Poll

Who's Iced Earth's best Singer?

Gene Adam
1 (0.8%)
John Greely
0 (0%)
Matt Barlow
85 (66.4%)
Tim "Ripper" Owens
15 (11.7%)
Stu Block
15 (11.7%)
Comedy Option: Jon Schaffer
12 (9.4%)

Total Members Voted: 128

Author Topic: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. "Tastes Like Treason!"  (Read 310672 times)

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Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2240 on: July 06, 2017, 11:25:19 AM »
Anyone hear the live covers he did for Roadrunner United? King Diamond should have sold his vocal cords on ebay after that.

What a visual I just got reading that.  :lol
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Offline Cyclopssss

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2241 on: July 27, 2017, 05:05:11 AM »
On a journey into Iced Earth lately. This latest one is really good.
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Offline Zook

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2242 on: August 02, 2017, 11:12:33 AM »
On a journey into Iced Earth lately. This latest one is really good.

It is, but I haven't gone back to it in about 2 weeks or more. Most of that has to do with not being able to wear headphones at work anymore. Well, I could, but it's not worth the risk of a suspension or firing. I haven't really listened to a lot of music lately. It sucks. Work was my time to listen to new albums and old favorites. At home I don't get a whole lot of time to do that.

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2243 on: August 02, 2017, 12:18:50 PM »
I'm in the same boot with you Zook. I still consider it a good album and I dig it, but with limited time and other exciting releases coming up (Alice Cooper, Rage) the album has already fallen out of my daily rotation.
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2244 on: August 02, 2017, 12:22:00 PM »
I remember actually liking it, which is surprising.

It's not a classic at all, but it's way better than anything since Ripper. I also don't think the war epic was as great as everyone else. It was okay, but nothing special.

This album, however, made me realize that Stu's lost a lot of his power. His highs just sound really thin, and they have for a long time now.
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Offline Zook

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2245 on: August 02, 2017, 12:45:52 PM »
I remember actually liking it, which is surprising.

It's not a classic at all, but it's way better than anything since Ripper. I also don't think the war epic was as great as everyone else. It was okay, but nothing special.

This album, however, made me realize that Stu's lost a lot of his power. His highs just sound really thin, and they have for a long time now.

I think that has a lot to do with the way he sings. Since midrange is where he generally sings now, he probably can't transition to the high notes as easily anymore. It's also why he sounds silly in songs like A Question of Heaven. He would rival Barlow's epic performance of that song if he sang in his natural voice.

Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2246 on: August 02, 2017, 01:03:25 PM »
I just went back to it after almost a month. I really like it. I think Stu's highs are just fine live. If you're referring to the record, remember, he's being coached in the studio to sing a certain way by Jon. Jon controls the direction, but gives guys latitude.

In addition, Stu's high range is mostly falsetto, not pure range. He's a baritone, and very few baritones have naturally high end range (or if they do, it fades over time). Stu has a killer high falsetto, which is naturally thinner than someone's own voice anyway.

There's a huge difference between someone having a high singing voice, and having a powerful falsetto. Stu is a baritone with a really good falsetto. Michael Kiske is a tenor who has a very high singing voice. Huge difference, even though both are noted for some awfully high notes.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2247 on: August 02, 2017, 06:16:12 PM »
I liked the album too, but also haven't spun it in a few weeks.  I might change that tonight.
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2248 on: August 02, 2017, 08:44:20 PM »
I just went back to it after almost a month. I really like it. I think Stu's highs are just fine live. If you're referring to the record, remember, he's being coached in the studio to sing a certain way by Jon. Jon controls the direction, but gives guys latitude.

In addition, Stu's high range is mostly falsetto, not pure range. He's a baritone, and very few baritones have naturally high end range (or if they do, it fades over time). Stu has a killer high falsetto, which is naturally thinner than someone's own voice anyway.

There's a huge difference between someone having a high singing voice, and having a powerful falsetto. Stu is a baritone with a really good falsetto. Michael Kiske is a tenor who has a very high singing voice. Huge difference, even though both are noted for some awfully high notes.

They're really not fine live. I mean, they're not bad by any stretch, but they're paper thin.

I am well aware of what falsetto is. But I look back and compare the same notes with him, Barlow, and Ripper and he stands out as the thinnest. Barlow just has a huge gigantic sound, low or high and while Ripper has a similar falsetto, his is just so much more powerful.

