Pazar 23 Ara 2007, 6:53
Matt Barlow (born 10 April 1970 in Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.) is an American heavy metal singer and police officer. He currently is the lead singer for Iced Earth and Pyramaze. He has a very wide range and can sing in many different ways such as low, deep growls to extremely high pitched screams and is known to put very much emotion into his performance. Barlow 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).
Barlow left the band in 2003, much to the chagrin of many fans. His reason for leaving was due to personal beliefs related to the September 11 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 Barlow go after all and hired Tim Owens, the former lead singer of Judas Priest.
Barlow became a police officer in the Georgetown Police Dept. in Georgetown, Delaware. He was also a vocalist for the "First State Force Band", which comprises 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" through music.
As of April 13, 2007, Matt Barlow is the new lead singer of Danish progressive power metal band Pyramaze. He is the replacement for the vocalist Lance King. The band is currently working on an album to be released sometime in 2008. Barlow accepted the offer to join Pyramaze, because it would allow him to return to the music scene, while still being able maintain his current job.
On December 11, 2007, it was announced that Matt Barlow has officially re-joined Iced Earth and will be singing on Revelation Abomination (Something Wicked Part 2). Pyramaze confirmed, however, that he would also remain with them.