feeling on it. I prefer to not just piss people off for no apparent reason other than my own personal beliefs. And maybe I have, with even pointing out RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, but it's been pretty, pretty clear that they take a political stance. I mean, hell, it's in the title of their name or the name of the band. And I guess the thing is you just have to determine which machine they're against, which side of the machine they're against. But, anyway, hey, man, it is what it is. I've got friends, very dear friends of mine that get on social media and they blast their political stuff. And I love 'em — I love 'em to death — but I just don't agree with that particular way of doing things. I think that I've been given a platform, and maybe I'm squandering that, maybe in their opinion, that I have a platform that I can speak and say things like that. But I just choose not to, man. I'm really a live-and-let-live kind of guy. That's it. And I do pray for humanity and our failings. And we all fail, man. We all have troubles. We all have missteps and things like that, including friends or family or just people that we respect. Everybody stumbles, and hopefully we can figure it out. And I think I was talking on another interview just about how kind of things are magnified now, obviously with social media and all that, and I think that that kind of takes it to another level as well. So, it just makes it seem more amplified than ever before."
Last October, ICED EARTH's founding guitarist Jon Schaffer was sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment. Schaffer later became one of about 1,500 people accused of crimes related to the riot who were pardoned by U.S. president Donald Trump.
This past April, it was announced that ASHES OF ARES, the band featuring Barlow and fellow ex-ICED EARTH member Freddie Vidales, will celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of ICED EARTH's third album, 1996's "The Dark Saga", on a European tour in September/October 2025. Vidales played with ICED EARTH from 2008 to 2012 and is featured on the band's 2011 album "Dystopia". from 1993 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2011.
ASHES OF ARES will release its fourth studio album, titled "New Messiahs", in Europe on July 18 and in North America on August 8 via ROAR!
ICED EARTH played its final show with Barlow at the 2011 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.
Barlow, who is married to Schaffer's sister, announced his departure from ICED EARTH in March 2011. In a heartfelt statement, he cited his commitment to his family and the need for ICED EARTH to tour more as the reasons for his retirement; however, he committed to performing with ICED EARTH on all 2011 European festival dates, including Wacken Open Air.
Back in late 2020, Barlow reunited with Schaffer to celebrate the holiday season with an EP called "Winter Nights". Released under the SCHAFFER/BARLOW PROJECT banner, the effort contained the duo's unique spin on five Christmas classics and two ICED EARTH songs.
This past April, Schaffer said in an interview that the legal issues and professional setback he faced as a result of his involvement in the Capitol riot have been "the biggest gift" of his life, in part because "it is what led" him "to [Jesus] Christ."
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