Metal Reviews

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Goddamn! Barlow is fucking sick. Owens impressed me, don't get me wrong. I even said Owens was the more dynamic vocalist. I think I'll be eating those words.

Barlow just fits IE better than any other vocalist. I think these samples make that clearer than ever.

it's absolutely fascinating to hear Matt do Ripper songs.

On the one hand, at first, you think it comes down to the obvious: Ripper owns the high notes, and Matt, the low more melancholy.

BUT - you listen to A Charge To Keep and surprise surprise, Matt is showcasing the best of BOTH damn worlds. He CAN go high. What he does with the "It's My Charge to Keep" chorus absolutely kicks ass.

The man was made to be in Iced Earth singing these songs.

Damn this is good.

I always knew Matt could go high, he's been doing it since he joined the band. Just listen to a song like "Burning Oasis." I just felt that Owens could switch between the lower and higher register with much more ease. But I don't know. Maybe I was just listening to the new songs without truly comparing.

These samples show that Owens is definitely not out of Barlow's league. But hey, I'll eat my words gladly. These samples sound fucking badass!

Yeah, whatever the case may be, this sounds like it's going to be very awesome.

My most anticipated album of the year.

Every song sounds better, I knew it, I fucking knew it!!

I Walk Alone is one @#$#@ awesome tune

Matt's version of The Clouding sounds amazing too! And I love the original version of that song, so...wow...that's all I can say...wow...

I think the screams in The Clouding and Setian Massacre is done better by Ripper, but damn Barlow is just a much better fit for Iced Earth overall. I AM THE TRUTH I WALK ALONE!

They also seem to have brought back that HEAVY guitar sound that made IE great in the first place but were missing during the Ripper years. These samples are quite poor quality though, so I might be wrong.

Wow, I didn't realize how much I missed Barlow until I listened to these samples. I agree that he's a much better fit for Iced Earth than Tim Owens was. His voice just naturally has a more foreboding/nocturnal sound, which suits IE's dark fantasy themes better.

Although Owens is still an excellent vocalist. I know, because I'm listening to The Glorious Burden as I type this message.

That's exactly what I thought. I missed his voice, or discovering his voice on new music.

These samples do sound heavier. It makes me wonder if the weaker (i.e. thinner, less heavy) production the The Owens albums was because his voice didn't have the power to fit on a heavier song. I've said it before, but if you play Something Wicked This Way Comes on 5, if you put The Glorious Burden or Framing Armageddone in, without adjusting the volume, it sounds like it's on 2.

Yeah but does it go up to 11 ?

ALL MEN PLAY ON 10!

Wasn't it Motörhead that had amps that could go to 11 ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhVWJgIzftE
Classic

Interesting theory, but wasn't The Glorious Burden more or less complete before Ripper joined the band? It could be the mix/master, but I doubt it. Anyway, Ripper sounds just fine on the albums he's sung on with heavier production.

He sounded all right on Jugulator, didn't he?

Yeah apart from the "tough guy" vocal parts, but that was just down to sounding silly rather than not having power in his voice.

Well, to be fair, since when has JP not been a little silly (that's not a complaint, btw)?

Rob Halford singing about feeling the strangle rip tied up in me or whatever is funny awesome.

Timmy singing in a br00dle voice as Priest try to get edgy and street is funny in a different way.

I was always a big proponent of Tim Owens. I've just always really loved his voice. I can admit it's because I'm such a fan of Rob Halford. Copy-cat or not Tim can really sing. That being said, I too am really impressed with Barlow's new stuff. Iced Earth now sounds the way they always should have.

I just hope that the production is better on the new CD. If this makes any sense at all, I just felt that the last two IE CD's were really high end sounding. There was just too much treble (tinty) and not enough bass within the recording/production. I'm really looking forward to this CD now.