Iced Earth Review

Iced Earth Review

Iced Earth
Children Of Bodom
Evergrey
Eagles Ballroom (Milwaukee, WI)
4/3/04
Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale

On paper, the promising bill sounds like a godsend as you have a good mix of metal: Iced Earth (Power Metal); Children of Bodom (Black Metal); and Evergrey (Progressive Metal). With Iced Earth headlining and CoB & Evergrey in direct support, the 2 bands did an AMAZING job warming the crowd; one would believe that IE could sustain that momentum for their 2-hour set. Well let's just say they slightly missed their target. Bottom line: Iced Earth’s set was over the top, over done and lengthy. It would have been better if the set was shorter leaving more time for the opening acts as opposed to the 40 allotted minutes for CoB and 30 to Evergrey. 97% of songs IE performed were taken from their latest release, The Glorious Burden. I must commend the band for giving a passionate performance even though they seemed lackluster and low on energy. I also must give big ups to the band as it is easy to catch flack for producing an opus that is not considered "fashionable" by today’s standards.
Iced Earth Promo
The ongoing saga of Iced Earth’s issues continues as rhythm-guitarist and founder, Jon Schaffer, introduces yet another member to the fold, Tim “Ripper” Owens who replaced long time vocalist, Matt Barlow. Ripper took over vocals for Judas Priest after Rob Halford left. When Barlow announced he was leaving, it caused many a fan to become disenchanted with IE and question the band’s fate. It is unfortunate that IE has become a revolving door with constant changes in the line-up. Hopefully the current line-up will hold up as they sound pretty good as a unit, as long as you do not compare them to the Iced Earth of old.

Vocally, Ripper did a decent job but lacked conviction as he covered the older tunes. This being the first week of the tour, his level of confidence is bound to pick up as time wears on. Ripper held his own during the forever ending shriek on Iced Earth, their namesake song, which concluded their set. Talk about wanting to end your show on a high note! Much can be said about Mr. Owens’ stage presence, as he is quite the showman, shadowboxing bopping and weaving about the stage like a kid's wind up toy. The best thing about Ripper is that his voice maintains its integrity both live and in the studio. We all know that is a hard feat to accomplish. Guitarist, Ralph Santolla, sounded great for the parts that weren’t drowned out. His solos were crisp and precise; one would expect no less for a musician that is renowned for being a guitar virtuoso. As for his stage presence, it lacked oomph, which could have been attributed to him being ill. Jon was masterful as he took command during the set as his now graying mane makes him appear austere. Unfortunately, bassist, James MacDonough, was lost in the shuffle, but kept time. As for the drummer, Richard Christy, he made his presence known, as he never let up as he tortured his drums and cymbals. Richard was awesome as ever!

I was surprised that “The Reckoning”, one of their first singles, was absent from the set list. I could have sworn "The Reckoning" was one of their anthems...maybe not! I mean in my humble opinion, it definitely makes my list of over-the-top songs off the CD.

Iced Earth Promo For the record, I am a fan of the pre-Ripper era and was apprehensive in seeing IE at first considering I missed the boat by not seeing them with Barlow. Nevertheless, after listening to The Glorious Burden, I didn’t think it was a bad effort; the CD was a little over the top for my taste but good nonetheless. I do have some new favorites that I found myself reluctantly singing along to: “When the Eagle Cries”, “Green Face”, and “Hold At All Costs”. I was happy they performed "Melancholy", "Burning Times" and "Birth of the Wicked". I was sucked in but didn't feel the need to run about the venue waving the American Flag or nothin’! Hearing the rumblings of the crowd, many were commenting on how it was their first time seeing the new incarnation and the consensus was a toss up between those that were swayed in Rippers’ direction but there were a host of dieheart fans that weren’t bowled over or easily impressed. Guess you can’t please ‘em all.

Setlist: Star-Spangled Banner (PA); Declaration Day; Melancholy; Burning Times; Dracula; Angel’s Holocaust; Vengeance Is Mine; Violate; Green Face; Red Baron/Blue Max; When the Eagle Cries; My Own Savior; Something Wicked Trilogy: (1.) Prophecy (2.) Birth of the Wicked (3.) The Coming Curse; ***ENCORE*** Gettysburg: 1863 Trilogy (1.) The Devil to Pay (2.) Hold At All Costs (3.) High Water Mark; Iced Earth.