Drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Sebastian Bach, Halford, Spastic Ink) had to step down from his Iced Earth duties.\"I would\'ve liked to be part of the new [Iced Earth] album but, unfortunately, I couldn\'t give [them] a touring commitment when he asked me a few months ago. (...) I really enjoyed my time in Iced Earth but regrettably the timing of my involvement wasn\'t the best. Ultimately, the only touring we were able to do behind \'The Glorious Burden\' was a short run in the U.S. and a couple of European festivals before things came to a halt. Soon after that I was approached about doing some shows with Sebastian, which turned into a full-time situation pretty quickly.\"
Iced Earth band leader Jon Schaffer decided to bring back former sticksman Brent Smedley, who is available to do both the album and the corresponding tour.
