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

[Vajra]

I think 95% of DTF hates power metal and the like.

But Dream Theater is about as close to power metal as it gets, without actually being power metal...  

How did you come to that conclusion?

Well I'm not saying DT is power metal, I'm saying they are almost similar to the genre. The operatic vocals with emphasis on the higher register vocals, the some times use of fantasy lyrics, use of synths, many orchrestrated arrangements, occasional fast paced songs, etc.

[wolfking]

Hammerfall, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Edguy are all true power metal.  I wouldn't put DT in that category at all.

[Vajra]

Hammerfall, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Edguy are all true power metal.  I wouldn't put DT in that category at all.

I agree. As I said, I don't consider DT as being power metal at all, my only comment was that if I had to pick a genre of music that DT is most similar to, aside from Proggesive Rock/Metal, I'd say Power Metal would be the choice.

[Zook]

Hammerfall, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Edguy are all true power metal.  I wouldn't put DT in that category at all.

I agree. As I said, I don't consider DT as being power metal at all, my only comment was that if I had to pick a genre of music that DT is most similar to, aside from Proggesive Rock/Metal, I'd say Power Metal would be the choice.

Nah, the only power metal song they really have is The Dark Eternal Night, and ever that is a stretch.

Anyway, HOLY SHIT!

Last December
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jcsrEj91mQ

[Vajra]

Anyway, HOLY SHIT!

Last December
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jcsrEj91mQ

Seriously, Matt Barlow has the second most powerful voice I've ever heard (Right behind Russel Allen) Also very unique as well, I don't know any vocalist who sounds like Barlow.

[AndyDT]

Welcome! Good to see another Iced Earth fan. Unfortunately this band isn't too popular around these parts. I think 95% of DTF hates power metal and the like. Fantasy can only be on TV, not in music... Anyway, The Dark Saga is pretty good, but it doesn't get too many spins from me. I remember when I bought a huge IE haul back in 04, I put TDS on and hated it. But A Question of Heaven is my favorite IE song (the live version) and basically the live versions of all TDS songs are so much better than studio. Can't wait for the new album!

The live album?

[wolfking]

Welcome! Good to see another Iced Earth fan. Unfortunately this band isn't too popular around these parts. I think 95% of DTF hates power metal and the like. Fantasy can only be on TV, not in music... Anyway, The Dark Saga is pretty good, but it doesn't get too many spins from me. I remember when I bought a huge IE haul back in 04, I put TDS on and hated it. But A Question of Heaven is my favorite IE song (the live version) and basically the live versions of all TDS songs are so much better than studio. Can't wait for the new album!

The live album?

No, he means the new studio album.

[Zydar]

Alive In Athens must be one of the best live albums ever.






EVER.

[Perpetual Change]

A long time ago, I traded in all my Iced Earth CDs except for live in Athens. I still listen to it occasionally, as nothing more than grim reminder of how silly I used to be about certain kinds of music. Barlow coming back was the end for me.

But I hope this new guy brings some fire back to the band.

[stryker]

Hammerfall, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Edguy are all true power metal.  I wouldn't put DT in that category at all.

I wouldn't put DT in that category either.  Oh and all those bands rock!  Love them all!! 

[Zook]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270770655068&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wolfking]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270770655068&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice.  I've never ever seen that artwork.

[Zook]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270770655068&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice.  I've never ever seen that artwork.

It's the second attempt at the cover, which is only slightly better than the first, but still pretty bad. It's extremely rare though, and I'll have it soon! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[wolfking]

 

[wolfking]

I picked up the Festivals of the Wicked Box Set yesterday.  2 DVD's, a CD and a fantastic poster flag, all for $33, amazing value.  I haven't watched the DVD yet, I probably won't get time to sit and watch it until next weekend.  Gonna give the album a spin tonight.  I find it a little disappointing from the tracklist that the two Barlow concerts have the exact same setlist with one set having one extra song.  I don't really understand that, but I'll watch it and wait and see.  Very excited for the Wacken concert with Ripper, especially with the Something Wicked trilogy.  I'm really interesting in the documentry too.

[Zook]

Yeah, the identical sets thing is pretty lame, but I'll still get this.

[Zook]

American power metallers ICED EARTH have entered the studio to begin recording their new album, "Dystopia", for a tentative late 2011 release via Century Media Records. The CD will mark the band's recording debut with singer Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY), who joined ICED EARTH in March following the departure of Matt Barlow. (Note: Barlow is performing with the band on all summer festival dates. Block will take over from there, starting with the European leg of ICED EARTH's world tour in November.)

