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

[Zook]

My thoughts after 1 listen:

 - It's better than Dystopia, especially the riffing
 - All the songs, especially the choruses sound the same
 - Cthulhu is the best song on the album
 - Stu is pretty decent, and isn't just a Barlow clone this time
 - the guest vocalists were massively over hyped. Backing choir vocals aren't really guest vocals. 
 - Spirit of the Times has the catchiest chorus, but the song is still stupid. Jon needs to keep that government conspiracy bullshit out of Iced Earth

[wolfking]

What the hell, I'll pick up a copy of this.  I haven't listened to the stream.

[Perpetual Change]

I thought this wasn't out until like January? It's already on Spotify.

I listened to half of it, here are the notes I jotted in my album tracker thing:

"Death Magnetic" style production. Does this band have a bassist? Inspired title track. Surpsingly good "demonic chorus" style background vocals on several tracks - works to mix up IE's recent blandness. Stu Block's posturing "deep" voice wears poorly as the album progresses. The songs begin to sound too similar for an album of this little cohesion.

Honestly, it was OK, better than expected and what I've heard from the band recently, but still not very good. Not sure I can make it through 'til the end.

[wolfking]

I thought this wasn't out until like January? It's already on Spotify.

I listened to half of it, here are the notes I jotted in my album tracker thing:

"Death Magnetic" style production. Does this band have a bassist? Inspired title track. Surpsingly good "demonic chorus" style background vocals on several tracks - works to mix up IE's recent blandness. Stu Block's posturing "deep" voice wears poorly as the album progresses. The songs begin to sound too similar for an album of this little cohesion.

Honestly, it was OK, better than expected and what I've heard from the band recently, but still not very good. Not sure I can make it through 'til the end.

That could possibly be Hansi.

[NotePad]

What i notice as Iced Earth's trademark in their sound, and what i very quickly tired of and found very bland, was the rapid chug-chug-chug tempo in so so many of their songs. I believe this is Jon Schaffer's trademark, is it not? I just listened to a sample of a song of their new upcoming cd and noticed this immediately. And the vocals are so-so. Honestly, getting Ripper as a replacement made sense, but after he left they really should have called it quits. I ask Iced Earth fans: is it really as good as it once was? Because now the impression i get from hearing they got a new one coming out is: they're still around? And: Why?

I get that the chances of Jon Schaffer ever getting a large fanbase with a new musical endeavor as sizable as IE's is small. But.....he should try. I'm tired of the same old chug-chug-chug....which is of course why i no longer listen to them.

[Jaq]

I am assuming this is the interview linked on the previous page?

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/iced-earths-stu-block-talks-to-lady-obscure-audio/

Does that qualify as making the big leagues? 

[Zook]

I just want to be clear about when I said that Stu wasn't just a Barlow clone on PoB. He's still doing the mid range tough guy Barlow voice, but he's gotten better at it. He still sounds like he's singing with food in his mouth at times, and he's inconsistent as all hell, but the Barlow impression has gotten better.

[NotePad]

I am assuming this is the interview linked on the previous page?

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/iced-earths-stu-block-talks-to-lady-obscure-audio/

Does that qualify as making the big leagues? 

I don't know who lady obscure is. I'd say no, i does not qualify as making the big leagues.

[Zook]

The lovely Mrs. Obscure is a member of this forum, and has her own webzine, which is actually quite popular.

But I wouldn't say she hit the big leagues either since Blabbermouth posts a new article every time Mike Portnoy farts.

[Zook]

Cthulhu is an awesome song. Better than anything on Dystopia. Better than Dystopia as a whole.

Damn it Dystopia sucks. So uninspired and boring. Not all the songs were crap, but on this new album, Jon Schaffer actually sounds like he's awake and gives a crap again.

Plagues would be bloody brilliant if Ripper was singing.


I don't have to be British.

[gazinwales]

Hansi is on 5 songs apparently.
For some reason I've never been able to get into IE, I'm not sure whether it's their very ''USA'' (for a better word) sound, the production, guitar sound or what.
But I was given a few years ago, the triple live in Athens CD and I do like that one.

[wolfking]

Plagues would be bloody brilliant if Ripper was singing.

