As I walk through the blackened forest...

Who can seriously say they don't like this album (...or band, for that matter!!)? The second Iced Earth album features John Greely on vocals and lays down a vocal style that was carried-on (and PERFECTED) by their next singer, Matthew Barlow. Every song this album is amazing and the production is phenominal!!...it's hard to believe that this album was recorded AND mixed in just 15 days!!!



If this album doesn't give you chills and thrills... then you're probably dead.

awesome

This is a awesome album from iced earth. Thier second, after the self titled, and i am not counting when the were Purgatory. But, this would be my all time favrotie IE album, if it was first and originally done with Barlow, and they had included the song When the Night Falls on it. This disc has some of my all time favorite IE songs, Desert Rain, Pure Evil, Angels Holocaust, Stormrider, Travel in Stygian, with some others. but i wish it had when the night falls!!! that would have just been awesome. but oh well, this is a great IE worth spending any money on (as all IE albums are). By the way, dont buy the Blessed and Damned, get all the albums, you will miss out on too many great songs if you just get the greatest hits.

Improvements Abound

After the somewhat lackluster (IMO) debut, a few member changeups later, Iced Earth forge onward with a new record. This time around we have a conceptual album that chain all the songs together through a central theme & story. The sound quality has improved a bit and so has the writing. Naturally this music sounds like it's logical progression from it's debut, with more complex changes, musicianship, and overall better production.



Big changes come in the form of the new vocalist "John Greely" who not only fits the band like a glove, has a very good sense of harmony with his voice. Everything feels alot tighter here as far as rhythms go, like the galloping "Stormrider" or multi-tempo "Desert Rain." This album wouldn't sound out of place along side stuff like Agent Steel, abeit much less technically gifted. "Angels Holocaust" has interesting use of choir vocal effects and the closing "Travel in Stygian" is a nice long epic conclusion with a brilliant outro piano piece.



I very much recommend this for newbies to the band, power/thrash fans, or simply those curious to hear what the fuss this artist has brought about. It should also be noted that this was remastered/reissued with different artwork.



Afterthought: The original artwork is way cooler and more interesting, compared to it's comic book imitation. (I say this as a fan of comics, anime, etc. so I'm not being biased)