And I say this as I've feel it's changed over the years. Early videos I say of IE live were fine, but the more modern ones sound really thin and weak.
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Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2249 on: August 02, 2017, 10:30:12 PM »
I wasnt saying you werent aware of what falsetto is. We just disagree on Stu. Comparing him to Barlow and Ripper is natural, but really unfair. Barlow is a God among men with that voice and has the strongest falsetto I have ever heard. Ripper is a little more naturally rangy, but his falsetto is very strong too. Thats tough to live up to.

I have seen Stu live with IE just once. The wife has seen him twice. Dude slays. No, he's not Barlow? But then again, who is? 😂
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Offline Zook

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2250 on: August 03, 2017, 06:23:46 AM »

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2251 on: August 16, 2017, 07:11:08 AM »
I really like the new album. I'm one of those people who really liked Dystopia for the individual song vibe, Plagues not so much.

Stu sounds excellent. Not sure if I ever want a different sound for him in Iced Earth either. Into Eternity-Stu, after all, isn't Natural Stu either, and Iced Earth does well with his lower range nowadays. Would love to hear him in an Ayreon-like project, though. He's been one of my favorite metal singers ever since I discovered him through Dystopia and my liking only grows stronger each day.

re: his range, most men are actually tenors, and I think Stu is no exception, he just sounds very persuasive in all points of his range nowadays. He's probably not working on his falsetto so much nowadays, and before now, even in Into Eternity it sounded almost Mickey Mouse thin in some moments, but I personally like how he pulls it into a sort of a... wailing ghost thing. It's definitely not one of the chesty sounding falsettos you hear a lot in metal.

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Offline The Walrus

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2252 on: August 21, 2017, 09:23:13 AM »
I've given Incorruptible a couple spins... I really wish I liked later Iced Earth, but I never find myself returning to anything on a regular basis post-Horror Show. Wheels just kinda fell off.

I like Incorruptible better than Plagues of Babylon but not as much as Dystopia, and while I liked Dystopia it just felt like the band was over the hill to me.

I listened to a lot of old Iced Earth this weekend, I mean Iced Earth, Angels' Holocaust, Stormrider early - that's the Iced Earth I know and love. I love hearing Jon Schaffer still at it with the tightest rhythm playing out there but the songs at large ring hollow to me, unlike their prime years in the late 90s.
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Offline The Walrus

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2253 on: September 12, 2017, 09:15:24 AM »
Okay, wow, I'm eating crow now. I actually *bought* Incorruptible instead of listening to it on Spotify (pardon my terminology, I still use 'spin' even if it's digital). The difference is so drastic. Seven Headed Whore cranked to 11 in the car on the interstate, now that's heavy metal. Definitely the best IE in a long time.

Some songs are still a bit flat and I wish Iced Earth didn't rely on the mid-tempo head bobbing pace for so many songs (that's why Something Wicked is so great, it has a perfect blend of tempo, aggression, and emotion). Stu's inflection is really strange sometimes - sounds like he's forcing the tough guy sound on the lower notes and hams up the emotional lines, but not in the good way like Barlow did - but holy crap is he a good fit for the band. Clear the Way is a great closer to the album. Really digging this and glad to add it to the collection. All I need now is the first couple IE albums to fill out my collection.
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Offline Lowdz

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2254 on: September 12, 2017, 11:42:50 AM »
I've played it a couple of times recently and like it more than anything they've done in a good while, although all their ballads sound like I Died For You.

Offline Cyclopssss

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2255 on: September 12, 2017, 11:42:46 PM »
It's just a very good album. Having said that, how's everybody's opinion on the Ashes of Ares record Matt did? 
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2256 on: September 12, 2017, 11:44:55 PM »
It's just a very good album. Having said that, how's everybody's opinion on the Ashes of Ares record Matt did?

Very meh. Not bad. Just meh.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2257 on: September 13, 2017, 05:28:28 AM »
Having said that, how's everybody's opinion on the Ashes of Ares record Matt did?

I thought it was pretty rubbish.
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2258 on: September 13, 2017, 06:42:57 AM »
It's just a very good album. Having said that, how's everybody's opinion on the Ashes of Ares record Matt did?

I loved it when it came out, but over time, I haven't gone back to it as much.  I think I just miss hearing him over a big, fat Jon Schaffer riff. 

Offline Zook

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2259 on: September 13, 2017, 02:08:35 PM »
It's just a very good album. Having said that, how's everybody's opinion on the Ashes of Ares record Matt did?

Very meh. Not bad. Just meh.

Same. I was going to buy it used, but I wanted to support him in some way. Hopefully #2 will have high production values, and maybe a better guitarist. Also, I've heard Van Williams with Nevermore, and thought he was excellent. Why on Ashes of Ares does he sound like an amateur?

