Iced Earth

The Band Was Founded By Jon Schaffer. Iced Earth's First Release Was The Demo "Enter The Realm" In 1988 . Then There First Actual Release "Iced Earth" Was Released In 1991 . Vocalist Gene Adam Was Kicked Out Of Iced Earth And Replaced With John Greely . Also Drummer Mike McGill Was Kicked Out And Replaced With Richey Secchiari . Then In 1992 Iced Earths Second Release "Night Of The Stormrider" Was Released. Iced Earth's second effort is a concept album with a mystical, horrific story line. It traces the path of a man who is betrayed by religion and turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth. Through it all, he feels no remorse for his deeds, and upon reaching the end, numbly accepts his fate of eternity in Hell. Musically, the band picked up a new singer and drummer for this album. The singing is a definite improvement from the debut, ranging from a powerful growl to a Halford-like scream. Such skill is necessary to portray the wide range of feeling on this album. There's quite a bit of background keys on this disc, some choral moaning, and a memorable piano outro, which all add to the dark mood. There are also several excellent acoustic passages seamlessly interwoven with the driving guitar riffs. The music meshes perfectly with the story, magnifying the hatred, manic joy, confusion, and sadness present in the lyrics. After listening to this musical masterpiece, one cannot help but to feel some of the sadness and guilt that the Stormrider was unable to feel for himself. Iced Earth Kicked Out Greely In 1992 Right After Making Their Second Album . After 2 Years , Iced Earth Was Able To Find A Vocalist . In Iced Earths 3rd Album "Burnt Offerings" It Had The New Singer Matt Barlow In It Making Iced Earth More Heavy Because Of His Low Pitched Vocals. Also Had Replaced Drummer Richey Secchiari With Rodney Beasley . Burnt Offerings Was Made In Angry Times. Matthew Barlow also throws incredible power and emotion into the mix. This is Iced Earth's heaviest album, but it still retains powerful symphonic sounds and heart-twisting acoustic passages. It also has all sorts of song structures, time changes, and cool stuff packed everywhere. Iced Earth had some long songs on the previous albums, but on this one they show their ability to create a full-fledged epic. 'Dante's Inferno' takes us through the Nine Planes of Hell for sixteen minutes, each plane something new and demonic. This album was written during angry times -- and it shows. In Iced Earth"s Fourth Release, A Singer Finally Stays In The Band. Their Fourth Album Is Called "The Dark Saga". In "The Dark Saga" Rodney Beasley Was Replaced With Mark Prator . The Dark Saga" is a concept album based on the popular Spawn comic book series. It tells the story of a man who sells his soul in order to return to his true love on Earth. But he soon discovers that she is married to his own best friend. He is left completely alone in the world, and although he has good inside, he is influenced by dark forces. Everything that he desires is denied, even his own death. Fans of earlier Iced Earth albums might notice the change in the musical style to fit with this dark love story. The focus is less on technical musicianship (although the playing is still as impeccable as ever), and more on creating a complete story through sound and words. Thus, the music is generally more dark, emotional, melodic, and simple than other Iced Earth albums. This is not to say that the songs are uninteresting; to the contrary, some of the most amazing Iced Earth songs appear on this album. The crushing heaviness and power remains, but it is entwined with beauty and grace, creating Iced Earth's most thoughtful and emotional work to date. After the success of The Dark Saga, many were curious to see what steps Iced Earth would take to further elevate their position within the metal scene. There were many expectations about the new album, and of course, Iced Earth did not disappoint. They turned out yet another acclaimed album containing something old, something new, and most definitely something wicked. With thirteen tracks, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a roller-coaster ride which showcases Iced Earth's talent in many different forms. Ranging from the crushingly dark and heavy "Disciples of the Lie" to the heartfelt and introspective "Watching Over Me", Something Wicked... is bound to please both longtime fans and new listeners. The highlight of the album is another album-ending trilogy, entitled "Something Wicked". Taking some musical cues from the Stormrider era and merging them with the newest Iced Earth sound, "Something Wicked" weaves a mysterious tale of prophecy, conspiracy, and the history of mankind. This powerful composition is a prelude to a future Iced Earth album, but even on its own, it stands as a masterful piece of work. To any metal fans who feel a void in their collection, it will be filled the day that Something Wicked... comes to you. Something Wicked Guest Musicians: Larry Tarnowski - Guitar solos on all songs except "Watching Over Me" Mark "The Creeper" Prator - Drums Susan McQuinn - Flute on "1776" Howard Helm - Piano intro to "Coming Curse" Tracy Marie LaBarbera - Backing Vocals on "My Own Savior", "Melancholy", and "Watching Over Me" Jim Morris - Keyboards, Guitar Solo on "Watching Over Me", Backing Vocals Roger Hughes - Mandolin on "Blessed Are You" After "Something Wicked",Iced Earth Recorded A Live Album Called "Alive In Athens". Alive in Athens was recorded on the nights of January 23rd and January 24th in Athens, Greece. Iced Earth was the only band who played at the Rodon Club those nights, and they performed in front of sold-out crowds (of approximately 2000 people) both nights.
