THE GLORIOUS BURDEN
Until recently, I never had been into ICED EARTH. Nothing against them, really... I just hadn't been exposed to much. I had always heard them described as a "poor man's IRON MAIDEN" (I can't for the life of me remember WHO told me that, although I'm inclined to blame Marc... only because it's fun to pin shit on him... for all I know it wasn't him). I only started becoming interested when I first heard their last disc,
Horror Show. which was released in 2001. They're doing WELL what hundreds of bands fifteen years ago were doing POORLY; and that's playing the classic, riff-based, high-pitched voice laden metal, and telling stories with the songs. I became a little more familiar with the band after original singer Matt Barlow left to pursue a career in law enforcement, and Tim "Ripper" Owens was recruited after having left JUDAS PRIEST. While Iced Earth never sounded bad with Barlow belting out Jon Shaffer's songs, I think now that Owens is fronting the band, they've finally found their footing.
The Glorious Burden was originally scheduled for a fall 2003 release, but SPV held it back in order to build more hype around the addition of Tim Owens to the band. The result is a beautifully packaged, double disc set, filled with songs with historic themes.
History buffs will love this disc, because founder Jon Schaffer, who pens all of the tunes, has a ravenous appetite for history. Songs range in theme from the battle of Gettysburg, to Waterloo, to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. In fact, the prettiest song on the disc is the acoustic version of "When the Eagle Cries", a song that pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the 9-11 attacks.
Tim Owens' voice fits Schaffer's music perfectly. Shaffer has said in many interviews that his writing style has always been tailored for someone with Ripper's voice, and now he finally has that instrument at his disposal.
Imagine
Ride The Lightning era METALLICA meets JUDAS PRIEST, with a little DIO and IRON MAIDEN...and you'll have some idea what this is like. If you dig the old-school, denim and leather, screeching vocal, classic-style metal, you should pick this up. It was worth the wait, and it's definitely worth every penny.
