Iced Earth Alive In Athens DVD

[cobhc]

Just picked this up yesterday, and I just wanna say how Matt Barlow fucking nails his vocals on this. And also Jon Schaffers tone is awesome, bit of a shame how the camera never really focuses on Larry Tarnowski though, even during his leads! Anyone else think Matt looks like a cross between Cliff Burton and Jack Gibson?

 

[Keregioz]

All performances in that dvd are flawless... Except larry's solos which I don't really like.
I must say I'm a little suspicious about this "live" album...I haven't watched the dvd closely but I rembember the editing doesn't really help to see closely the performance and after hearing the CD album countless times I've noticed that the performances are a little too good...

 

[cobhc]

I get what you mean, it does sound a little TOO polished and perfect, but it's a blast to watch. Yeah, Larry's solos are a little weak compared to the album versions. I gotta admit I'd kill to have a picking hand like Jon Schaffer though, god damn that man is tight!

 

[Nebulous]

+1 on the "live" aspect of it. What was more dissapointing for me was the changed set list from the CD version. It feels too chopped up.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

I fucking love this DVD and CD.

Did anyone here see the footage that was broadcast on Greek TV where Jon is discussing the recording process? He says something along the lines of that after the gig they'd be taking the recordings back to the studio to "touch up" any mistakes.

I can't remember which song it us but one of Larry's solos you can see he is playing something different to the actual audio that you can hear. I think it's somewhere in the Wicked trilogy..

Definately a bit in the Dante's Inferno solo at about 5:10. (below)

Another example, look at this video from 2:07 to 2:35 (below) where Jon says, "Athens let me see those hands! Hey! Hey!" etc. LOOK CLOSELY at Jon, he isn't even near a microphone! That's a mighty voice to be heard that loudly without a mic! And where he says "Here we go!" at 2:48.

Matt Barlow's final high note ending on The Hunter springs to mind too, maybe a vocal overdub? "The wrath of heaven's coming dooooooooooooooooown!" look here the video shows he moves the mic away before the actual vocal audio has finished.

Bad sync perhaps? Maybe it's just me?

Jon Scaffer's guitar tone is BEYOND amazing. I NEED one of those Larry amps big time.

P.S. I'm not bashing Iced Earth here, they are one of my favorites!

 

[Jaymz]

That Dantes Inferno clip looks like the singer isnt even singing the audio were hearing tbh.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

That Dantes Inferno clip looks like the singer isnt even singing the audio were hearing tbh.

Hahaha yeah man! I just noticed that too!

 

[Jaymz]

Haha still, sounds fucking nice like, the guitar tone always reminds me of that brutal razor type sound on And Justice. The singing/solo has obv been done live, so why did they mish mash the clips Didn't realise those guys were such beefcakes either haha!

 

[Chryst Krispies]

I just love Barlow doing the "Ah" after every line.. Hhahaha

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Haha still, sounds fucking nice like, the guitar tone always reminds me of that brutal razor type sound on And Justice. The singing/solo has obv been done live, so why did they mish mash the clips Didn't realise those guys were such beefcakes either haha!

Roll on Bloodstock Fest' this year! I can't wait!

Great tone, I wonder if the amp is boosted with something to get that real sharp/cutting/tight sound. Maybe be a TS? Or if you can just plug into a Larry Amp without the need for any boost.

It's a very distinct tone I think too.

 

[kaomao]

I just love Barlow doing the "Ah" after every line.. Hhahaha

He's like a little James Hetfield sometimes, just more brutal lol
Iced earth old stuff is the shit, The dark Saga, Burnt Offerings are the shit indeed

 

[Neverpurified]

The reason it look fucked up is because the video was captured and mixed from both concerts they played in Athens. Iced Earth plays to a click track live, so they can play along with the synth effects and whatnot, so it's easy to sync up the audio of one night with the video of another. however, the editing company kinda fucked up with certain parts (solos, vocals etc) so you may be hearing the audio from one night, but the video from another

i know that Matt touched up a few lines in the studio, as he didn't have in-ear monitors at the show, so it was difficult for some things. I'm sure it's not as bad as "unleashed in the east" or anything though. still sounds amazing, and he sound that amazing in every bootleg video I've ever seen

 

[midget donkeys]

"Great tone, I wonder if the amp is boosted with something to get that real sharp/cutting/tight sound. Maybe be a TS? Or if you can just plug into a Larry Amp without the need for any boost."

I hope you don't need a boost on a Larry amp for the price it costs! Sounds completely sweet, but I have wondered how much of that is just john playing so damn good.

 

[if6was9]

yeah i was at graspop this year and thought they were amazing. thinking it might have been the usual getting caught up in the gig atmosphere i looked up videos afterwards- they're pretty damn near perfect. Amazing band, i wish i had half the rhythm skills of john schaffer. I can't name another rhythm guitar player out there who can touch him for stamina ,speed and accuracy

 

["Evil" Aidy]

The reason it look fucked up is because the video was captured and mixed from both concerts they played in Athens. Iced Earth plays to a click track live, so they can play along with the synth effects and whatnot, so it's easy to sync up the audio of one night with the video of another. however, the editing company kinda fucked up with certain parts (solos, vocals etc) so you may be hearing the audio from one night, but the video from another

i know that Matt touched up a few lines in the studio, as he didn't have in-ear monitors at the show, so it was difficult for some things. I'm sure it's not as bad as "unleashed in the east" or anything though. still sounds amazing, and he sound that amazing in every bootleg video I've ever seen

That makes sense actually, I know Jon posted official messages about how he wasn't happy overall with the Athens DVD, so as you mentioned, I bet it's a case of hearing audio from one gig and seeing the video from the other!

I have some Iced Earth bootleg concerts too , maybe I shouldn't admit that! You can get pretty much anything on Ebay these days...

 

[Metal Overload]

What brand of guitar he´s using?? i remember that R in the headstock from another part but don´t remember.

 

[lordcthulhu]

What brand of guitar he´s using?? i remember that R in the headstock from another part but don´t remember.

Yeah, I want to know too! Shaffer may over-do his riffing thing, but he is so TIGHT and it sounds fantastic live.

 

[cobhc]

For that concert he was using a BC Rich Ignitor custom, with EMG's. He normally uses Les Pauls in the studio though, with passive pickups.

 

[Exocaster]

Jon Schaffer is as big a gearhead as anyone. The list of what he used on their last album is friggin' unreal. A bunch of pricey Gibsons/Fenders/Martins and high end amps. (Points to anyone on here who even knows what Divided By 13 is.)

He stopped using BC Rich right around Horror Show. His endorsement was up, and he's been using Les Pauls with passives for the heavy stuff pretty much exclusively since then. He's got a signature pickup now; I forget who makes it.

His live rig is a Les Paul through a Larry Dino 939 with Marshall 1960A and B cabs with stock G1275Ts and a Roland JC120 for cleans. That's it. No boost. (I think that particular amp was voiced to his specs...) For a while he was running a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 through Marshall Mode Four cabs and a Bogner Uberschall through Bogner Uberkabs, as his Larry heads (and much of his other gear) were damaged in a flood.

I saw them on the Horror Show tour, and Larry Tarnowski was playing a Jackson Kelly through a Soldano SLO, two Marshall cabs and a JC120, for whatever that's worth.

 

[Exocaster]

For all the gearheads out there, here's some shots of one of the Larry amps: http://www.larry-amplification.de/gallery/index.php?level=album&id=2

There's some internal shots in there. The build quality is ridiculously good.