The first time I heard IE in 2006 on Something Wicked and Horror Show I was hooked. Then I got Night of the Stormrider, Dark Saga, Alive and Athens and Burnt Offerings, and all blew me away one by one. To be honest, this year my interest as of late last year has somewhat waned because it is all too obvious that Schaffer nowadays is trying to cover any lack of creativity with those infamous irksome midpaced riffs. I don't know why, but on old slower tracks like Melancholy and Blessed Are You, it worked so much better than on Overture of the Wicked, Framing Armageddon and Crucible of Man, perhaps because the fantastic vocal melodies take the focus off the guitar parts.
...Still, Schaffer has one hell of a picking hand, perhaps the tightest in the business.
