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Year : 2013
Style : Power Metal , Thrash Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 320 mb
Bio:
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. It was formed in 1985 under the name Purgatory by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released eleven studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and one cover album.After releasing their first two studio albums in 1990 and 1991, respectively, Iced Earth took a three-year layoff from 1992 to 1995,after which the band returned with new lead vocalist Matt Barlow. Iced Earth went on to release four studio albums with Barlow between 1995 and 2001, respectively; 1995's Burnt Offerings, 1996's The Dark Saga, 1998's Something Wicked This Way Comes and 2001's Horror Show.After Horror Show, Barlow quit the band and joined the police force,while Iced Earth continued on with Tim "Ripper" Owens, of Judas Priest fame, on vocals. With Owens, the band released two studio albums (2004's The Glorious Burden and 2007's Framing Armageddon). In late 2007, Matt Barlow rejoined the band.[6] Iced Earth recorded the album The Crucible of Man with Barlow in 2008. In 2011 Barlow left the band again.Later that year, Into Eternity frontman Stu Block became Iced Earth's new lead vocalist. Dystopia, Block's first album with the group, was released in October 2011. It received a positive response; some critics called Dystopia one of Iced Earth's best albums.Block's second album with the group, Plagues of Babylon, was released in January 2014.Before arriving at their current lineup, Iced Earth has had numerous line-up changes, with founder Jon Schaffer staying as the last remaining member. As of 2013, there have been over twenty musicians in and out of Iced Earth since its formation in 1985 (see: List of Iced Earth band members for more details). Currently, the band is composed of rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, lead guitarist Jake Dreyer, singer Stu Block, bassist Luke Appleton and drummer Brent Smedley.
Album:
If you’re a fan of American power/thrash greats Iced Earth, I’m sure you’re aware of all the drama the band endured with the re-entry and final departure of Matt Barlow, by popular consensus their most cherished frontman. I include myself among those who believe that Barlow’s first epoch equates the golden years for this band. Perhaps they didn’t produce something as amazing as Night of the Stormrider with him at the helm, but he did sang those songs and older material better than anyone else. And lets not forget his powerful performances during live shows; his charisma, his strong physical presence, his wide vocal range, including those soaring screams for which he was often compared to metal deities like Halford or Dio. And all that was faithfully captured in Alive in Athens, one of metal’s best live testimonies of the late 90’s, in my humble opinion.Naturally, when Stu Block came as Barlow’s replacement many of the band’s diehard fans reaction was incredulity. “An extreme metal singer? WTF man?” Personally I already enjoyed Stu’s work with his other band, Canadian prog death metallers Into Eternity, and thus my reaction was more like “hmmm, cool, lets see how this one goes”. Then I listened to 2011’s version of “Dante’s Inferno” and with that the few minor doubts I had about him where engulfed in the fiery flames of hell. So when Dystopia came out I was pretty confident he’d do a good job, which he did, no surprise that release soundly silenced many complaining voices about the band’s current state and capabilities. But one thing is to appear in a recorded studio album, in which the producer’s magic can turn a mediocre singer into King Glenn Sinatra Marcolin with ease, and a different thing is to appear in a live recording, in which frontmen truly prove their worth.And so we arrive to the important question to ask here: Is Stu Block better or as good as Matt Barlow was, live with this band? My personal opinion: No, he’s not. Live in Ancient Kourion is definitely not on par with Live in Athens but that’s not entirely Block’s fault. As with the newer version of “Dante’s Inferno”, there’re other things to take into account. But let’s just finish what I started. Stu Block most prominent and important mistake is that he uses excessive theatricality in some tracks, and while he never really ruins any song he definitely goes over the top melodramatically sometimes. That costs him and this double album some good points. Other than that, I actually have no notorious complaints about his style. He unquestionably has the power and range to emulate Barlow, even