Okay... someone enlighten me to what is so good about 'horror show(IE)'??

[RETIREDTrapped]

I mean, i love their old stuff (NP: VIOLATE - ALIVE IN ATHENS ), but what's so great about horror show? It does absolutely nothing for me...

help?

 

[Dragonlord]

To me,Iced Earth died after Dark Saga.

 

[RETIREDTrapped]

I just want to see why it's so good in some people's eyes.

 

[Captain Beard]

I guess they're pulling a Metallica (except not complete commercialization...)

 

[Demonspell]

Yeah, Damien and Phantom Opera Ghost, those are so commercial they can be played on top 40 radio...seriously, I agree that Dark Saga and SWTWC were regression, but Horror Show is their best since Burnt Offerings, which I credit to Death's last rhythm section, Jon learning from his Demons & Wizards experience, heavier riffs than on the last two albums, and there being only one ballad.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

HS is nothing more than a good album...nothing special...

 

[ledmag]

The best thing on HS is the cover song. Other than that.....not much! Alive in Athens rocks out!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

wolf is a cool song...draculka is nice too....the rest is avarage

 

[General Zod]

You want to know what's so good about "Horror Show"? OK... I'll give it a shot.

First off, I disagree with the contingent of Iced Earth fans who believe that the band has been regressing since "Burnt Offerings". As I am not a mind reader, I can only imagine that these fans don't like the direction of the newer music, because it's content is less "dark" in nature. I believe that just the opposite is true: each subsequent release has been a vast improvement over the previous release. The actual quality of the music is vastly superior. Barlow has become an infinitely better singer, Schaeffer's lyrics and melodies have become stronger, and the recent addition of Richard Christy on drums, makes Iced Earth a much better band in terms of pure musicianship.

As for "Horror Show", I would say that it is easily, one of the Top 5 CDs released in 2001. So that this post isn't overly drawn out, I'll just cover some of the highlights on "Horror Show".

Let's start with the opening track "Wolf", which is probably IE's heaviest track ever. It opens the CD all guns blazing. Christy's footwork, and Matt's vocals, are absolutely phenomenal. The second track, "Damien" is an instant classic. Barlow's low end range, and the subject matter of this song, come together in an incredible fashion. "Dracula" may very well be one of the Top 10 songs that I have ever heard. Barlow has never sounded so good. The way he takes this song from ballad to pedal-to-the-metal rocker, is a clear example of why he is, by a wide margin, the best singer in the genre (no disrespect to Warrel, whose voice I love). The final track, "Phantom of the Opera Ghost" is pure genious. Matt's voice lends itself to this type of song in an amazing way. The interplay between him and Uni is beautiful. Add in that the other 6 tracks on this disc are all excellent, and you have one great CD.

GZ

 

[ledmag]

Narrot>>>>My copy does not have dracuLKa. Mine has Dracula...hahahahaha!

Zod>>>>>Wolf is alright,,,thats about it. Barlow is a great singer,,but his vocals are lost in the blurr of everything in that song.

I like Iced Earth,,even if they do repeat themselves, not just on a few cd's, and not just on a few songs either,,,,,They repeat themselves on EVERTHING. The guitars always sound damn near the same. Same riffs,,same rythems, its all just the same. BUt they are still pretty damn good over all.

 

[Dragonlord]

Originally posted by ledmag
The best thing on HS is the cover song. Other than that.....not much! Alive in Athens rocks out!!!!!!!!!!!

Alive in Athens was kind of a dissappointment to me...you see,this is not live,it's just a best of...MUCH of the album has been re-recorded in the studio,and they have buried the crowd noise which was much bigger than what is heard and the album could have had great atmosphere if it was heard.BTW,it was recorded in a club and not a stadium as CM said in its ads in the US-the photo at the back is from Wacken I think,or some other fest.

 

[ledmag]

I know all that,,,,,,its still good

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

Narrot>>>>My copy does not have dracuLKa. Mine has Dracula...hahahahaha!

forgive me mr. perfectledmag!

@dragonlord: it's not that much...there are live albums that contain much more re-recordparts

@zod: maybe the band are better musicians now...but i miss the atmosphere of BO or NotS......and the songwriting on the old records was much better (imho)

 

[General Zod]

KOTNO-

I can understand how someone would prefer the songs, or the atmosphere, on the earlier stuff, but you think the songwriting was better? I find that surprising.

GZ

 

[RETIREDTrapped]

Zod...

Cool, nice analysis of HS. I wasn't bagging it, i just don't see the appeal that is seems to have.

-Nice comment on Richard Christy... (his work in death is better, but it still gives IE a bit more power with him at the helm)

Barlow is a pretty awesome singer actually, the best thing about IE, i just don't appreciate the guitaring so much, or the fairly simple riffs (not all! but most!).

I just wanted a few opinions on HS, and your post totally sums the whole album up, good work General Zod.!

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

Zod: yea...i love the songwriting of songs like pure evil, travel in stygian or burnt offerings. on HS are many parts of the songs not linked...e.g. after the intro of Phantom opera ghost there's a short silence and the riffing begins (you'll find the same in other songs too)...that looks for me like a non-completed work...



not that anybody gets that wrong: HS is still a good album but for me it's not what iced earth was years ago!


(sorry for my bad expression-skills...)

 

[Dragonlord]

Originally posted by [KOTNO]Narrot

@dragonlord: it's not that much...there are live albums that contain much more re-recordparts

sure there are...it's just that "fixing" it in the studio,they ruined all the live atmosphere...maybe other live albums have even more re-recorded parts,but most of them keep the atmosphere...In Alive in Athens the crowd volume is so low,that sometimes the songs sound like studio versions.

 

[Wallet Boy]

Well, Horror Show is the first album where Iced Earth came close to getting it right (as right as Iced Earth will ever get it in my opinion). Its a combination of new and old sounding IE which makes for a very solid album, and the music is varied enough while still holding onto the theme. SWTWC was truly awful, the songwriting and riffing (save the trilogy and Burning Times) sounds to me like it was thought up on the fly. Horror Show sounds like it had some real time put into it, and although the lyrics are laughable in parts, the majority of the songs hold up. I think the first two albums would have been as good if Barlow was in there from the start, which is why we have DoP, and this album rocks out more than Dark Saga did. It isn't perfect, but I think its as good as Iced Earth will ever get.

 

[General Zod]

Trapped - no problem.

KOTNO - fair enough.

Wallet Boy - "SWTWC was truly awful"? Really? I love that disc. I would agree that the trilogy, and "Burning Times" are the highlights, but I think the rest of the disc ("My Own Savior" and "Melancholy" especially) is excellent.

Just out of curiosity, who are some of your favorite bands?

GZ

 

[Wallet Boy]

Sorry, with songs like The Burning Times and the trilogy, I guess truly awful should be reserved for a disc with nothing to offer whatsoever. The problem I have with SWTWC are the other songs, to the point where I can't listen to them anymore. The points I make above have to do with songs like Stand Alone or Disciples of the Lie. I just don't like that trimmed, simplified sound.

I'm not sure if the 'what are some of your favorite bands' comment was directed toward me, if it was, I'd go with Nevermore (of course!), Grip Inc, Faith No More, Bruce Dickinson, Type O Negative, Metallica to name a few.