The Official Iced Earth Thread v. "Tastes Like Treason!"

[Zook]

Lol I knew no one would understand it, but I said it anyway. I had a dream where I put NPH in charge of keeping Ripper out of trouble and when they returned, they were both high on shrooms.

Don't worry, I got it.

A SPY!

[Adami]

Lol I knew no one would understand it, but I said it anyway. I had a dream where I put NPH in charge of keeping Ripper out of trouble and when they returned, they were both high on shrooms.

Don't worry, I got it.

A SPY!

YOU BEEN INCEPTED FOOL!

[Zook]

Lol I knew no one would understand it, but I said it anyway. I had a dream where I put NPH in charge of keeping Ripper out of trouble and when they returned, they were both high on shrooms.

Don't worry, I got it.

A SPY!

YOU BEEN INCEPTED FOOL!

[obscure]

I don't have time (at the moment) to go through all the thread... I could only take a look at the first couple of posts and of course voted...
and couldn't help but agree with this:

There is a difference between subjective and objective.

Ripper is a better singer = subjective.

Barlow is a better singer = objective.

lovely post   

[Adami]

Holy crap that post of mine is over 2 years old. Weird.

[obscure]

It's just amazing.

[Zook]

Here's the "epic" news I told you about...


Some bands release mere snippets of songs to preview their upcoming tours. Some release a single song. In typical balls-to-the-wall Iced Earth fashion, the legendary metal band has re-recorded the entire 17-minute fan-favorite epic “Dante’s Inferno” – and will give it away free on their official web site.

“If there’s one song fans have asked us to play live more than any other it’s ‘Dante’s Inferno,’” Iced Earth main man Jon Schaffer said. “The simple reason why we haven’t is because the original click track was erased, therefore requiring a keyboard player to do the parts live. That’s OK for a special event like when we recorded Alive in Athens, but to hire a keyboard player for a full tour, for one song, just isn’t financially feasible.”

This summer, during the recording of Dystopia, Iced Earth’s soon-to-be-released 10th studio album, the band entered the studio for the express purpose of remedying that situation – and emerged with a powerful rendition that’s (if possible) even more monumental than the original, which was the closing track on the band’s 1995 album Burnt Offerings.

Schaffer and new vocalist Stu Block talk about the recording of “Dante’s Inferno” in this exclusive video clip just posted to the band’s Official YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmaHmhstVZo.

“Dante’s Inferno” can be downloaded – free – from Iced Earth’s web site here: https://www.icedearth.com/dantesinferno.

“Dante’s Inferno” (which is based on Inferno, the first part of Dante’s poem The Divine Comedy) hasn’t been played live since 1999’s groundbreaking Alive in Athens album.

“We wanted to say ‘Thank You’ to all of our loyal fans who have waited so long to hear us play ‘Dante’ again,” said Schaffer. “So, we decided to give this to them, free. It’s because of our fans we’ve been able to make music all these years. This is a way to show how much we appreciate them.”

Schaffer promises “Dante’s Inferno” will be back in the band’s set lists for all upcoming shows on the 2011-2012 World Dystopia Tour.

The European leg of the 2011-2012 World Dystopia Tour has been posted on the band’s official web site, and all official social-media sites. The tour begins October 30th in Bochum, Germany.

Dystopia is scheduled for release in Europe on October 17th, and in the U.S. on October 18th, both via Century Media. Two bonus tracks have also been recorded for inclusion on special editions of the album.

The release of Dystopia will be followed by the most extensive world tour Iced Earth has ever undertaken.

_________

So, what do you think? Is it "epic" enough for you?

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


About to listen!!!!

[Adami]

Listening now. Waiting to hear how bad they re-wrote the lead due to their inept lead guitar player.


Still on the soft part, I like Barlow better on it, but Stu is cool so far.

K, it just got heavy. I knew his scream would come in handy, it totally rocks at that part.

Waiting for the verse.

Never heard Stu sing like this before, very strange, kicks are bit overly clicky too.