in personality with his heartfelt speeches between songs. Stu also uses his own signature black metal rasps and a couple of death grunts on some spots to good effect, dare I say. Some purists might bitch about it, but I find those extreme vocals a welcomed addition to his performance. They’re few, but extremely well placed.As for the rest of the band, they do just fine. The production’s on par with their past live recording, clear but bulky, and the musicians here just as focused and compelling. But I found just a couple of these live renditions that are better than their studio counterparts, whereas on Alive in Athens a great deal of the versions were vastly superior in comparison to their originators. The only ones I found here that were given such an enhancement are “Wolf” and “Ten Thousand Strong”, both from the first disc. I’m not the greatest Horror Show fan out there, and I found this incarnation of the shape-shifting beast tune more menacing, especially the growling chorus provided by Schaffer himself. Stu’s singing in this one is a rare case in which he sounds better than Barlow, who for the studio version committed the same sin Block’s committing here in other parts of the recording. As for the Framing Armageddon track, I just feel this one is tighter.The rest of the compositions are performed proficiently, but they’ve been added nothing extra. The setlist is pretty balanced, and I’m thankful for most of the choices, in particular that “In Sacred Flames” is the only ambassador from The Crucible of Man. We have some no-brainer fan favorites like the Stormrider tunes, “When the Night Falls”, “Burning Times” and the two ballads also from Something Wicked this Way Comes. For The Dark Saga emissaries I’m afraid they didn’t go with my preferred cuts, the intense “Violate” and “Vengeance is Mine”, instead picking the more laid back “I Died for You” and “Slave to the Dark”, though to close the concert with “The Hunter” was a nice surprise. “Dante’s Inferno” is here, in full 18-minute glory, though it’s the 2011 version. Sadly, the epic is the sole representative from Burnt Offerings. I would have gladly chosen that album’s title-track over most of the songs here. And I’d certainly replaced the overlong yawnfest that is “Damien” with “The Phantom Opera Ghost” (though a bit tricky to pull off live), or even better, with my Iced Earth all-time favorite tune, “Travel in Stygian”.A good thing is that the Iced Earth guys remain interested in recording their live albums in mid to low profile countries, some of which happen to have limited but extremely passionate metal fandom, like Cyprus. I’m glad a band of this caliber chooses not to record a concert in Japan, the States or somewhere in Latin America, (even if I live there), like most big names do. It helps you remember metal is loved and enjoyed throughout most of the third-planet-from-the-sun’s surface, and maybe somewhere under the ground and out in space as well. I’m also happy for Iced Earth, they seem to finally have found a stable lineup and a more than worthy and capable frontman. But for the fans, this might not be mandatory purchase, unless you are one of those lucky Cypriots chanting “Iced motherfucking Earth” or just love all things Stu Block. Even if I truly respect the man and wish him a lasting career with Schaffer and co., the live album from this outfit I’ll keep playing on and on will be Alive in Athens.
Line Up:
Stu Block - Vocals
Jon Schaffer - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals (1988-present) - See also: Purgatory, ex-Demons & Wizards, ex-Schaffer / Barlow Project, ex-Sons of Liberty, ex-The Rose
Troy Seele - Guitars (lead), Vocals (backing)
Luke Appleton - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Brent Smedley - Drums (1996-1997, 1998-1999, 2006-2013, 2015-present) - See also: Eternal Odyssey, ex-Sons of Liberty (live), ex-Prodigy, Out of Darkness, ex-Tempest Reign
Tracklist:
CD1:
01. Intro 01:23
02. Dystopia 04:53
03. Burning Times 03:38
04. Angel's Holocaust 04:35
05. Slave to the Dark 04:49
06. V 03:28 Show lyrics
07. When the Night Falls 07:56
08. I Died for You 04:55
09. Invasion 00:40
10. Motivation of Man 01:33
11. Setian Massacre 04:20
12. Stormrider 04:14
13. Pure Evil 06:00
14. Wolf 05:48
15. Dark City 05:46
16. Dracula 06:00
17. Ten Thousand Strong 04:01
CD2:
01. Anthem 04:47
02. Declaration Day 04:24
03. Days of Rage 03:07
04. Melancholy 04:55
05. Encore Intro 02:29
06. In Sacred Flames 01:27
07. Boiling Point 03:01
08. Damien 09:54
09. Watching Over Me 05:06
10. Dante's Inferno 18:04
11. Iced Earth 07:09
12. The Hunter 05:43
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