Gonna make a few short comments on each song while I listen:
First song is better than I remember, a bit unorganized though, some parts were unneeded. The massive chorus at the end was good. Lots of recycled riffs and chugs though, not a good sign.
Democide: Typical generic IE thrasher.
Very awkward ending too. I'd rather be listening to Disciples of the Lie.
The Culling: Really good song despite a boring middle section. Wouldn't skip if it came on shuffle.
Among the Living Dead: Was impressed by the intro, which was quite different from anything IE has done so far. Funnily enough, I really enjoyed each part of the song that featured that motif, especially around the 2.5 minute mark, that was pretty darn cool. The rest of the song is a mess though. Some good ideas spread among a bunch of clutter. At this point I'm starting to realize that the whole album could be described that way, so far. Also, Stu's voice is all over the place on this song, what's his problem?
Resistance: Generic intro, alright verses, generic chorus. The anthemic, wall of sound choruses are starting to get really old. It's in almost every song so far.
I was ready to write this song off by the guitar solo but then the bridge kicked in and blew my mind. Awesome buildup, actually sounded inspired, great singing by Stu (
) and it actually made the following parts sound even better. The anthemic chorus thing works so much better when something actually builds to it.
The End: A bunch of unrelated ideas are awkwardly cut together to create another snoozer. And there's the anthemic chorus again! Listening to Iced Earth sure would make a great drinking game. Also, why did this song have to be 7 minutes? Pretty good scream by Stu though.
If I Could See You: Same thought as when I heard it awhile back:
It's great if you like hearing the same ballad rewritten for the umpteenth time.
Cthulu: *At this point, Mosh feels like he has been listening to the same song over and over again. He also wonders why he didn't just put on
Something Wicked This Way Comes instead.
Peacemaker: Starts off as a boring generic ballad but the more upbeat rocker part is actually really good. Has a cool rhythm to it, some nice chords. A good chorus that proves you don't need a thousand overdubs to make a good chorus. Even some good guitar melodies thrown in. I like when IE takes a break from the CHUG CHUG CHUG and the cliche triplet rhythms. This song actually sounds inspired and original. One of the better songs.
Parasite: ...and we're back to the generic Iced Earth.
Oh well, couldn't expect that streak to last long. At least they haven't gone back to the anthemic chorus thing yet.
Spirit of the Times: A Sons of Liberty cover? Are you fucking kidding me? Skip.
Bummed that Highwayman isn't available for streaming, that was the one song I actually wanted to hear. Will have to check it out when it becomes available.
Overall,
slightly better than what I was expecting. Dunno if I'd say that it's better than
Dystopia, I'll admit it sounds a lot more inspired, but at the same time it sounds more generic. I'm glad they laid off the ballads a bit with this one, since those tend to suck lately. My favorite songs (or the only songs I liked) were Peacemaker, The Culling, and Resistance, despite the fact that Resistance got off to a really weak start. Won't be buying this, but at least I got through the whole thing, wasn't expecting that.
I don't really like numbered ratings, but if I had to, I'd give this 2 Confederate flags out of 5. As in, it's bad but I can at least stomach the whole thing.
This song is pure classic Iced Earth, everything about it is great. Again, it's a shame it wasn't part of a better album. 
Can't say anything bad about this song. It just works.
