American power metallers ICED EARTH have set "Dystopia" as the title of their new album, tentatively due before the end of the year via Century Media Records. The CD will mark the band's recording debut with singer Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY), who joined ICED EARTH in March following the departure of Matt Barlow. (Note: Barlow is performing with the band on all summer festival dates. Block will take over from there, starting with the European leg of ICED EARTH's world tour in November.)

Commented ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer: "We begin master tracking [the new album] in Florida in two weeks and will be traveling between Europe and the U.S. this summer to play festivals and finish the new album."

He added, "I can honestly say that I haven't had this many songs give me goose bumps since we recorded 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' way back in 1998, so this is also very exciting.

"As you can imagine, it's a very busy time for us. I think we're all having emotional ups and downs as we're coming to the end of an era with Matt's retirement, and we're also very excited about the future with Stu coming onboard, so it's a little bit of a roller coaster ride for us. However, we are having a killer time, and Matt is performing at his absolute best and going out with pure class and style, which is always the way he rolls."

Voici le tracklisting : Dystopia - Anthem - Days of Rage - Soylent Green - V - Boiling Point - Tragedy and Triumph - Anguish of Youth - Iron Will.