Matt Barlow | OohYeah

Matt joined Iced Earth after the Night of the Stormrider record as a replacement for vocalist John Greely. The first album Matt can be heard on is Burnt Offerings (1995). The follow up album, The Dark Saga (1996), quickly became a fan favorite with songs composed of themes from the popular “Spawn” comic book. Days of Purgatory (1997) was a compilation of previously recorded Iced Earth songs with Matt adding his vocal style to the mix. In 1998, Iced Earth recorded Something Wicked This Way Comes to much critical and fan acclaim. The themes on the record were more varied and personal than previously heard by the band and also marked the first appearance of band mascot “Set Abominae” in the “Something Wicked Trilogy”. Alive in Athens (1999), marked Iced Earth’s first live album. It was recorded in two shows at the Rodan Club in Athens, Greece (Hellas), in front of thousands of the most dedicated fans in the world. In an effort to fulfill their contract with record label Century Media, Iced Earth released Horror Show (2001). The records theme consisted of characters made famous in horror stories, films, and fables. Among them; Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Damien (the Omen films). Tribute to the Gods (2002) was recorded soon after Horror Show to end the contract with Century Media. It is a “cover song” compilation featuring some of the band’s favorite songs from their favorite bands, including; Iron Maiden, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper. Following the events of 9/11/2001, Matt began to take a closer look at his life and determined that in order for he and his wife to start a family he must seriously consider another plan for earning a living. He began taking college courses in the field of criminal justice. Matt left the band in 2003 to pursue a career in law enforcement. He had recorded vocals for “The Glorious Burden” record that were met with less than positive reviews by band leader/founder, Jon Schaffer . Jon decided to let Matt go after the attempt, sighting a lack of passion in his performance. However, Jon did elect to use a number of Matt’s song lyrics and backing vocals on the record. Jon hired Tim Owens, the former lead singer of Judas Priest to complete the record. Matt has voiced his pride of Tim’s performance of the song “Waterloo”, the lyrics to which Matt penned in tribute to the historical battle that would see Napoleon’s “100 days end”.In 2004, Matt was sworn in as a police officer with the Georgetown Police Department in Georgetown, Delaware. He began his career, as most officers, in the patrol division. His duties include enforcing criminal and traffic laws, as well as, performing in a first responder capacity during emergency incidents. His training includes response to active-shooters and emergency response tactics.On April 13, 2007, Barlow returned to music as the new lead singer of Danish progressive power metal band Pyramaze. Matt accepted the offer to join Pyramaze because it would allow him to return to the music scene, while still being able to maintain his law enforcement career. Band leader/ Michael Kammeyer contacted Matt via e-mail and Matt was immediately impressed by his music and passion for a “working man’s” approach to music. Matt recorded the vocals for Immortal under the supervision of his long-time friend, Jim Morris of Morrisound Recording Studio. Matt recorded the album without ever “officially” meeting the other band members. Matt believes that the music of Pyramaze speaks for itself, and he was very happy to be a part of “Immortal”.On December 11, 2007, it was announced that Matt had officially re-joined Iced Earth and would be singing on I Walk Among You (2008) EP and The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part 2) (2008), the follow-up to Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) for which Tim Owens performed vocals. The series of records also welcomed back Jon Schaffer’s, “Set Abominae”, for which Matt’s vocal and lyrical characterizations have brought “Set” to life in songs like “Crucify the King” and “Sacrificial Kingdoms”. Matt proudly continues his career with the Georgetown Police Department as a member of the Georgetown community. He is honored to be a part of the law enforcement and heavy metal communities, and he cites that there are parallels in the brotherhood of both groups.