Where to start with Iced Earth?

Caligula_K · **Joined:** Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:56 pm **Posts:** 3561

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Seinfeld26 wrote:

By the way, on a sidenote, is the title "Horror Show" actually intended to be a play on A Clockwork Orange's slangy "horrorshow"?

I would say no. Each song except for "Ghost Of Freedom" is about a horror-related character.

And Alive In Athens is definitely a good choice. I don't think Night Of The Stormrider is, though. The vocalist is too different, and not that great, in my opinion. Anything with Barlow is a better choice. Then pick up the first two and The Glorious Burden. My first was The Dark Saga, and I loved it!

Eww... Dark Saga? What a boring album. Besides A Question of Heaven, it feels like next to no thought went into that album.

Not a big fan of Horror Show either. Glorious Burden is all right, but some of the songs are pretty bad.

Burnt Offerings is great, but probably not the best way to get into the band.

Oh, and Night of the Stormrider completely rules. Get it.

Cenotaph · **Posted:** Sun Feb 11, 2007 10:29 pm

Brahm_K wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Seinfeld26 wrote:

By the way, on a sidenote, is the title "Horror Show" actually intended to be a play on A Clockwork Orange's slangy "horrorshow"?

I would say no. Each song except for "Ghost Of Freedom" is about a horror-related character.

And Alive In Athens is definitely a good choice. I don't think Night Of The Stormrider is, though. The vocalist is too different, and not that great, in my opinion. Anything with Barlow is a better choice. Then pick up the first two and The Glorious Burden. My first was The Dark Saga, and I loved it!

Eww... Dark Saga? What a boring album. Besides A Question of Heaven, it feels like next to no thought went into that album.

Not a big fan of Horror Show either. Glorious Burden is all right, but some of the songs are pretty bad.

Burnt Offerings is great, but probably not the best way to get into the band.

Oh, and Night of the Stormrider completely rules. Get it.

I think Matt Barlow's voice still makes Dark Saga a great album. It's probably my favorite vocal performance by him. And I have a thing for concept albums, the whole trilogy at the end is quite badass if you ask me. The fact that it was my first Iced Earth album probably gives it an advantage too though. And that Dark Saga is one of few songs I can play through all the way on guitar, since it's quite.. simple. :rolleyes:

A Question Of Heaven is one of their absolute best songs.

The_Voice · **Posted:** Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:23 pm

Cenotaph wrote:

Brahm_K wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Seinfeld26 wrote:

By the way, on a sidenote, is the title "Horror Show" actually intended to be a play on A Clockwork Orange's slangy "horrorshow"?

I would say no. Each song except for "Ghost Of Freedom" is about a horror-related character.

And Alive In Athens is definitely a good choice. I don't think Night Of The Stormrider is, though. The vocalist is too different, and not that great, in my opinion. Anything with Barlow is a better choice. Then pick up the first two and The Glorious Burden. My first was The Dark Saga, and I loved it!

Eww... Dark Saga? What a boring album. Besides A Question of Heaven, it feels like next to no thought went into that album.

Not a big fan of Horror Show either. Glorious Burden is all right, but some of the songs are pretty bad.

Burnt Offerings is great, but probably not the best way to get into the band.

Oh, and Night of the Stormrider completely rules. Get it.

I think Matt Barlow's voice still makes Dark Saga a great album. It's probably my favorite vocal performance by him. And I have a thing for concept albums, the whole trilogy at the end is quite badass if you ask me. The fact that it was my first Iced Earth album probably gives it an advantage too though. And that Dark Saga is one of few songs I can play through all the way on guitar, since it's quite.. simple. :rolleyes:

A Question Of Heaven is one of their absolute best songs.

Dark Saga was the last album i bought from Iced Earth and while i do not think it is their best, its a fine album IMO "The Hunter", "Violate", "Vengeance Is Mine" and the dark saga trilogy kick some serious ass.
About their self titled album, i think its great , i actually like Gene Adams vocals he reminds me of a mix between Kai Hansen and Thorsten Bergmann (Living Death) not exactly a good vocalist you might say but i think he works well here, he gives the album a "thrashy" vibe,

Anonymous · **Posted:** Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:24 pm

"I Died For You" was the first Iced Earth song I heard, and I loved it! I think that's a badass album, but I can see how some metalheads would dislike it, because of it's mid-paciNESS or whatever. I don't think there's a bad song on the album.

Seinfeld26 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:55 am

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Seinfeld26 wrote:

By the way, on a sidenote, is the title "Horror Show" actually intended to be a play on A Clockwork Orange's slangy "horrorshow"?

I would say no. Each song except for "Ghost Of Freedom" is about a horror-related character.

And Alive In Athens is definitely a good choice. I don't think Night Of The Stormrider is, though. The vocalist is too different, and not that great, in my opinion. Anything with Barlow is a better choice. Then pick up the first two and The Glorious Burden. My first was The Dark Saga, and I loved it!