Iced Earth did not want to make a standard, run-of-the-mill live album; they wanted to make something truly special for the fans to own. Thus, they played two vastly different sets each night, as part of a plan to release a live package with the majority of their catalog on it. The finished product will be a three CD set, containing at least three hours of music. For those interested in vinyl, there will be a five-disc boxed set available. In the U.S., a shortened two CD version will be sold in stores due to cost restrictions. However, the full three CD version will still be available through Century Media mailorder. The band recommends all fans who want the original and complete version to order it rather than buying the two CD version. Athens Is A 3 Disc Cd. Iced Earth's Next Album Is Called Horror Show. Drawing from legend, literature, film, and perhaps even real life, individual songs of "Horror Show" tell the stories of nightmarish creatures like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy, all seen through the darkened vision of Iced Earth. Also featured are the Wolfman, the Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Jack the Ripper, Damien (The Omen) and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Die-hard fans of Iced Earth may be aware of the band's longtime fascination with the subject of horror; in the early days of the band, such themes were tightly tied in with both the music and the presentation. Thus, "Horror Show" stands as both a return to the roots as well as a great step forward. Horror Show CO-STARRING: Yunhui Percifield - Lead Vocal in "The Phantom Opera Ghost" as "Christine", Backing Vocals Richie Wilkison - Backing Vocals Rafaela Farias - Backing Vocals Sam King - Backing Vocals Jim Morris - Backing Vocals, Keys, Guitar Solo in "Ghost of Freedom" Howard Helm - Keys (Pipe Organ) on "The Phantom Opera Ghost" Steve DiGiorgio - Bass Guitars In The Deaths Of 9/11, Vocalist Matt Barlow Decided To Quit Iced Earth. "It forced me to realize how precious and how short life is" Barlow Said. Barlow Stated That He Didn't Want To "Waste" His Life By Being A Rockstar. Iced Earth Changed There Record Company To SPV Records. In The Next Iced Earth Release "The Glorious Burden" It Featured Vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (Ex-Judas Priest). After spending much of their career focusing on dark fantasy and similar themes, The Glorious Burden marks a turn towards reality for Iced Earth. The album specifically covers events in world history, and because history is often defined by conflict and tragedy, the tone remains just as dark, epic, and powerful as previous works from the band. The album goes as far back as the fifth century A.D. with Atilla the Hun's ravages across Europe, and as far forward as the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. In between, there is the American Revolution ("Declaration Day", "Valley Forge"), the Napoleonic Wars ("Waterloo"), and World War I ("Red Baron/Blue Max"). The album's centerpiece, however, is "Gettysburg (1863)", a three-part, 32-minute epic that tells the tale of the defining battle of the American Civil War. Backed up with a full orchestra and led by the vocals of new singer Tim Owens (ex-Judas Priest), the music portrays the tremendous power and emotion that must have been present when those two great armies clashed, with the fate of a nation hanging in the balance. Taken as a whole, The Glorious Burden proves that some of our most amazing and resonant stories come not from the imagination of mankind, but rather, from our real-life deeds, for good and ill, throughout all of human history. Iced Earth Also Made A DVD "Gettysburg (1863)" For The 3 Gettysburg Songs At The End Of "The Glorious Burden". Iced Earth's first DVD release is something different than most DVDs released by metal bands. Instead of containing live footage, it provides a deeper look at the 'Gettysburg (1863)', the musical trilogy that appeared on 2004's 'The Glorious Burden', as well as the Civil War battle that inspired it. The centerpiece of the 2-DVD set is the epic three-part song itself. In addition to the normal stereo version, it appears in two different expansive and powerful 5.1-channel surround-sound mixes (a 'Metal' mix and an 'Orchestral' mix). The music can be accompanied with moving images and lyrics that help document the course of the three-day battle.
Also included in the extensive package is an in-depth video tour of the Gettysburg battlefield, an interview with Jon Schaffer, two music videos from The Glorious Burden album, and other various extras.
Right Now, Jon Is Writing Part 1 and Part 2 For The "Something Wicked This Way Comes" Storyline. "Something Wicked (Part 1)" will be released in the September/October '07 time frame and Part 2 will follow in January/February '08..
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