Iced Earth

I’m actually at the point where I think “Dragon’s Child” is the best song on Horror Show. Fucking bop.

My list would be something like:

1. Dragon’s Child
2. Damien
3. Dracula
4. Wolf
5. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh’s Curse)
6. The Phantom Opera Ghost
7. Jack
8. Frankenstein
9. Transylvania
10. Ghost of Freedom
11. Jekyll & Hyde
 
Ok here are my picks for AiA Horror Show replacements. My logic was this: this live album was, in addition to being a greatest hits for the band, a chance to document some important live moments. So while I don’t really like The Suffering trilogy from Dark Saga, I’m keeping it because it is an important part of the set. Also, we get Barlow performing songs from Stormrider and the definitive versions of those songs. His performances on the Burnt Offerings material is also very top quality, although I still prefer the atmosphere of the originals after all.

Dark Saga through Horror Show are well performed and produced, but they’re a little too polished at times, which is why I tend to enjoy the AiA versions better. That said, they were also less in need of new versions than the aforementioned material. With that said:

Dark Saga -> Wolf
The Last Laugh -> Jack
Stand Alone and Cast In Stone -> Damien
Blessed Are You - Dracula

This was actually really difficult. I love Horror Show but really every song on AiA is a memorable moment, which is part of why it’s truly one of the greatest live albums of all time. These are the only changes I could make where the album is actively improved. I might be tempted to walk back what I said about the songs from the Suffering trilogy and replace AQOH and Slave to the Dark with Phantom Opera Ghost.
 
According to Wikipedia, the 2008 reissue of Alive in Athens had an extra song (Colors) added to the second CD. If anyone has that version of the album: is Colors exactly the same version as on the Melancholy EP (with the fade-in)?
 
It’s interesting to go back to the last Schaffer-related interview before the capitol riot on any given site and see what it says. Case in point:

loudwire.com

5 Questions With Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer and Stu Block

We sat down with Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer and vocalist Stu Block on this year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise.
loudwire.com loudwire.com

There’s stuff in here about building a headquarters with a studio and everything required to put out albums as an investment for the future and a way to have a retirement plan, and how it will all pay for itself within a few album cycles. Also some comments about how things would never get to the point where the current band wouldn’t speak to each other anymore — “We’ve been through a lot of stuff together, great times, some tough times. It’s a family. It’s the best band I ever had, in terms of this closeness and tightness; we have each other’s back, all of us.” Oops.
 
At first I tried to adhere to the guidelines @Mosh set up, but it was really difficult and instead I put together a tracklist for a Horror Show tour concert that could work in place of AiA. It’s got a lot of material from the album in question, some more ‘horror’-themed songs and obviously the classics. Tried to keep it around 3 hours like the original.

Undead in Athens
1. Wolf
2. Burning Times
3. Violate
4. Jack
5. Damien
6. Dark Saga
7. The Hunter
8. Pure Evil
9. Frankenstein
10. Travel in Stygian

1. Angels Holocaust
2. Vengeance Is Mine
3. My Own Savior
4. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
5. Dante’s Inferno
6. Watching Over Me
7. Dracula
8. Prophecy
9. Birth of the Wicked
10. The Coming Curse

1. Burnt Offerings
2. Last December
3. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh’s Curse)
4. I Died for You
5. Desert Rain
6. Dragon’s Child
7. Blessed Are You
8. Scarred
9. Slave to the Dark
10. A Question of Heaven
11. Iced Earth

...or take out Scarred and add in When the Night Falls above Blessed Are You.

Would be interesting to try this for The Glorious Burden, too, although replacements would be way fewer.
 
Jer said:
It’s interesting to go back to the last Schaffer-related interview before the capitol riot on any given site and see what it says. Case in point:

loudwire.com

5 Questions With Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer and Stu Block

We sat down with Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer and vocalist Stu Block on this year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise.
loudwire.com loudwire.com

There’s stuff in here about building a headquarters with a studio and everything required to put out albums as an investment for the future and a way to have a retirement plan, and how it will all pay for itself within a few album cycles. Also some comments about how things would never get to the point where the current band wouldn’t speak to each other anymore — “We’ve been through a lot of stuff together, great times, some tough times. It’s a family. It’s the best band I ever had, in terms of this closeness and tightness; we have each other’s back, all of us.” Oops.
Click to expand...

