Iced Earth founding guitarist Jon Schaffer recently spoke about the possibility of reuniting the band during the latest episode of the Iced Earth-focused Podcast Of The Wicked. Schaffer, whose band essentially disbanded following his arrest for participating in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, was asked if there are any plans to bring Iced Earth back together.
“Look, the short answer is no, not anytime soon,” Schaffer explained, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “I just want the fans to know that this has been a lot, and I’ve had great offers, great financial offers, so if it was about chasing money, but that’s a checkers move, first of all. And it wouldn’t be good for me or the band or the crew or the fans, because I need to do this because I love it, and whatever happens needs to happen and be truly inspired and not a ‘good’ Iced Earth record or a ‘good’ show or whatever; it’s gotta be gold. And that’s gonna take some time.
Schaffer emphasized that he is taking the time to recover and focus on work that feels meaningful.
“I’ve got a lot of recovering to do from all of this, and I’m working on that,” he continued. “And I have a job that I absolutely love that feels like it’s serving a purpose much greater than anything I’ve done before. And I know the music has helped a lot of people and I really appreciate that, and I love them for that. I love the fans. We have the best fans; we always have. Since the very beginning, there’s just been this kind of a loyalty, and that’s an amazing thing. But this is a season, and anybody that’s lived long enough knows that in your life, you go through seasons. And there’s been major changes, which very likely will result in the best music that I’ve ever written. And I think there’s a good possibility of that. But the time is not right now. And I don’t wanna push and force something because it’s not gonna be good for anybody — it’s not gonna be good for me, it’s not gonna be good for the band, it’s not gonna be good for the fans.”
The guitarist also addressed his current relationships with former bandmates Stu Block and Hansi Kürsch (Jon‘s former partner in Demons & Wizards), both of whom distanced themselves from Schaffer following news of his involvement in the January 6 events.
“Let me just take this opportunity to say, I hope that the fans out there will stop — I mean, my wish is that they would stop hating on Stu and on Hansi… The guys were pressured,” Jon explained. “Some guys handled it better, some guys handled it very weak and kind of pathetic. And I think the biggest issue when it comes to Stu is that he made a post [on January 6, 2021] cheering it on and then flipped and that looks like a total poser move. You know what? It is a total poser move, but it’s okay. Forgive him. We did some great work together. I had some of the best times in my life with Stu… I have very precious memories with Stu, so please just forgive him. I forgive him.”
“Everybody is a flawed human being. And the thing is Hansi and I are still close and we are always gonna be,” Schaffer continued. “And the difference is that we talked before I turned myself in, several times, and I knew what was coming because the pressure he was under, and he hated it. But it’s a witch hunt. It was a witch hunt. And it is what it is. It’s a bummer, because we write great stuff together and we were on a serious trajectory. I mean, the last show I played in Europe, headlining Wacken [Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany] on Saturday night in front of a hundred thousand people, and it was fantastic. And Slayer went on after us and about 70 percent of the crowd left, and it was their last show in Germany. I mean, I’m just saying that’s what happened. I was pretty, pretty shocked. The reunion tour of Demons & Wizards was hugely successful. And we had an amazing contract, actually, a really, really amazing contract. But Hansi had to do what he had to do. It is what it is. I treasure the memories that I’ve had with Hansi, and we’re gonna have more — probably not musically; I doubt that’s ever gonna happen. I don’t even know if I’m gonna do music again; that’s off the table right now. But just as brothers, nothing’s going to change that.”
