(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
Dan H.
from Bethesda, Maryland United States
The title of my review says it all, this is one of the best cds I've ever bought. Iced Earth is one of the best bands out today, probably the best actually, since alot of the best metal bands aren't as good as they used to be. But this cd has much more than the average metal album. It has some pretty brutal thrash(Disciples of The Lie, Stand Alone), beautiful ballads(Melancholy and Watching Over Me, which was written about how Jon Shaffer's best friend died from living a reckless life, very emotional)and some Maiden/Priest influenced riffs and solos.Jon Shaffer is one of the best rythym guitarists ever, up there with James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine, and an even better songwriter. Larry Tarnowski's leads fit perfectly. Then there's Matt Barlow. Probably the best singer I've ever heard. He can display the emotion on sogs like "Watching Over Me" and then the brutal growl of "Disciples Of The Lie". Listen to those two songs back to back and you'll be convinced of how good he is. While all the songs are amazing, I guess my favorites are "Watching Over Me", "Consequences", and the Something Wicked trilogy(the music the lyrics, everything about it is perfect!). This was my first Iced Earth album, and I absolutely loved it, so I definitely recommend this is you're looking to get into Iced Earth.
