Awesome album!

I absolutely love this album! I didn't really find anything too bad about the vocals, except that at times they were hard to understand (but every metal album suffers from this a little). My favorite songs are Stand Alone (track 5) and Consequences (Track 6). Also of note is track 3 (can't remember the name offhand).

Pure Power Metal

This is definitely a great Iced Earth album. You get everything: acoustics, galloping riffs, awesome drumming, solid bass lines, and the best vocals metal has to offer. Superb American power metal! Call it thrash, call it speed metal; this album is awesome, not their best but.....

Where has this CD been all my life?

Buy this CD. That's all there is to it. I don't care if you don't like metal, are in church more than you are in bed, or have never even heard the term "Power Metal". This is the best of everything, save maybe vocal style. If I have a single gripe about this band, it is only that Barlow's singing takes awhile to get used to. Other than that, the band and especially this recording are both at the top of their respective games. If nothing else, listen to the last song, a powerhouse masterpiece called 'The Coming Curse". The intro is beautiful enough to make me want learn piano (seriously!) and the riff afterwards is so fast, it's hard to keep up with. Don't let that statement make you think that these guys are just speed metal freaks. Everything is as tight and controlled as a finely tuned machine, and everything is meticulously played. There are no more than 1 or 2 filler songs on this CD, each other is unique and thunderingly gorgeous. There is no excuse for the absence of this CD from your collection.