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Rating: After spending the 2000s rather quietly, with albums considered less impactful and excellent singers underappreciated (read: Tim Owens), for some time now it seems that Iced Earth are not exactly experiencing a second youth, but at least have returned to enjoy a certain popularity, especially thanks to a stability behind the microphone finally achieved with the arrival of Stu Block in the lineup, which had been missing for far too long.
If the latest albums by the Tampa combo seem to show a group still vibrant and far from wanting to throw in the towel, it is useless to deny that Jon Schaffer and company’s best performances were offered in the 1990s, a period during which Iced Earth were among the protagonists of the resurgence of classic heavy metal, which at the time was prematurely declared obsolete after the advent of alternative metal and nu metal.
Certainly, the turning point was the arrival, on the occasion of the third CD, of singer Matt Barlow, who for years, with his stentorian and recognizable singing, would represent the added value of a group now ready for the big breakthrough. Of the same opinion must have been, in 1997, the “big boss” Jon Schaffer when it was time to deliver to Century Media the new Iced Earth album, an anthology of various pieces written in the previous ten years, re-recorded, remixed but, most importantly, all re-sung by the good Matt.
The guitarist, in the notes present within the album, is keen to make its “philosophy” clear to the listener: to recover the most representative tracks and offer a new, possibly “definitive” version, leaving behind questionable recordings and singers not always up to par. They worked meticulously, it must be said: for some tracks, only the vocal parts were re-recorded, for others only the guitars, and for yet others, the mixing was revised, going to “correct” what, with ten years of career hindsight, no longer seemed satisfactory.
Is “Days of Purgatory” a fundamental album? No, absolutely not, but it is an excellent compendium of the first part of Iced Earth's career, resulting in a valid product both for those who already have everything from the group but can’t stand to have a “gap” in their collection, and for those who are just now approaching the discography of the Americans.
The power/thrash of the Iced Earth has always been recognizable at first listen: “square” tracks and good guitar work, all seasoned with a vocal capable of shifting between soft passages and priest-like screaming.
A good part of the tracks recovered here comes from the first two albums, “Iced Earth” of '91 and “Night of the Stormrider” of the following year, with the debut LP almost entirely revisited, while for the tracks of “Burnt Offerings,” they limited themselves to a pure remix. The overall result is convincing, making it all very enjoyable.
Iced Earth's proposal may not be the most immediate, as it is a power metal very different from the European style of Helloween or Stratovarius: there are good melodies but don't expect choruses to be sung at the top of your lungs, and while the pace is sustained, it's nothing to do with the "helicopter" drums of the Germans and Swedes. Maybe at a superficial listen, Jon Schaffer and company might not seem like much, but if you give yourself the pleasure of dedicating time to them, you will discover an evocative metal full of nuances.
The tracks not to be missed? “Angels Holocaust,” “Stormrider,” and “When the Night Falls.” A separate discussion deserves the pair “Travel in Stygian/Dante's Inferno,” an authentic twenty-five-minute tour de force amid demonic visions and Dantean circles.
Ready to start the journey on the river Styx?
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Enter the Realm
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Colors
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Angels Holocaust
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Stormrider
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Winter Nights
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Nightmares
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Before the Vision
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Pure Evil
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Solitude
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Funeral
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When the Night Falls
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Burnt Offerings
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Cast in Stone
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Desert Rain
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Brainwashed
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Life and Death
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Creator Failure
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Reaching the End
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Travel in Stygian
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Dante's Inferno
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Iced Earth
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Angels Holocaust (05:45)
"Angels Holocaust"
As I walk through the blackened forest
Thoughts of hate and anger fill my soul
The charred remains of the holy rollers
Scream repentance though it's far too late
I fight back the laughter at what I see
The suffering healers false destined prophecy
He didn't think yesterday of the end of his life
The brainwashed fools born again of a thousand lies
Hate filled screams break the silence
Terrifying dreams filling up your head
Blasphemy thrusting out, in the masses it reigns
The mask of hypocrisy is slowly unveiled
Fear the angels holocaust, they're screaming
Dreams of pain forever entering your head
Death and hatred loathing, on mankind it feeds
Earth is dead and gone now, we've brought it to an end
For the last time I've been betrayed
Never again will I subject myself to this hypocrisy
Something is drawing me to the other side
Only time will tell my true destiny
As I travel through the astral plain
I see the break of day
As though the sky has burst in flames
Before the storm I dread
Lightning breaks across the sky
Blackish-blue at night
Riders ride on dismal clouds
I scream at heaven's light
04 Stormrider (03:55)
As I travel through the astral plains
I see the break ahead
as though the sky has burst in flames
before the storm I dread
lightning breaks across the sky
blackish blue at night
riders ride on dismal clouds
I scream at heavens light
Storming demons travel through the night
the time is almost here
I lay in a jacket of steel
my scream no one hears
I can feel the storm approaching
the pain is its' reality
the death I breathe is in the air
I feel no more, no longer care
The trumpets sound as I break free
this vision I see just can't be me
what is this that I have done
why am I the chosen one
Fight on, grab on
stormrider
stormrider
Now the rider rides through the night
the time is almost here
as I lay wrapped in steel
my scream no one hears
Help me, through this hell inside
my life's my own, it's my pride
carry on my solid dream
save me from this horrid scream
Fight on, grab on
stormrider
stormrider
06 Nightmares (03:30)
Music: Schaffer / Lyrics: Schaffer
The feeling that you get when we creep inside
You won't see us there, you won't feel our stare
But when we're next to you we do all we can do
To get the cold sweat out, watch you squirm about
And as you try to move we grab and strangle you
With all of your deceit and our reality
Night
Nightmares
In the night
Hell is coming down, your fate has turned around
Too scared to make a sound
Now you're frozen there in your human shell
It's a nightmare I am the god of fear
Night
Nightmares
In the night
07 Before the Vision (01:23)
[Spoken:]
Oh, God, am I going crazy
What is happening to me, I need some answers
I've been chosen by the darkest force in nature
But why, why me?
Call of the spirits:
Go now, into the plains
Seek out, the answers you'll find
Visions will be shown to you
At night by the lit desert moon
Be strong, ride forth in pride
Our destiny, lies in your hands
Visions will be shown to you
You're truly his chosen one
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