Iced Earth
The Glorious Burden

THE REVIEW

Exceptional!
This is the only adjective to describe the latest effort from Iced Earth: “The Glorious Burden”.

After the departure of the talented singer Matt Barlow, guitarist Jon Schaffer found a worthy replacement, a true icon of metal: Tim Owens, former singer of Judas Priest. Many of you might think this was merely a commercial operation; but no, because Owens brings out the best in himself on this album, giving us absolute performances.
But let's get to the songs. “The Glorious Burden” opens with “Declaration Day”, a song composed of a sharp and aggressive riff, accompanied by precise and driving double bass drums. The chorus resolves into a fairly evocative and patriotic chant (an element that we will find throughout the album). This track talks about the American declaration of independence and is dedicated to all the patriots who died for that cause.
“When The Eagle Cries” arrives just in time to calm things down. It's the classic ballad, very sweet at least in the verses. The chorus is driving, although a bit too repetitive. Topic: the disaster of September 11.
“The Reckoning” is the first single from the album. It presents itself as a classic Iced Earth track, very thrash. Owens delivers a monstrous vocal performance, always staying at very high peaks, even reaching to "screech" in some parts.
Two very similar songs follow as they are fast and aggressive: “Attila” and “Red Baron/Blue max”. The first opens with an intro of guitar and epic choruses. More power, with a dragging and emotional guitar refrain (it won't fail to make your head move up and down!!!). We also find a hint of growling from Owens and a bridge made of obsessive guitars and a dark chorus, which manage to create an atmosphere of tension. The second is much more thrash than the previous one, with acrobatic guitars and obsessive drums. In the chorus, the new singer gives an excellent vocal performance.
Not very interesting are “Hollow Man” and "Valley Forge”, two overly easy songs that do not hold up to comparison with the others. Emotional and dramatic instead is “Waterloo”, in which Napoleon's exploits are narrated. The guitars recall Maiden's Piece of Mind and we find Owens, as usual, at his best: now furious, now sad and cold, the former Priest gives the song an extra gear, giving the whole a very dramatic tone for one of the best songs on the album.
At the end, we find “Gettysburg”, the most representative track of the CD: divided into 3 parts (The Devil To Pay, Hold At All Costs, High Water Mark), it unfolds for over 30 minutes and is absolutely the best track of the entire album. The novelty is the use of a 55-piece orchestra, which manages to give an entirely new touch to the iced-sound. “Gettysburg” is a very realistic and dramatic track, with cannons and the rumble of weapons in the background, which transport us inside the battle where more than 150,000 men lost their lives. I particularly liked the first part, with a spine-chilling instrumental bridge, where the guitars blend perfectly with the orchestra.
The lyrics are well crafted and denote a very well-informed and knowledgeable Schaffer.

Noteworthy is also the care for the cover, very beautiful, and the booklet, in which the leader illustrates the theme along which the entire full-length develops.
Finally, in my opinion, one of the best releases of 2004 and the new era for Iced Earth could not have begun in a better way.