I know about the horror movie concept. But everytime I think of "Horror Show", A Clockwork Orange comes to mind. And I know Jon Schaffer's a pretty avid reader, so I'm sure he's read it at least once.

Seinfeld26 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:00 am

Cenotaph wrote:

Dylan@Metalreviews wrote:

I really really like Horror Show. It's always fighting with Something Wicked as my favorite Iced Earth album.

Horror Show is actually my least favorite Barlow album. Normally I think about half the songs on an Iced Earth album are truly standout tracks, but on Horror Show I think there's only three that are on cut above the rest. Those would be Dracula, Phantom Opera Ghost and Damien. The others are good, especially Frankenstein, Jeckyl & Hyde and Dragon's Child, but I just don't think they're anything special. I read Jon saying somewhere that he couldn't really connect to the concept at the time, and I think that's my problem too. The songs are good, but I have a hard time truly connecting with any of them. Dracula is emotionally intense, but otherwise I think many of the songs sound kinda uninspired.

Yes! Glad to see The Dragon's Child finally getting some praise. That's actually one of my favorite songs on Horror Show.

Burnt Offerings I wouldn't really recommend as a first purchase since it's considerably darker and more "evil" than other Iced Earth albums (not a complaint - just a notable difference), so it probably isn't the most accurate representation of the band's trademarked style. Plus, it sounds like Barlow was still trying to discover his style on that album as his singing is either lower than usual, or he goes into an almost Monty Python-ish falsetto for little reason. His vocal performances were better on the three albums that followed (I haven't heard Days Of Purgatory, so I can't comment on it).

Anonymous · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:43 am

Days Of Purgatory is excellent. "Dante's Inferno" alone makes Burnt Offerings a must-have!

stuartn15ted · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:47 am

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

heatseeker wrote:

Well, I just had a birthday and have a lot of money to spend...so, I might try to order Eyesore's thing, or else I'm going to buy Alive in Athens. I might have to go with the 5-CD thing just because it's so damn cool...

It is indeed very cool. But it's no longer available, so you'll have to search for it and expect to pay a decent amount. All those CDs are remastered, and you can buy them individually in their remastered form, but it's the only place you can get the Enter The Realm demo on CD.

I didn't know that was out of print :omfg:

Good job i've already got it!!! (and number 556 of the Melancholy E.P :dio:

) Get either Days Of Purgatory or AIA. Neither will dissapoint. I actually recently tried getting the original Enter The Realm tape of Ebay but i was sniped at the last minute with no chance to react, i was not happy!! :mad:

stuartn15ted · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:51 am

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Days Of Purgatory is excellent. "Dante's Inferno" alone makes Burnt Offerings a must-have!

That was the first IE album I ever heard (DoP i mean), when colors kicks in is a truley classic moment in metal!! What better way to be introduced to a band??

leee · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:55 am

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

"I Died For You" was the first Iced Earth song I heard, and I loved it! I think that's a badass album, but I can see how some metalheads would dislike it, because of it's mid-paciNESS or whatever. I don't think there's a bad song on the album.

Dark Saga, Something Wicked and Horror Show, all excellant albums. Days of Purgatory is cool too. Glorious Burden left me flat.

Ness · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:06 am

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

"I Died For You" was the first Iced Earth song I heard, and I loved it! I think that's a badass album, but I can see how some metalheads would dislike it, because of it's mid-paciNESS or whatever. I don't think there's a bad song on the album.

That and Matt Barlow makes me vomit.

Actually I haven't heard Iced Earth in a long time.

Anonymous · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:59 am

stuartn15ted wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Days Of Purgatory is excellent. "Dante's Inferno" alone makes Burnt Offerings a must-have!

That was the first IE album I ever heard (DoP i mean), when colors kicks in is a truley classic moment in metal!! What better way to be introduced to a band??

Except for the stupid lyrics. :lame:

Anonymous · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:59 am

metalNESS wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

"I Died For You" was the first Iced Earth song I heard, and I loved it! I think that's a badass album, but I can see how some metalheads would dislike it, because of it's mid-paciNESS or whatever. I don't think there's a bad song on the album.

That and Matt Barlow makes me vomit.

Actually I haven't heard Iced Earth in a long time.

Such an odd little man. Barlow rules.

DevotedWalnut · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:16 am

The_Voice wrote:

Cenotaph wrote:

Brahm_K wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Seinfeld26 wrote:

By the way, on a sidenote, is the title "Horror Show" actually intended to be a play on A Clockwork Orange's slangy "horrorshow"?

I would say no. Each song except for "Ghost Of Freedom" is about a horror-related character.

And Alive In Athens is definitely a good choice. I don't think Night Of The Stormrider is, though. The vocalist is too different, and not that great, in my opinion. Anything with Barlow is a better choice. Then pick up the first two and The Glorious Burden. My first was The Dark Saga, and I loved it!

Eww... Dark Saga? What a boring album. Besides A Question of Heaven, it feels like next to no thought went into that album.