Commented ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer: "All is well here as we are pushing forward with master tracking the new album, 'Dystopia'.

"We have finished drums and rhythm guitars and are right on schedule.

"I'll be heading to Europe tomorrow for a few festival dates and then right back to work in the studio on Monday.

"[Producer] Jim Morris and I are having a great time, as usual, and are very much looking forward to starting vocal tracks with 'Stucifer' next week!

"Stu Block has contributed a lot to the vocal parts on this record, with co-writing credits on 10 out of 12 songs, and I'm very happy with our chemistry and what we've accomplished together so far. And we're just getting started."

Songtitles set to appear on "Dystopia":

* Dystopia
* Anthem
* Days of Rage
* Soylent Green
* V
* Boiling Point
* Tragedy and Triumph
* Anguish of Youth
* Iron Will

ICED EARTH's long-awaited live DVD extravaganza, "Festivals Of The Wicked", boasts nearly six hours of material — three full headliner shows (over 40 live tracks!), a photo gallery shot by famed rock photographer Ross Halfin, plus a 90-minute documentary. It was released on June 27 in Europe and July 12 in the U.S.

Can't say I'm too thrilled with the song titles. Looks like Sons of Liberty Part 2.

[wolfking]

Agree Zook, hopefully it doesn't suck like Sons of Liberty did.  Interesting to hear what they come up with.  Oh and, Stucifer!? 

[Zook]

lol I kinda skimmed through the post and didn't even see that. I hope Jon didn't coin that cause that's way worse than Ripper.

[Adami]

So I'm watching that Festivals of the Wicked DVD.



Good performances but holy crap is it boring. It's never too exciting to watch a band live on a DVD when the band pretty much just stands there and try to recreate the sound of the CD perfectly, it's like listening to a remixed copy of the CD and looking at a picture. And the documentary was awful, I think....I fell asleep for a while there. It was mostly John talking about how strong willed he is and the rest of the guys talking about how amazing John is.

[wolfking]

lol I kinda skimmed through the post and didn't even see that. I hope Jon didn't coin that cause that's way worse than Ripper.

Ripper is amazing compared to it.  

Haven't watched the DVD yet but I've listened to the Festivals album.  I'm glad I got mine in a box set.  I wouldn't pay $20 for this cd alone.  Fade outs every 2-3 songs, 1 set with Barlow, then 1 with Ripper, then back to Barlow.  Audio quality is okay, some songs seem to have a lot of background noise in them.  Guitars are not in stereo either which is bullshit.  Granted though, unlike AIA, it's completely live.  Barlow you can hear is getting older and tired.  he reaches some great highs, but he is out of tune in quite a few places.  Ripper sings well, but even here you can hear that some sections he's pushing and almost struggling.  Not a big fan of Troy, some solos are okay, but his phrasing is almost novice like and some notes and bends are off.  I wish Tim Mills stayed with the band.  His guitar on the re-recording of the Something Wicked Trilogy was amazing.

[wolfking]

So I'm watching that Festivals of the Wicked DVD.



Good performances but holy crap is it boring. It's never too exciting to watch a band live on a DVD when the band pretty much just stands there and try to recreate the sound of the CD perfectly, it's like listening to a remixed copy of the CD and looking at a picture. And the documentary was awful, I think....I fell asleep for a while there. It was mostly John talking about how strong willed he is and the rest of the guys talking about how amazing John is.

Damn, well that's a little disappointing.    at that last sentence.  Is the visual quality of the concerts any good?

[Adami]

So I'm watching that Festivals of the Wicked DVD.



Good performances but holy crap is it boring. It's never too exciting to watch a band live on a DVD when the band pretty much just stands there and try to recreate the sound of the CD perfectly, it's like listening to a remixed copy of the CD and looking at a picture. And the documentary was awful, I think....I fell asleep for a while there. It was mostly John talking about how strong willed he is and the rest of the guys talking about how amazing John is.

Damn, well that's a little disappointing.   at that last sentence.  Is the visual quality of the concerts any good?

Oh yea they are both extremely well done from a quality stand point. It's just that the band has 0 energy on stage and it gets boring as hell to watch. Also I didn't get the CD but there's no real background noise on the DVD. There's also a few random timing mistakes, and Barlow (at least on one of the performances) is WAY ahead of everyone on 10,000 strong. He also really struggles with Owens songs, he does the high parts awesome, but the midrange stuff he struggles with, which is weird for Declaration Day since he originally recorded it.


