Iced Earth

I bought it a while ago. I haven't played it much yet (due to vacation) but my first impressions are:

-Excellent production
-Ripper rules!
-We knew it already from AiA: the Smedley/Schaffer combo is the deadliest in IE (or even in metal) history!
-I like the calmer songs and intermezzo's, especially the "eastern flavoured" instrumental track
-Near the end the album becomes surprisingly heavy again!


My wife read an interview with Jon Schaffer in a Polish metal magazine. Here a translation of the short part that has to do with Iron Maiden:

Interviewer:
I hear an Iron Maiden kind of galloping bass in the chorus of "Ten Thousand Strong".

Schaffer:
I didn't do that on purpose but you definitely may say that Iron Maiden is one of our most important influences.
 
That's great to hear. In U.S. Framing Armageddon is at 180 something, and that's impressive here for a non-mainstream metal band. That's why I've started following the UK charts instead. I'm glad to see that Europe still gives metal the respect it deserves.
 
ICED EARTH's official web site, IcedEarth.com, has posted a 33-minute minute audio interview it conducted with the band's leader, Jon Schaffer, on September 24, 2007. Topics covered in the interview include the relevance of chart positions in the Internet age, the impact of illegal music downloads on the band's touring schedule, "Something Wicked Part II" recording update, the upcoming November UK tour with HEAVEN AND HELL, touring in 2008, and future plans for the "Set Abominae"/"Something Wicked" storyline. The interview, in MP3 format (30 MB), is available for download at this location. -->

http://www.icedearth.com/media/interview_092407.mp3


@Perun, he talks about his "blabber" on the promo hehe! Funny to know that probably everyone who was/is negative about this album in this topic heard this shit! Didn't realize this when I was having some discussions in this topic. Now it all all makes more sense to me. Also Jon hopes IE could open in the States for Iron Maiden ("but that's politics, everyone wants that"). Personally I disagree with his view on grunts ("cookie monster vocals") but hey, opinions differ. ;)
 
Forostar said:
Also Jon hopes IE could open in the States for Iron Maiden ("but that's politics, everyone wants that").
Click to expand...

How about Europe?! That would be my absolute dream show!
 
Perun said:
How about Europe?! That would be my absolute dream show!
Click to expand...

Well indeed, though perhaps Maiden will play "only" festivals in Europe? Big chance IE will play one of these as well!  :)
 
I love his views on Death Metal.  I totally agree that heavy and scary have nothing to do with stupid screaming/grunts.  So many bands with good music only to be ruined by the bloody vocals!  Seriously,  I was at the record store the other day listening to samples from various bands,  trying to discover new stuff,  and although the music was absolutely great,  the vocals came in and I got disgusted.  :mad:  Seriously,  I just can't find many good metal bands... 
 
Of course, I know that more people like clean vocals than grunts and not everyone has to like such vocals. But it's not so that grunts and screams do not guarantee succes. On the contrary: Right now Arch Enemy are playing bigger venues than Iced Earth.

These days subgenres in metal are getting more mixed than before. Death metal has more melody in it, so now we have more balance when it comes to music, melodies and vocals.

I bet Schaffer never seriously listened to such music. He has a common theory, which is generalizing, I think. Not all bands are the same, not all vocals are the same, not all "cookie monster vocals" are the same. Busy musicians are mostly not very open to other new music. It blocks their own creativity. So in a way I can forgive Schaffer for that. I am more open to new music and have more room in my brain to listen to it than he. He needs his brain to create.

Myself, listening to aggressive music, I see the vocals as "another instrument", not more important than the rest of the music.

You'll see that if the music is very good, the vocals get less important than they ever were. Not always, by the way. E.g. the vocals on the first couple of Arch Enemy records are pretty monotone. As much as I like the music, this spoils it for me a bit. But the same goes for non-death metal bands with shitty singers. Like it or not, there's a quality and quantity in all genres of metal.
 
While I'm a fan of some death metal bands, I can't say I appreciate growling vocals a lot. The music has to be really good for me to enjoy them. When it is, and the growls are tolerable in themselves, they can go well with the music - however, a good proper singer can make me appreciate music I otherwise wouldn't like, and not even the best of growlers can do that.

Forostar said:
These days subgenres in metal are getting more mixed than before. Death metal has more melody in it, so now we have more balance when it comes to music, melodies and vocals.
Click to expand...

So perhaps this is a good time to give up the detailed, increasingly incomprehensible categorizing.

Like it or not, there's a quality and quantity in all genres of metal.
Click to expand...

I'd say there's quality in all genres of music if you look closely enough.
 
Shadow said:
While I'm a fan of some death metal bands, I can't say I appreciate growling vocals a lot. The music has to be really good for me to enjoy them. When it is, and the growls are tolerable in themselves, they can go well with the music - however, a good proper singer can make me appreciate music I otherwise wouldn't like, and not even the best of growlers can do that.
Click to expand...

I see. Myself I have experienced like this less often, because for me the music (and the melodies and structures within) is always no. 1, but I know what you mean. My wife also goes for the vocals as the main ingredient, and they lead her (and me) to various bands in metal and beyond.   

Shadow said:
So perhaps this is a good time to give up the detailed, increasingly incomprehensible categorizing.
Click to expand...

