(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
the_wickerman
from Purgatory
This is truly a great album, though it is a bit long. I've only heard a few of the original songs, but they are definitely improved on this recording. "Colors", "Angels Holocaust", and "Desert Rain" seem to stand out the most for now, but every song is great. Randy's solos are awesome, but the new guy, Larry Tarnowski is better. I rank this album second, behind "Something Wicked", mainly because of the addition of Larry, and the improvement of songwriting. Of course, I can't accurately say this, because I haven't heard all of their albums, but I can tell this beats the first two (it's the same songs, just re-recorded), and it blows "The Dark Saga" away (as great as that album is). I haven't heard "Burnt Offerings", it may be better, but either way this is an excellent display of Iced Earth's talent. And, I diagree that it's derivitive, maybe just influenced, but either way it doesn't matter, as they are the greatest band there is, and any similarities to other stuff doesn't hold them back a bit. Besides, how many different individual sounds could each band make? Inevitably, something will sound like something else. So, if you're looking for great thrash metal with melody mixed in, this is the album for you. Buy it and get ready to rock!