Kind of feels like a murder investigation. "It can't have been suicide. He had plans."
 
Perun said:
Kind of feels like a murder investigation. "It can't have been suicide. He had plans."
Click to expand...
And yet there were signs. The next in the series:
bravewords.com

JON SCHAFFER - "If ICED EARTH Was To Be Alienated Because Of My Personal View On Things, I Don't Think Those Are The Kind Of Fans I Want"

Zombitrol Productions recently caught up with Jon Schaffer, who talked about why the band seems impervious to lineup changes, how the band's sound evolves from album to album, and why he's is not keen on his band being associated with power metal. Zombitrol: "Schaffer has also gained a...
bravewords.com bravewords.com

"If Iced Earth was to be alienated because of my personal view on things, I don’t think those are the kind of fans I want."

Well, Jon, I think you’ve successfully purged all the undesirable fans now...
 
www.blabbermouth.net

Federal Judge Orders ICED EARTH's JON SCHAFFER Held Without Bond Until Trial On Capitol Riot Charges

A federal judge on Friday (March 19) refused to release jailed ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer as he awaits trial in Washington in connection with the siege on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ordered the 53-year-old musician, who resides in in Edinburgh, Indiana, held...
www.blabbermouth.net www.blabbermouth.net
The judge cited Schaffer's comments to a reporter during a MAGA rally in November that "if somebody wants to bring violence, I think there's a lot of us here that are ready for it."

Schaffer's attorney, Marc Victor, argued his client's comments were taken out of context, and that he knows he used bad judgment on January 6 and wishes he had a "do-over." He pointed out that the guitarist has no prior record and insisted that he isn't a danger to the community. He also argued the musician was not responsible for the insurrection and was encouraged by former president Donald Trump.

"People have the right to believe the highest elected official," Victor said, according to Indiana Public Media. "My client is not responsible for what happened on January 6."

Schaffer's attorney also claimed his client was in the Capitol for just 60 seconds. He admitted Schaffer "used bad judgment that day" by bringing "bear spray" into the Capitol, but insisted he was only intending to use it for protection.

———

Hilarious and pathetic. He’s getting exactly what he deserves.
 
www.blabbermouth.net

DANKO JONES Calls JON SCHAFFER 'A White Nationalist Piece Of Dog Dung', Says ICED EARTH Is 'A Fake Band'

Danko Jones has blasted ICED EARTH leader Jon Schaffer, calling him "a white nationalist piece of dog dung." On Friday (March 19),U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ordered Schaffer held without bail on six federal criminal charges related to his alleged involvement with the January 6...
www.blabbermouth.net www.blabbermouth.net

Danko tweeted out a link to a NME article about Friday's hearing, and he included the following message: "Jon Schaffer used bad judgement because he's a white nationalist piece of dog dung. His band mates cheered him on because ICED EARTH are a terrible band. His request for a 'do-over' proves his pathetic weakness. He's the dictionary definition of a bell-end." The Canadian rocker, who is the frontman of his namesake trio, added in a separate tweet: "Only those that cosplay at being Alpha want 'do-overs'. Jon Schaffer and @_IcedEarth are a FAKE band."

On January 6, then-ICED EARTH vocalist Stu Block appeared to take pleasure in the grim images out of Washington during the pro-Donald Trump riot on Capitol Hill, writing in a since-deleted post on his Facebook page: "Oh it's happening! History in the making. Sending love to my friends in the US and all over the world!" He later apologized for his post, saying that his "wording was absolutely misunderstood and not properly thought out on my part." A month later, Block and ICED EARTH bassist Luke Appleton announced their departures from the band.

————

LOL. Mmm, schadenfreude...
 
Jer said:
He admitted Schaffer "used bad judgment that day" by bringing "bear spray" into the Capitol, but insisted he was only intending to use it for protection.
Click to expand...
Protection against who? The Capitol police? Wonder what his former bandmate and polie officer would think about that.
 
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