Haha, you might say so yes. Sometimes it's needed though, especially when some less known band has to be described.

Shadow said:
I'd say there's quality in all genres of music if you look closely enough.
Click to expand...

Thought about that as well, but it was more specifically directed towards SneakySneaky who complained that he couldn't find many cool metal bands these days. ;)
 
I replied yesterday, but I think I forgot to click the post button :blush: Ill just reply again then..

About the death metal vocals, I agree with Forostar that a lot of people generalize about them. Apart from the 'Brutal' Death Metal bands, I found that there is a lot of diversity in vocal styles, Each vocalist is different. Its not necessary a liability, and can really add to the atmosphere. Personally I really like bands that can mix growling and clean singing  :yey:
 
Forostar said:
Myself, listening to aggressive music, I see the vocals as "another instrument", not more important than the rest of the music.
Click to expand...

I see that in all genres of music, not just death metal. Frankly the voice to me is important as another instrument and I've come to appreciate death metal rasp and grunts in all death subgenres. Regardless of how melodic the music is the grunts seems to awaken something... primal in me. I first asses the vocals before paying attention to the lyrics lol. There are tons of songs (again in all genres) in which I could care less what they are saying, but boy do they sound pretty hahaha.
 
As far as I'm concerned, it's not really a question of caring about the vocals more than the music - I don't belong to either camp in that matter - it's just that growling vocals is a particular characteristic in a band's music which I normally don't like, so any band that has them will have to be really good if I'm going to listen to them. I normally don't like hip-hop either, so anything I'm going to enjoy in that direction has to excel. Some of it does, like DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... album, just like Death or Carcass excels in death metal. There's no difference really.

Naturally, if I really dislike a band with growls, they are usually not the only reason. It's likely to be a combination of several factors.
 
ICED EARTH: Pro-Shot WACKEN Footage, Video Interview Available - Oct. 2, 2007 

Professionally filmed video footage of ICED EARTH performing the song "Ten Thousand Strong" at this year's Wacken Open Air festival has been posted online. The five-minute clip, which includes a short interview with the group's leader Jon Schaffer, can be viewed here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmI-MtsqdDo
(Note: the footage originally aired on WDR's "Rockpalast" program [web site] in Germany).

Other IE-related news:

Danish metallers PYRAMAZE — whose current lineup includes ex-ICED EARTH vocalist Matt Barlow — have entered the studio on October 1 in Haderslev, Denmark to begin recording the follow-up to to "Legend of the Bone Carver". The first installment in the band's studio diary can be found at this location. --> http://pyramaze.com/index1.php
Photos from the recording sessions are available here. --> http://gallery.pyramaze.com/Studio%202007/Day%201/
 
Yeah.  Yeah!  YEAH!
I'm really digging this album now.  The real release is much better than the promo...A Charge to Keep has me hopping (which is impressive, because I'm so sick I'm on my third day off work)
 
Perun said:
I'm really looking forward to the gig on the 19th in Berlin (bought my ticket today), especially since the support act has been changed from Dark Tranquility to... ANNIHILATOR!  :yey:
Click to expand...

Well Perun, get your ass to the venue, have fun, and tell us all about it :)
 
I just returned from it. Great gig, indeed.
There were actually two support bands, the first one being Turistas, a Viking metal band from Finland who put on one hell of a show. Cheesy, yes, but still pretty cool.
Annihilator were great, and about half of their setlist was made up of songs from their first two albums.

Iced Earth rocked, in my opinion, but you'll never get a crowd without Barlow nostalgics and Glorious Burden-haters, so at times, the mood was a bit low. Fortunately, I stood at the barrier, so I didn't really notice, but my mate who stood a bit more at the back told me.

Their setlist, as far as I can remember, was (I'm mixing up the order a bit, I'm sure):

1. Overture
2. Something Wicked Part 1
3. Instrumentals from the album (abridged, I think)
4. Setian Massacre
5. Burning Times
6. Declaration Day
7. Violate
8. Vengeance Is Mine
9. A Charge To Keep
10. Stormrider (vocals by Schaffer)
11. D R A -FUCKING- C U L A
12. The Hunter
13. Ten Thousand Strong
14. Hold At All Cost
15. High Water Mark
-
16. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
17. My Own Savior
18. Iced Earth

As you can see, some nice surprises in the setlist, and a good mix. The band played tight and the Ripper was mindblowing. I'm pretty tired right now, so I'm not going to write much more... but I recommend anyone to go see them.
 
Perun said:
I just returned from it. Great gig, indeed.
There were actually two support bands, the first one being Turistas, a Viking metal band from Finland who put on one hell of a show. Cheesy, yes, but still pretty cool.

Annihilator were great, and about half of their setlist was made up of songs from their first two albums.
Click to expand...

That must have been a great show. Turisas is a great band, quite cheesy like you said, but their music more than makes up for it.  B)
Ive heard of Annihilator a lot, I have to listen to a few of their albums. 

Thats a damn good setlist, apart from
Melancholy- Holy Martyr, I personally find it quite cheesy, and I would have killed to see Dracula
.
There's still hope for fans in places like India to see bands like them, as Ive read on the net quite a few times that Symphony X are planning a trip to India, Russia, and the Middle East as part of their Paradise Lost tour.  :yey:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top