I fucking love Iced Earth...Jon Schaffer is one of my biggest playing influences, and his guitar tones on Alive in Athens and Crucible of Man are pretty much what I strive to emulate with mine. Not too big on his political leanings, though...
Oh yeah, also, their show at the Palladium in October was one of the best shows I've ever been to (first time seeing IE after being into them for nearly 10 years), and by FAR the best-sounding show I've ever seen at the Palladium...kinda amusing, seeing how bad Into Eternity's (the other IE lol) mix was that night.
this song also is epic as fuck and also makes me want to fight everything... twice.
post by spaldino at Jul 15,2009 9:00pm
im also really fucking mad that Barlow is back in the band. I like Barlow-era Iced Earth and all... but the Ripper stuff is just better. the newest album is kind of weak too...
i couldn't disagree more. framing armageddon is the only worthwhile song they've put out since horror show. barlow's return tour was pretty weak, too. no travel in stygian, no question of heaven, no coming curse. schaffer should stick to playing with dolls now. all imo, of course.
post by spaldino at Jul 16,2009 2:11am
the coming curse ripper version is superior to the original. its just overall a better song. glorious burden, the EP they put out before framing and framing are great. i love horror show too. i like most IE songs... but i find myself listening to the ripper material way more.
Stormrider and Burnt Offerings are the only Iced Earth albums worth listening to.
post by MillenialKingdom at Jul 16,2009 11:22am edited Jul 16,2009 11:23am
I hate it when people say that Ripper's style was devoid of emotion but that's his delivery! It's pure emotion. I'd say his voice has more of an edge to it that compliments Jon's tones and riffs. They could have done better with The Glorious Burden though.
I hate it when people say that Ripper's style was devoid of emotion but that's his delivery! It's pure emotion. I'd say his voice has more of an edge to it that compliments Jon's tones and riffs. They could have done better with The Glorious Burden though.
the only problem with Glorious Burden was the recording... they had to have Ripper go in an record after Barlow did so i think that ate up some mixing/mastering money? (im just guessing...)
Stormrider and Burnt Offerings are the only Iced Earth albums worth listening to.
at least the only ones worth listening to all the way through. dark saga, something wicked and horror show all have some truly great songs, but a lot of filler.
and i don't even think the debate over new iced earth centers on ripper v barlow. the old shit had aggression, the new shit doesn't. it seems like schaffer is trying to move in a more "epic" direction, but it just comes out sounding uninspired.
Stormrider and Burnt Offerings are the only Iced Earth albums worth listening to.
at least the only ones worth listening to all the way through. dark saga, something wicked and horror show all have some truly great songs, but a lot of filler.
and i don't even think the debate over new iced earth centers on ripper v barlow. the old shit had aggression, the new shit doesn't. it seems like schaffer is trying to move in a more "epic" direction, but it just comes out sounding uninspired.
I agree with all those points. Some of their other albums do have good songs, but their earlier albums are just solid the whole way through. He's definitely lost his inspiration as he gets older. Their last two albums were one big snoozefest. The same happened with Demons & Wizards, though. Their first album slayed, but the second was boring and uninspired.
