...Matt Barlow or Ripper Owens on vocals? That's the question for you guys today! I think Rippers performance on TGB is excellent, but I'm going to have to cast my pick for Barlow. That man was one of the most impassioned singers I have ever heard. I'd throw him to the top of the list, along with Tom Englund and Vinnie Cavanagh from Anathema.
Iced Earth is better with...
- Thread starter Walter_Langkowski
- Start date
Yeah, I like the new album A LOT, and think Owens did good although I prefer his 'normal' singing voice to the high-pitched one. But overall I prefer Barlow, he just had a really unique voice. It's a shame I didn't become an Iced Earth fan early enough to see them in concert with Barlow (I just got into IE in the last year or so). That said, I'm looking forward to the upcoming tour; if they play Gettysburg live that will be quite an experience.
I like em both.. Ripper is a great singer, so is Barlow. I know it's hard for some fans to accept new members in their favorite bands, but there are so few bands that don't change members everyone should be used to it by now.
My opinion is The Glorius Burden is the metal album of the year to top, and would have been with either singer.
My opinion is The Glorius Burden is the metal album of the year to top, and would have been with either singer.
Olaso
I have lost my Innoncence
The Fiddler
Just Do It.
Olaso said:
I can't disagree that Matt had more of a bluesy quality to his voice where the syllables flowed effortlessly at the middle and lower ranges. In all fairness to Tim, he has never really had to sing with much emotion with Priest - most everything with Priest had to be an all-out vocal assault.
I do think Tim is far superior to Matt when it comes to the high registers. But I do believe that with Jon and Tim writing together now, Tim will have the chance to develop much more of the blues-emotion in his voice. After listenting to TGB, it's pretty apparent that Jon didn't ask Tim to join so he could have a Halford clone for a vocalist. Jon heard things in Tim's voice that Priest didn't exploit and wants to develop those skills with Iced Earth.
It took awhile for me to appreciate The Glorious Burden. The first listen through i put it as background music when i was cleaning my apartment. I kept expecting the old Iced Earth feel, but once i got over that i now love The Glorious Burden. Some albums take more than one listen through to fully appreciate it.
Psychonaut
God Of Emptiness
So far I like Barlow better but I'm anxious to see what the next album sounds like when it's written with Tim's vocals in mind. I think it will be much better. I do love Rippers vocals, though.
Olaso
I have lost my Innoncence
The Fiddler said:
You have a point there, Tim do have a higher range than Barlow and probably a better singing technic, is just that I can't imaging Tim singing Barlow's songs, I mean is such a different style. In the other hand I have listened it a couple of times.
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
Since I would take Matthew Barlow over any singer on the planet, this is an easy one for me. That being said, Tim did an amazing job on this disc. I fully expected to hate the latest incarnation of my beloved Iced Earth. But "The Glorious Burden" will most likely be my disc of the year. Would it have been better with Matt? Of course, almost all discs would be better with Matt, so that's not a knock on Tim.Walter_Langkowski said:
Zod
Bryan316
METAL... nuff said!
Let's put it this way.
Matt Barlow is pure fucking evil. That boy's voice embodies all that is ferocious, wicked, monstrous, and demonized. No better voice can be found for heavy fuckin metal. That's why I prefer him. And you listen to the ending of The Coming Curse on Alive In Athens, and you can tell the boy knows how to scream. His voice is very unique for screaming. Gritty and dirty sounding, yet announciated perfectly so you know what he is actually singing. Not many can do that. When he does the choruses on Disciples of the Lie, he's truly demonic when he screams. And on Dante's Inferno, he's basically possessed. There's no better way to say it. Especially on the Alive In Athens take. The whole "Lucifer! Betrayer of God! " part. Yup. That's the devil allright!
Ripper is the ultimate screamer. He's got a voice that makes you cringe in fear. I love Waterloo, cuz he doesn't banshee scream at all, and truly proves how powerful his voice is. I can't wait to hear how Jon will bleed his voice for everything it's got on another album written with his voice in mind. And Jon said it in an article I read: This is the voice I've always wanted for Iced Earth. I agree! The material down the line will truly prove it. Think about it... we've got the Set Abominae album just hovering in the distance! Yeah yeah, gotta wait through another Demons and Wizards album (oh.. such a chore! Heh heh!) but once that album comes, we'll all be fleeing for our lives.
Now. To truly prove Ripper's metal, we've gotta hear him sing all the old Iced Earth stuff. That'll prove everything. That'll be the knife through the heart. Once I hear him scream Slave To The Dark, and Pure Evil, and Travel In Stygian, and Wolf, and The Coming Curse.... then we'll really know.
And then it'll be too late. MOOOAAAAHHAHAHAHA!!!!
Matt Barlow is pure fucking evil. That boy's voice embodies all that is ferocious, wicked, monstrous, and demonized. No better voice can be found for heavy fuckin metal. That's why I prefer him. And you listen to the ending of The Coming Curse on Alive In Athens, and you can tell the boy knows how to scream. His voice is very unique for screaming. Gritty and dirty sounding, yet announciated perfectly so you know what he is actually singing. Not many can do that. When he does the choruses on Disciples of the Lie, he's truly demonic when he screams. And on Dante's Inferno, he's basically possessed. There's no better way to say it. Especially on the Alive In Athens take. The whole "Lucifer! Betrayer of God! " part. Yup. That's the devil allright!
Ripper is the ultimate screamer. He's got a voice that makes you cringe in fear. I love Waterloo, cuz he doesn't banshee scream at all, and truly proves how powerful his voice is. I can't wait to hear how Jon will bleed his voice for everything it's got on another album written with his voice in mind. And Jon said it in an article I read: This is the voice I've always wanted for Iced Earth. I agree! The material down the line will truly prove it. Think about it... we've got the Set Abominae album just hovering in the distance! Yeah yeah, gotta wait through another Demons and Wizards album (oh.. such a chore! Heh heh!) but once that album comes, we'll all be fleeing for our lives.
Now. To truly prove Ripper's metal, we've gotta hear him sing all the old Iced Earth stuff. That'll prove everything. That'll be the knife through the heart. Once I hear him scream Slave To The Dark, and Pure Evil, and Travel In Stygian, and Wolf, and The Coming Curse.... then we'll really know.
And then it'll be too late. MOOOAAAAHHAHAHAHA!!!!
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
SanSebastian1190
Member
Barlow. He has better range and feeling in his voice than Owens. I find TGB to be terribly boring and uncaptivating.
MeTuLHeD
A Member To Remember
I think Bryan is right. The final test will be when we hear Ripper singing the old IE material. Can you say "another live disc"? SURE ya can.
NP: Iced Earth - The Reckoning (video DTV recording from MTV)
NP: Iced Earth - The Reckoning (video DTV recording from MTV)
Barlow! Ripper is a good singer but I can't stand this high pitched Halford-like screaming for too long. Barlow has much more variety in his voice and it simply fits Iced Earth's style better. Unfortunately, Iced Earth changed their style and the Glorious Burden is so bad that not even Barlow's voice would have saved it for me. I hope Barlow reconsiders and joins a metal band again.
