good review, but "shortcomings in the riffing department"??? Jon, to his credit, hasn't had much of this to speak of. As a matter of fact, I'm always amazed that he CONTINUOUSLY comes up with the riffs that he does, and he NEVER repeats himself. The only shortcoming I can think of is finding the right sequence for the setlist in the live setting, because then the over-riffing may tend to either get tedious or overburdonesome. Otherwise, Iced Earth has undoubtedly been the 90's best kept secret.
As for ye, Mrthrax, not hearing anything by Iced Earth may be a blessing. I'm always excited to dig into bands and find some gems that I have previously not heard, and anyone hovering around an Anthrax board would beyond a doubt, find IE's music captivating. The best description I have heard of their music is "take the best elements from
Ride the Lightning and
Master of Puppets, a dose of classic Maiden and a touch of vintage Priest, and you're about half way there."
Iced Earth's riffs are far more creative than anything Metallica has done, and I would venture to say that their dual guitar leads are better arranged than Maiden's and Priest's (with a few exceptions, songwise). Their lyrics are solid, not the greatest but not the worst, but really shine on their trademark trilogies (ie- "Dante's Inferno", "dark saga" trilogy, and the "Something Wicked" trilogy as well) - I stated a long time ago that the "Something Wicked" trilogy would not be topped by them, but this Gettysburg one may just do that. I'm a history geek too, so that last statement may have some bias.
As far as MY description of their music? They are not Power Metal. They are not thrash, purely, but do incorporate elements of the latter. Everyone thinks that because you have twin-guitar leads, you're a power metal band. Bullshit. Power metal bands tend to have some fucked up sounding distortion, taking more cues from Maiden and Priest than Overkill and Testament, and tend to have very cheesy lyrics.
Iced Earth does none of this. Their distortion is thick, concise, and unmistakably post
Kill Em All. Their dual leads are very deliberately placed within certain songs that have them (not the backbone of the arrangements like Maiden and power metal acts) ... and their lyrics I have mentioned before: thoughtful but not too highbrow, and definetly none of this "we're off to the woods to fight the battle " shit.
ICED EARTH IS NOT POWER METAL!!!
Here are some people who say they are:
http://www.bnrmetal.com/
http://www.redstream.org/Iced-Earth-Night-of-the-Stormrider_RD7109.php
http://www.metalhordes.com/forum/printthread.php?t=108
There's a debate on that 3rd link whether IE is power metal or not. Perhaps it is time to listen to decide for yourself.
Discs:
Iced Earth (1991) - heavily Maiden influenced, proceed w/ caution.
Night of the Stormrider (1992) - masterpiece. Old vox, not as good as the new guy, but not as bad as everyone who's used to the new guy says he is. He reminds me of Neil Turbin when he's on, and a bad Halford when he's off (ie- verses to "Travel In Stygian")
Burnt Offerings (1995) - ANOTHER masterpiece, new vox Matt Barlow, who is outstanding. Great song structures, gothic overtones, epics, incredible riffing (which is scattered in various places, kinda like Priest's
Stained Class and fates Warning's
Awaken the Guardian), and an album which gets better with each listen.
Dark Saga (1996) - A concept album (which I'm no fan of), but the songs as a whole are more accessible, even if some of them are not as good as previous albums. IE fans really dig this one.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998) - kind of a roller coaster musically (fast song, slow song, fast song, slow song), but the songs are stellar and the trilogy is worth the price alone. If the speed metal intensity of Stormrider and Burnt Offerings is too much to handle for some, I usually recommend this one first, then work your way back. When Anthrax and Metallica (ESPECIALLY metallica) stopped doing this kind of music, Iced Earth pciked up where they left off and ran with it. A band worthy of attention.
I never got Horror Show because I thought the concept was dumb to begin with. Someone let me know if it is worth the money.
as you were
thraxhead