Offline wolfking

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2260 on: September 13, 2017, 04:56:26 PM »
I might go back and listen to that album.  Can't remember a thing about it other than I thought it was crap.
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2261 on: September 15, 2017, 07:41:33 PM »
I was watching a bunch of old videos of Matt Barlow-era IE (right after Horror Show, circa 2002) the other day... Holy shit, man, Wolf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeA6wD3WBtU

Good god.
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Offline TAC

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2262 on: September 15, 2017, 07:53:59 PM »
That is amazing! :metal


Horrorshow was the first album that came out after I got into them.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2263 on: September 15, 2017, 08:52:19 PM »
Have you seen the European Horror Show tour?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhtKxYzY2c

2.5 to 3 hours, 3 different sets.  3 costume changes, arena staging, costume changes, pyro.   Apparently the band lost money on this tour, and it doesn't surprise me.  But talk about a bad-ass show and a killer setlist of all eras up through Horror Show.

As for the American tour - I love the video of Matt singing Iced Earth and just headbanging like mad during the intro of the song.

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2264 on: September 16, 2017, 05:00:22 AM »
Have you seen the European Horror Show tour?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhtKxYzY2c

Fuck yeah I did. One of my best concerts ever. Not of Iced Earth, I mean EVER. What a glorious and badass concert all the way through. Matt SLAYED. The whole band rocked  :metal
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2265 on: September 16, 2017, 07:53:35 PM »
I just might put Horror Show as my favorite Iced Earth album.  The only one that might come close to it would be Dark Saga

Phantom Opera Ghost is my personal favorite from the band.  Awesome tune.

Offline wolfking

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2266 on: September 17, 2017, 04:25:17 AM »
I was watching a bunch of old videos of Matt Barlow-era IE (right after Horror Show, circa 2002) the other day... Holy shit, man, Wolf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeA6wD3WBtU

Good god.



Seriously though, that video was all pure raw fucking power!  :metal
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Offline Zook

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2267 on: September 17, 2017, 03:50:22 PM »
Anyone get a D&W vibe from The Relic? I wonder if it was originally intended to be a D&W song.

Offline WheyWaffles

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2268 on: September 17, 2017, 05:46:48 PM »
Thread could use more Larry.

Alright, who misses Larry? I understand there are Randy fans here, and I respect Randy and his tens of millions of fans, but in my opinion, no one comes close to Larry. His work on Something Wicked wasn't especially technical, it wasn't revolutionary, but it was the perfect complement to the band, and his performance on Alive in Athens shows what a vital part he was of the short-lived golden era. Despite being enveloped in a near-constant verbal shitstorm originating from Schaffer's Skoal-stained mouth, he kept on course the argosy for as long as any man possibly could before the inevitable crash on the jagged rocks hiding just beneath the surface of the shallow waters of generic metal mediocrity.

He was the vastly less talented and original Marty Friedman to Jon Schaffer's vastly less talented and original Dave Mustaine, and for that, he will always have a special place in my vastly less talented heart. When Troy Seele came along, the worst player to ever strap on a Suhr Modern, he Glen Drover'd allover Larry's solos and virtually every pre-Larry lead, no matter how simple. The band would never recover...

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2269 on: September 17, 2017, 05:49:21 PM »
I loved Larry on the albums. He was good live when he was playing his own solos, but his version of Randal's solos are just....not good. Yes, that is mostly because Randy used a ton of layers that can't be reproduced live, but his technique really fell apart when he tried some of those older solos.
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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2270 on: September 17, 2017, 06:01:01 PM »
Larry isn't bad, but I much prefer Jake Dreyer and Randy when it comes to IE's lead guitarists.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2271 on: September 17, 2017, 11:22:23 PM »
Larry was cool and did his job well enough.  This new fella needs to stay though.
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Offline WheyWaffles

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2272 on: September 17, 2017, 11:25:38 PM »
I suppose I will have to give the new album a shot after all then.

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2273 on: September 17, 2017, 11:26:42 PM »
I suppose I will have to give the new album a shot after all then.

Didn't dig it?
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Offline WheyWaffles

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Re: The Official Iced Earth Thread v. Incorruptible (June 2017)
« Reply #2274 on: September 17, 2017, 11:28:54 PM »
Nah I just haven't checked it out at all yet, but will for the new guitarist. I have a hard time with Stu Block singing in a way that just doesn't seem natural for him (I know, Jon tells him exactly what to do).