Also worth noting that Troy Steele? Is the worse guitar player I have ever seen play with Iced Earth, I don't think he gets a single solo correct. But for the most part the music is awesome, and Barlow and Owens both sound mostly, sad it's pretty much identical to the CD, kind of takes the fun out of it.

[Adami]

One more thing, lol sorry this is making it sound like I hate it which I do not. But the audience (maybe because I'm watching in Stereo?) is basically mute even when they're screaming. You can hear them cheer after the songs, but on TONS of songs Barlow has the audience sing parts, and you hear nothing from them so it just sounds odd.

[wolfking]

Yeah man, as I said, I'm not a fan of Troy either, he's a novice guitar player IMO. Also, don't bother with the cd, you're not missing anything.

[Zook]

Unfortunately the weakest link (Troy) will never be the one to get fired because he's good friends with Jon.

[TheMadgician]

Well then. I'm not entirely sure I want this anymore

[Adami]

Well then. I'm not entirely sure I want this anymore

If you haven't seen Iced Earth live, then get this. It's a great representation of Barlow and Owens, both of whom you'll likely never see with Iced Earth again.






EDIT: Not related to the DVD but has anyone else noticed that the acoustic version of When The Eagle Cries is basically an unofficial duet between Barlow and Owens?

[Zook]

Well then. I'm not entirely sure I want this anymore

If you haven't seen Iced Earth live, then get this. It's a great representation of Barlow and Owens, both of whom you'll likely never see with Iced Earth again.






EDIT: Not related to the DVD but has anyone else noticed that the acoustic version of When The Eagle Cries is basically an unofficial duet between Barlow and Owens?

I thought that song was debunked of having Barlow's backing vocals still on it. I don't know, I've only listened to it about twice.

[Adami]

The acoustic version? It's pretty obviously him, there's no real room for interpretation.....the man has a rather distinct voice. If he's on anything from the normal album he's buried....but the acoustic has him loud and clear.

[Zook]

The acoustic version? It's pretty obviously him, there's no real room for interpretation.....the man has a rather distinct voice. If he's on anything from the normal album he's buried....but the acoustic has him loud and clear.

Looks like I have a mediocre Iced Earth song to listen to again.

[TheMadgician]

Well then. I'm not entirely sure I want this anymore

If you haven't seen Iced Earth live, then get this. It's a great representation of Barlow and Owens, both of whom you'll likely never see with Iced Earth again.






EDIT: Not related to the DVD but has anyone else noticed that the acoustic version of When The Eagle Cries is basically an unofficial duet between Barlow and Owens?

Never in person, no. But I've got the Alive in Athens DVD. And from videos and such of Owens, I never much liked his take on older Iced Earth material. I didn't like how he sounded on Overture of the Wicked, He sounded mediocre on The Glorious Burden, and every other instance of him trying to do vocals written for Barlow just didn't sound good. Likewise, Barlow trying to do songs of Framing Armageddon didn't sound great because they were written for Owens.

My opinion, of course. I'll probably pick it up eventually out of curiosity, honestly. But after reading about it, it's not nearly as high on the list.

[Zook]

Well then. I'm not entirely sure I want this anymore

If you haven't seen Iced Earth live, then get this. It's a great representation of Barlow and Owens, both of whom you'll likely never see with Iced Earth again.






EDIT: Not related to the DVD but has anyone else noticed that the acoustic version of When The Eagle Cries is basically an unofficial duet between Barlow and Owens?

Never in person, no. But I've got the Alive in Athens DVD. And from videos and such of Owens, I never much liked his take on older Iced Earth material. I didn't like how he sounded on Overture of the Wicked, He sounded mediocre on The Glorious Burden, and every other instance of him trying to do vocals written for Barlow just didn't sound good. Likewise, Barlow trying to do songs of Framing Armageddon didn't sound great because they were written for Owens.

My opinion, of course. I'll probably pick it up eventually out of curiosity, honestly. But after reading about it, it's not nearly as high on the list.

Jon has stated that he doesn't write melodies based around a certain vocalist, only that he has a specific voice in his head. I'm sure it's not the only voice in his head though...

[MykeHavoc]

Matt Barlow backing vocals are throughout the Glorious Burden album. He is credited so in the liner notes.

[Zook]

Matt Barlow backing vocals are throughout the Glorious Burden album. He is credited so in the liner notes.

Thus true, but he only ever sounds faint and iffy whether it's him on WTEC and Attila I think.