Not a big fan of Horror Show either. Glorious Burden is all right, but some of the songs are pretty bad.

Burnt Offerings is great, but probably not the best way to get into the band.

Oh, and Night of the Stormrider completely rules. Get it.

I think Matt Barlow's voice still makes Dark Saga a great album. It's probably my favorite vocal performance by him. And I have a thing for concept albums, the whole trilogy at the end is quite badass if you ask me. The fact that it was my first Iced Earth album probably gives it an advantage too though. And that Dark Saga is one of few songs I can play through all the way on guitar, since it's quite.. simple. :rolleyes:

A Question Of Heaven is one of their absolute best songs.

Dark Saga was the last album i bought from Iced Earth and while i do not think it is their best, its a fine album IMO "The Hunter", "Violate", "Vengeance Is Mine" and the dark saga trilogy kick some serious ass.
About their self titled album, i think its great , i actually like Gene Adams vocals he reminds me of a mix between Kai Hansen and Thorsten Bergmann (Living Death) not exactly a good vocalist you might say but i think he works well here, he gives the album a "thrashy" vibe,

I agree with you (what else is new?) on the first album. I like it, sure he's not the best singer around but he fits the album nicely. And the music is great on that album, all in all a solid release.

Cenotaph · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:12 pm

Seinfeld26 wrote:

Cenotaph wrote:

Dylan@Metalreviews wrote:

I really really like Horror Show. It's always fighting with Something Wicked as my favorite Iced Earth album.

Horror Show is actually my least favorite Barlow album. Normally I think about half the songs on an Iced Earth album are truly standout tracks, but on Horror Show I think there's only three that are on cut above the rest. Those would be Dracula, Phantom Opera Ghost and Damien. The others are good, especially Frankenstein, Jeckyl & Hyde and Dragon's Child, but I just don't think they're anything special. I read Jon saying somewhere that he couldn't really connect to the concept at the time, and I think that's my problem too. The songs are good, but I have a hard time truly connecting with any of them. Dracula is emotionally intense, but otherwise I think many of the songs sound kinda uninspired.

Yes! Glad to see The Dragon's Child finally getting some praise. That's actually one of my favorite songs on Horror Show.

Burnt Offerings I wouldn't really recommend as a first purchase since it's considerably darker and more "evil" than other Iced Earth albums (not a complaint - just a notable difference), so it probably isn't the most accurate representation of the band's trademarked style. Plus, it sounds like Barlow was still trying to discover his style on that album as his singing is either lower than usual, or he goes into an almost Monty Python-ish falsetto for little reason. His vocal performances were better on the three albums that followed (I haven't heard Days Of Purgatory, so I can't comment on it).

Yeah, I love the intro to that song, and the way the main riff kicks in after it. That's quite a crushing riff if you ask me. I also absolutely love Barlow's peformance on this one. The chorus is good too, and the solo is quite nice. I pretty much like everything about that song actually, it's probably my fourth favorite on Horror Show. Frakenstein is actually really good too, I love that opening riff. :dio:

As for Burnt Offerings, that's actually what I love about the album. What makes it different is also what makes it rise above the other Iced Earth albums in my mind. You're probably right though, it might not be the most accurate starting point for a new listener.

stuartn15ted · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:54 pm

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

stuartn15ted wrote:

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Days Of Purgatory is excellent. "Dante's Inferno" alone makes Burnt Offerings a must-have!

That was the first IE album I ever heard (DoP i mean), when colors kicks in is a truley classic moment in metal!! What better way to be introduced to a band??

Except for the stupid lyrics. :lame:

Yeah the rest of the song ain't that good but when it kicks in :dio:

Eternal Idol · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 6:09 pm

Get the Days of Purgatory 2 CD set so you can hear the first two albums' songs sans shitty vocalist. Gene Adams is the worst signer ever, and Greely is a close second.

Anonymous · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:45 pm

Eternal Idol wrote:

Get the Days of Purgatory 2 CD set so you can hear the first two albums' songs sans shitty vocalist. Gene Adams is the worst signer ever, and Greely is a close second.

Wow! I thought I was the only one who felt this way on this forum. :omfg:

leee · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:23 pm

The Ghost of Eyesore wrote:

Eternal Idol wrote:

Get the Days of Purgatory 2 CD set so you can hear the first two albums' songs sans shitty vocalist. Gene Adams is the worst signer ever, and Greely is a close second.

Wow! I thought I was the only one who felt this way on this forum. :omfg:

Me too man, I can't even listen to the early shit because of it. Melancholy is easily my fave song of theirs, I like their slower shit. In fact I am going to crank that fucker to 11 on the drive home.

Cenotaph · **Posted:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 10:00 pm

I can see how someone wouldn't like Greely or Adam, but calling Barlow a bad singer is downright silly. Or a vomit producer, as in this case :omfg:

If I want to listen to songs from the first two albums with Barlow singing, I'd still rather go for Alive In Athens though, but maybe that's just me.

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