This statement annoys and angers me.  Again, backs up how good Tim was in IE.

[Zook]

Plagues would be bloody brilliant if Ripper was singing.

This statement annoys and angers me.  Again, backs up how good Tim was in IE.

The only parts that would be iffy would be the mellow singing like the beggining and middle of Cthulhu, but he'd own the fuck out of the rest of that song. He did do pretty good on The Clouding, and I do like his version better than Matt's.

[wolfking]

Plagues would be bloody brilliant if Ripper was singing.

This statement annoys and angers me.  Again, backs up how good Tim was in IE.

The only parts that would be iffy would be the mellow singing like the beggining and middle of Cthulhu, but he'd own the fuck out of the rest of that song. ]He did do pretty good on The Clouding, and I do like his version better than Matt's.

Agree.  There was really no comparison IMO.

[Zook]

I'm not the best with words, but the new album inspired me to write a review of it.

I can't believe it, but I think Iced Earth is back.







That's not the review.

[rickhawk80]

I first got into them after picking up the "Alive in Athens" CD -- fantastic show and a great intro to them for any newcomers.  I then went backwards and dug all of their earlier works.  The "Glorious Burden" was good, but I thought they lost the plot when Shaffer decided to add to the Something Wicked series with the next two albums and stopped listening at that point.  I picked up "Dystopia" after hearing bits of it online and thought maybe there was hope for them going forward with the new Barlow imitator on vocals, and I'm really pleased with the stream of the new album.  I agree that I think they're back on an upswing.

They'll be playing on this upcoming tour at a club not far from me so I plan to go see them live for the first time finally this tour.  Looking forward to it!!   

[Tomislav95]

After few listen I can say I like the new album. I really like it. Spirit of the Times, Peacemaker and Among the Living Dead are my favorites so far but I can't say i dislike any of songs on new album. I should take the opportunity and check IE live this month

[wolfking]

I can't believe it, but I think Iced Earth is back.

[Zook]

I couldn't stop starring at that for a while.

Wolf, if you haven't listened to Plagues yet, I say give it a few spins/clicks/whatever. It does grow on you. If you liked Dystopia, this one is so much better. I kinda wish they just did a full album of Something Wicked songs. Jon's heart is in fantasy, and that's where his best work comes from. Crucible being an exception, but weren't other things going on personally? Maybe I'm thinking of a different band. Ayreon maybe? 01001110101 is awesome, damn it! (Thought I had that memorized for sure this time...)

Anyway, was using the way back machine to see if Jon reused anymore song titles from the Glorious Burden sessions, and came across this old blog:

My feelings on "Burnt Offerings":
There is a long list of reasons why it's my least favorite album. I feel,
with the exception of "Dante's Inferno", that due to the tremendous amount
of stress and the fact that I nearly dissolved the band in that time, that
I was not focused enough on the writing and arrangements. On top of that a
few of the players during that recording session caused headaches and
budgeting issues because of poor performances. The drums were an absolute
nightmare; it took Tom Morris every engineering trick in the book at that
time just to get them done. Someone said I dissed Matt in an interview
about his performance. Matt knows perfectly well what I was disappointed
with concerning his performance and it lead to him being pushed harder and
becoming a far better singer in one years time with serious work and
commitment and religiously taking lessons. I love Matt like a brother and
am proud of how he's grown within the band. I do not dis Matt or anyone
else I simply state facts and if a journalist translates that to a dis
then at that point I have no control over my own words. As the principle
songwriter I have a very clear vision of what my songs are to sound like.
When someone is not able to perform their parts the way they are in the
writers head then it can be extremely frustrating. This is perhaps my
biggest problem with "Burnt Offerings". Another thing is that it was our
first big budget recording and first time using an SSL console, which
would have made the Stormrider album sound 100 times better, and we got
the worst reviews in the history of the band and worst sales as well. This
was in Europe where we always had excellent reviews and great sales and
were treated like royalty. On top of that I had never been more
embarrassed in my life than when we went out on stage doing festivals for
that album and performed like some rookie garage band. I actually wanted
to hide. We even cancelled our co-headline tour with Rage because we were
not suitable for touring. So as you can see there are a lot of reasons why
that album has a dark cloud over it for me. Of course even the label
covers it up with bios that aren't necessarily true, but hey that's the
music business. Very little of it is true, in fact nowadays you can hardly
believe what you hear sometimes, and that's the truth. That's why for me
it's all about songs, because that really is the only thing that is pure.
One thing you guys have to realize also is that what you hear is the end
result, sometimes it can be very painful getting to the end. Anyway, I am
not ashamed of that album and I love the new mix on Dark Genesis, Jim did
a killer job. I am also glad that a lot of you really love the album, that
tells me it was not a complete failure. Maybe someday we'll revisit that
album and do it the right way and I can put that demon to rest.

