For quite sometime now I have eagerly been waiting for the new
Iced Earth to hit the streets, some personnel replacements did drag things longer than planed. But now its here and it really is a huge effort, spanning nearly 75 minutes of music, not including the bonus track
When The Eagle Cries (Unplugged), which is an interesting version.
Getting
Tim Owens (former Judas Priest) into the band has not only meant a new vocal style, the music also has a more traditional Metal vibe over it, the dark Power Metal approach is not as clear as before even though it remains the leading ingredient.
James MacDonough is back in the band and delivers a solid bass job; with a closer listening he in fact adds quite a lot of creative passages to the songs.
Richard Christy is a really talented drummer, which is easily heard throughout the entire record, he could have been used even more progressively in my opinion without it being too much. Ralph Santolla is handling most of the guitar solos on CD 1 with a certain melodic and driving vibe. Summing up: Musically we are treated with some extremely competent people.
Studying history myself, I of course found the themes and lyrics especially exciting on this concept of conflicts. Jon has indeed succeeded in getting some rather complex tales narrowed down without losing the real essence, the elements described are of course very selected episodes, but I find the lyrics to be very cool. Some of these stories are bound to make us think of the world we live in, appreciate peace, and try to listen and learn from the past.
The Star-Spangled Banner sets a suitable stage for
Declaration Day, the tight drums leading into the track symbolising the tension and revolutionary mood of this important day in American history. This powerful song is one of my favourites, Tim singing with pure brilliance and empathy, the mid-section guitar attack and melodic chorus all being great inputs.
When The Eagle Cries has a mellow charm to it, the piano and acoustic guitars supplementing each other nicely; a hymn-like refrain is a central focus point in a moving and great song.
The Reckoning (Don't Tread On Me) adds an older sounding
Iced Earth style to the album, forceful guitar riffs from Jon and an incredible dose of aggression coming from the drum kit.
A fast monster with some fantastic grooving bass lines, Tim singing with his high pitch style here, which fits pretty well. The dark atmospheric mid-section gives the song an extra dimension, this one must for sure turn into a live hit.
In
Greenface we find a rather aggressive cut that nevertheless isn't that good overall. Tim's vocal does a good job in the verse part; the problem lies in the screaming chorus that becomes too tiresome and too overdone for my taste. The main structure of the song becomes better with each listening and the great drums and hard riffing comes in pretty solid. All in all this is the only song not living up to the otherwise high standard.
Attila sees us taking a journey way back in time, the scene being the remains of the Roman
Empire and the leading Huns' quest for it. This very powerful song starts out very atmospheric and all in all it has a great dose of complex features. I especially find the extensive divided chorus part between the two opposing forces genius. The Romans part is sung with a celestial grace, while the Huns are growling away in a more primitive tongue, great details in an outstanding track.
Red Baron/Blue Max sees Owens adding some cool lyrics to this First World War classic story. If two words should sum up this song it is going to be heavy riffing. Jon goes completely crazy and just blasts away with machine gun pace, this is also what makes it so different and yet another great track.
The conflict is seen from within in
Hollow Man, a semi-ballad with a great creative bass and pretty cool refrain. This is a solid song with a successful acoustic guitar rhythm. One of those songs that first really shined after repeated listening; the ending solo is in fact immensely cool.
Valley Forge mixed a softer approach with harder aspects in an interesting way. The guitar solo by Santolla is very harmonious and works brilliantly, again a solid song that nevertheless misses something of that special ingredient that makes you go "wow that's amazing".
Waterloo is one of my personal highlights, there seems to be a certain grandiose mood incorporated into this song, fittingly reflecting the tense historical setting. The fantastic lead melody has a Maiden flair to it and Owens does a fabulous job with the challenging vocal passages, his voice is glowing with power and intensity and the chorus has a very driving movement and is filled with catchiness. A complex structure forces the listener to be on the mark when this powerful composition sets in. My only wish was for it to have been a bit longer,
but you can't have it all.
The real highlight of this release is the grand 32:54 minute epic
Gettysburg (1863), not only is the music phenomenal, the booklet, lyrics and story told is really special, capturing and well written.
The track is divided into three parts each having the duration of one day, the scene being the vital battle in the American Civil War.
There are many exciting and highly emotional stories within the story; mixing this micro/macro perspective gives the song a perfect broad profile while at the same time finding space for digging deeper down to a face-to-face level, displaying themes like friendship in times of war.
I will not go into a longer explanation of what is going on lyrically or musically, this giant is a stroke of pure genius and one that simply must be experienced over and over. The details are countless and I continue to be amazed of how fascinating all parts are fitted together. The use of a real orchestra works to perfection and Tim performs his vocal parts with a stunning competence, showing that he truly is one of the best in the league.
Some of the passages in the last section is completely moving and gives me shivers down my spine, the instrumental part at 3:28 is amazing and Tim's dramatic interpretation of General Lee's terrible realisation of defeat and guilt at the end of the song is totally thrilling.
I had my problems in rating this album, its true that some parts on the first CD could have been more exciting, but then again most of those songs are amazing and kept getting better and better, together with
Gettysburg (1863) being one of the best songs I have ever heard I just had to settle at 8,5.
Production-wise the sound is more clear and not quite as deep and heavy as on their latest releases, I miss a little of that both musically and in terms of the production, and also must admit that I find it just a bit to polished from time to time.
Anyway we are dealing with Jim Morris here and together with Jon they both have done a very good and balanced job. The bass has a really cool sound and I especially find the production to fit extremely well in
Gettysburg (1863).
Iced Earth has created something really special and highly dramatic.
Written by
Tommy Thursday, February 5, 2004
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