Yea, kicks are a bit overpowering. And I was right, they butchered all the lead stuff. Damn you random coke head looking guy.

[Zook]

Listening now. Waiting to hear how bad they re-wrote the lead due to their inept lead guitar player.


Still on the soft part, I like Barlow better on it, but Stu is cool so far.

K, it just got heavy. I knew his scream would come in handy, it totally rocks at that part.

Waiting for the verse.

Never heard Stu sing like this before, very strange, kicks are bit overly clicky too.


Yea, kicks are a bit overpowering. And I was right, they butchered all the lead stuff. Damn you random coke head looking guy.

Just passed the 3rd Circle. It sounds great, but I still like the original better. I don't think anything can top the original for me, not even the live version.

EDIT:

HEY they took out the chants WTF?!

Don't like the changes in the drums for some parts.

[Adami]

This also suffers from one of the same problems as the re-recordings of the wicked trilogy. The kick drums are so overly syncopated with the guitars that it loses any room to breath and sounds kind of dull and lifeless.

OH HELL NO! They got rid of the low choirish part? That's just unforgivable.

[Zook]

I really don't like some of these drum arrangements.

[Adami]

I really don't like some of these drum arrangements.

Yea I was thinking the same thing. And I'm a damn drummer, you'd think I'd prefer the more complicated stuff he's doing over the basic original, but the original had drive that this stuff lacks.

[Zook]

Well at least they didn't get rid of the other chants during the 7th Hell.

Lucifer was alright and I liked the choir at the end.

Doesn't beat the original at all, but still not complete shit like those Something Wicked re-recordings.

I think 6.5/10 is fair.

[Adami]

Ok just finished.


Well...........it had a few cool moments, like his screaming Lucifer and so forth. But over all?  

Drums are lame, vocals are generally WAY over enunciated, the guitars are flat, keyboards are far too in the background, lead guitar is horribly lame and they took out some awesome parts for no reason.


Also, did the ending sound slower to anybody else?

[Zook]

Ok just finished.


Well...........it had a few cool moments, like his screaming Lucifer and so forth. But over all?  

Drums are lame, vocals are generally WAY over enunciated, the guitars are flat, keyboards are far too in the background, lead guitar is horribly lame and they took out some awesome parts for no reason.

So you're saying this would have fit right in on Days Of Purgatory?

I agree with you though. We need a thumbs sideways emoticon.

And yes, definitely slower ending.

[MykeHavoc]

Listening now...enjoying. As said, very interesting to hear Stu use chest voice, since he has, like, never done so before lol.


And up next...Dystopia! I got permission to download it (sans 2 songs). Expect a review after a few spins

[Zook]

Listening now...enjoying. As said, very interesting to hear Stu use chest voice, since he has, like, never done so before lol.


And up next...Dystopia! I got permission to download it (sans 2 songs). Expect a review after a few spins

 

[Adami]

I hope the new stuff sounds better than that recording of Dantes Inferno.

I also hope Stu doesn't decide to use as much diction as he did on that re-recording, it was a bit overkill.



Allllllso, why has the drumming turned into lifeless doubling? Seriously, at almost all times he just doubles the guitars with his kick drums, and if done in moderation it's awesome, but when it's like every riff, then it lacks any form of dynamics and sounds boring.

[Zook]

Because Jon loves the machine gun sound.

[MykeHavoc]

Yeah, not so much over accenting of words so far. The mix and everything is better, too.
This is a bit more refrained then what I was expecting. More melodic. It sounds as though Jon coached Stu to simply sound more like Barlow, and that's a disappointment, as something as distinct as chest voice should be natural. That's Why I loved Ripper in the band, as he made no effort to try to sound like anyone else. He just did his thing. But it's not bad by any means. Its just clear this guy doesn't have the experience singing in this style to have formed a really unique sound in this register. I'm sure the world tour will do him some good. It's certainly a walk in the park compared to what he was doing with Into Eternity. I'm sure he's breathing a sigh of relief. Being in his mid 30's, I doubt the extreme vox would've lasted him much longer.