Dear god I hope that isn't anytime soon. Dante's Inferno has already been "revisited" with dire results.

[rickhawk80]

To quote your signature line, "Zook is right."      No more Dante music!!

[Zook]

Currently re-listening to Dystopia. I guess it wasn't shit enough to get rid of, but there are certainly a few shit songs on it.


Shit...

[Mosh]

I remember liking Anguish of Youth, V, and Dark City. Dystopia (the song) was cool live but it sounds so lifeless on the album.

Didn't like the new one, but definitely a huge step up from Dystopia. It does have some great moments and Jon sounds inspired, which hasn't been the case for quite some time.

On the subject of Burnt Offerings, Matt definitely isn't the beast that he is on the following album, but it has a charm and dark vibe that I really love. One of my favorite albums. That album, along with Stormrider, has a quality/mood that no other IE album has. Dark Saga, while still a good album, is a let down in comparison.

[Mister Gold]

On the subject of Burnt Offerings, Matt definitely isn't the beast that he is on the following album, but it has a charm and dark vibe that I really love. One of my favorite albums. That album, along with Stormrider, has a quality/mood that no other IE album has. Dark Saga, while still a good album, is a let down in comparison.

I actually think Matt was at his best on Burnt Offerings. He sounds a bit more raw and natural on that album than on any other IE album that he sang on. But that's just me.

[obscure]

The lovely Mrs. Obscure is a member of this forum, and has her own webzine, which is actually quite popular.

But I wouldn't say she hit the big leagues either since Blabbermouth posts a new article every time Mike Portnoy farts.

 

Truth!


But still... that doesn't stop me from going

[wolfking]

Interesting read Zook.  I have always enjoyed Burnt Offerings and vote for him not to touch it.  The Dante remake wasn't good.

[Mosh]

On the subject of Burnt Offerings, Matt definitely isn't the beast that he is on the following album, but it has a charm and dark vibe that I really love. One of my favorite albums. That album, along with Stormrider, has a quality/mood that no other IE album has. Dark Saga, while still a good album, is a let down in comparison.

I actually think Matt was at his best on Burnt Offerings. He sounds a bit more raw and natural on that album than on any other IE album that he sang on. But that's just me.

He didn't sound bad and the style fit the music. But I think he improved a ton technically after that.

[Madman Shepherd]

I would love to see some of those festival shows to see just how bad they were. 

[Zook]

Well apparently there was one gig where the drummer lost his place and just stopped playing.

[Perpetual Change]

I'm not the best with words, but the new album inspired me to write a review of it.

I can't believe it, but I think Iced Earth is back.







That's not the review.

Ha, would you really go that far?

I can hear how they've made improvements and are getting closer, but the album still sounds really samey and uninspired to me in lots of places.

[Zook]

Everything sounds samey and uninspired to you.

[Perpetual Change]

Well, you said the same thing, before you started talking yourself into loving it:

- All the songs, especially the choruses sound the same

My favorite parts of the release are Hansi's choir vocals, and the intro to Cthulhu, before it gets heavy.

[Zook]

Oh yes, I talked myself into loving it. Well, shit, I hope I can finally talk myself into loving Dystopia too.

[Perpetual Change]

Well, you obviously thought they were "samey" too, so you can't criticize me for holding that opinion now, even if you don't think they're samey anymore 

[Zook]

Get outta here kid, ya botha me.

[Perpetual Change]

You know what bothers me? The outro.

It just seems out of place and a bit tasteless. Did Schaffer just think the album would look cooler with a Parental Advisory label on it or something?