This is very much an Iced Earth record. Not a bad thing. I was hoping for a little more variation and perhaps a few bits of something wildly new to excite listeners. Only half-way through though. More info later.

[glaurung]

And up next...Dystopia! I got permission to download it (sans 2 songs). Expect a review after a few spins

I know you know Tim Owens but how did you get access to that?

[Adami]

So does it sound more or less like Crucible?

[MetalMike06]

I am quite surprised by Stu's voice. I like it.

[MykeHavoc]

No, not at all, really. Sounds like Something Wicked this Way Comes, actually. At least to me.

As for how I have access...I know all the behind the scenes folk. Ten of the tracks have been rewarded to a handful of folks - essentially the street team types on Facebook. My buddy is one and he got permission to give it to me from the guy who runs the page, as he knows me (was trying to get my band to open for IE before I gave up music due to illness).

[Zook]

Sorry to hear that. You have a great voice.

[MykeHavoc]

Thanks man. I've come to terms with it and am looking forward to exploring other avenues. Its next to impossible to "break" these days anyway, so perhaps its for the best.

[Zook]

Actually it's quite easy to break. You just have to come up with the most absurd shit imaginable. The more weird, soulless, and uninspired the better. Anyway, I'm listening to DI 2011 in the car and it's even more disappointing somehow. Like Adami said, the drums are awful and even moreso annoying. Jon Schaffer is capable of way better than this. This seems like a rush job the same way The Goo Goo Dolls' Name remake was. DAMNIT SCHAFFER!

[glaurung]

Actually it's quite easy to break. You just have to come up with the most absurd shit imaginable. The more weird, soulless, and uninspired the better.

Why hasn't Krotchraut broken then?

[Zook]

Clearly we put too much effort into it

[glaurung]

Oh, I've been meaning to tell you for months but never got around to it. I met someone not from DTF that already knew about Krotchraut. I was pretty shocked!

[Zook]

Whoa really? That's crazy. I've done a lot of spamming on various forums and such, but didn't think it did anything. How did KR come into conversation? We really need to get another song out.



I don't know why I keep listening to Dante's Inferno 2011. It seems to piss me off every time I hear it...

[Perpetual Change]

WTF why does Jon always do this. Okay, going to be a sport and listen anyway. Starting now.

[Perpetual Change]

Hm, OK, I'm like half-way through it.

Some parts are pretty good, while other parts are not. Basically, I liked the original clean parts all better. The harsh parts were pretty much better in their originals, too. The whispered "Luciferrrrrs" were a lot worse, too. Oh, god, they ruined my favorite part of the song. They took the awesomeness and atmosphere of the original and turned it into melodrama. The big ending didn't feel nearly as big this time around as it did originally.

Anyway, Stu sounds like he has potential regardless. Will be interested to hear Dystopia still. But this was completely unnecessary.

[glaurung]

Whoa really? That's crazy. I've done a lot of spamming on various forums and such, but didn't think it did anything. How did KR come into conversation? We really need to get another song out.

Funny band names.





I've downloaded it but I'll get around to it later. I already had a couple other albums planned for the evening and don't care enough to interrupt.

[MykeHavoc]

I honestly don't see as many of the complaints. My only thing was Stu's over-doing on a few words. That's it really.


 
As for the album...my number one gripe after 3 or 4 listens: not enough screaming! This guy can go nuts and they don't utilize it nearly enough. I see now why people claimed my band's EP was sorely missing it even though I was capable - if you've got it, use it! Not just that though, but this is a band built on a lot of screamed parts in the past, so it almost feels they went away from that a bit. But as a plus, it makes it more commercial. This record is all hooks, and quite good ones at that. A little light on twin leads and solos as well. This is a meat and potatoes release. It feels almost naked  at times compared to the last 3 albums. I don't say that discouragingly - if IE were capable of making a stripped down album, this is it I guess .