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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Iced Earth - Live in Ancient Kourion + │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jul-23-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........cd1: 17 cd2: 12 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.icedearth.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Iced Earth Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Live in Ancient Kourion Label : Century Media ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ If youÆre a fan of American power/thrash greats ║ │
│║ Iced Earth, IÆm sure youÆre aware of all the ║ │
│║ drama the band endured with the re-entry and ║ │
│║ final departure of Matt Barlow, by popular ║ │
│║ consensus their most cherished frontman. I ║ │
│║ include myself among those who believe that ║ │
│║ BarlowÆs first epoch equates the golden years ║ │
│║ for this band. Perhaps they didnÆt produce ║ │
│║ something as amazing as Night of the Stormrider ║ │
│║ with him at the helm, but he did sang those ║ │
│║ songs and older material better than anyone ║ │
│║ else. And lets not forget his powerful ║ │
│║ performances during live shows; his charisma, ║ │
│║ his strong physical presence, his wide vocal ║ │
│║ range, including those soaring screams for which ║ │
│║ he was often compared to metal deities like ║ │
│║ Halford or Dio. And all that was faithfully ║ │
│║ captured in Alive in Athens, one of metalÆs best ║ │
│║ live testimonies of the late 90Æs, in my humble ║ │
│║ opinion. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Naturally, when Stu Block came as BarlowÆs ║ │
│║ replacement many of the bandÆs diehard fans ║ │
│║ reaction was incredulity. ôAn extreme metal ║ │
│║ singer? WTF man?ö Personally I already enjoyed ║ │
│║ StuÆs work with his other band, Canadian prog ║ │
│║ death metallers Into Eternity, and thus my ║ │
│║ reaction was more like ôhmmm, cool, lets see how ║ │
│║ this one goesö. Then I listened to 2011Æs ║ │
│║ version of ôDanteÆs Infernoö and with that the ║ │
│║ few minor doubts I had about him where engulfed ║ │
│║ in the fiery flames of hell. So when Dystopia ║ │
│║ came out I was pretty confident heÆd do a good ║ │
│║ job, which he did, no surprise that release ║ │
│║ soundly silenced many complaining voices about ║ │
│║ the bandÆs current state and capabilities. But ║ │
│║ one thing is to appear in a recorded studio ║ │
│║ album, in which the producerÆs magic can turn a ║ │
│║ mediocre singer into King Glenn Sinatra Marcolin ║ │
│║ with ease, and a different thing is to appear in ║ │
│║ a live recording, in which frontmen truly prove ║ │
│║ their worth. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ And so we arrive to the important question to ║ │
│║ ask here: Is Stu Block better or as good as Matt ║ │
│║ Barlow was, live with this band? My personal ║ │
│║ opinion: No, heÆs not. Live in Ancient Kourion ║ │
│║ is definitely not on par with Live in Athens but ║ │
│║ thatÆs not entirely BlockÆs fault. As with the ║ │
│║ newer version of ôDanteÆs Infernoö, thereÆre ║ │
│║ other things to take into account. But letÆs ║ │
│║ just finish what I started. Stu Block most ║ │
│║ prominent and important mistake is that he uses ║ │
│║ excessive theatricality in some tracks, and ║ │
│║ while he never really ruins any song he ║ │
│║ definitely goes over the top melodramatically ║ │
│║ sometimes. That costs him and this double album ║ │
│║ some good points. Other than that, I actually ║ │
│║ have no notorious complaints about his style. He ║ │
│║ unquestionably has the power and range to ║ │
│║ emulate Barlow, even in personality with his ║ │
│║ heartfelt speeches between songs. Stu also uses ║ │
│║ his own signature black metal rasps and a couple ║ │
│║ of death grunts on some spots to good effect, ║ │
│║ dare I say. Some purists might bitch about it, ║ │
│║ but I find those extreme vocals a welcomed ║ │
│║ addition to his performance. TheyÆre few, but ║ │
│║ extremely well placed. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As for the rest of the band, they do just fine. ║ │
│║ The productionÆs on par with their past live ║ │
│║ recording, clear but bulky, and the musicians ║ │
│║ here just as focused and compelling. But I found ║ │
│║ just a couple of these live renditions that are ║ │
│║ better than their studio counterparts, whereas ║ │
│║ on Alive in Athens a great deal of the versions ║ │
│║ were vastly superior in comparison to their ║ │
│║ originators. The only ones I found here that ║ │
│║ were given such an enhancement are ôWolfö and ║ │
│║ ôTen Thousand Strongö, both from the first disc. ║ │
│║ IÆm not the greatest Horror Show fan out there, ║ │
│║ and I found this incarnation of the shape- ║ │
│║ shifting beast tune more menacing, especially ║ │
│║ the growling chorus provided by Schaffer ║ │
│║ himself. StuÆs singing in this one is a rare ║ │
│║ case in which he sounds better than Barlow, who ║ │
│║ for the studio version committed the same sin ║ │
│║ BlockÆs committing here in other parts of the ║ │
│║ recording. As for the Framing Armageddon track, ║ │
│║ I just feel this one is tighter. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The rest of the compositions are performed ║ │
│║ proficiently, but theyÆve been added nothing ║ │
│║ extra. The setlist is pretty balanced, and IÆm ║ │
│║ thankful for most of the choices, in particular ║ │
│║ that ôIn Sacred Flamesö is the only ambassador ║ │
│║ from The Crucible of Man. We have some no- ║ │
│║ brainer fan favorites like the Stormrider tunes, ║ │
│║ ôWhen the Night Fallsö, ôBurning Timesö and the ║ │
│║ two ballads also from Something Wicked this Way ║ │
│║ Comes. For The Dark Saga emissaries IÆm afraid ║ │
│║ they didnÆt go with my preferred cuts, the ║ │
│║ intense ôViolateö and ôVengeance is Mineö, ║ │
│║ instead picking the more laid back ôI Died for ║ │
│║ Youö and ôSlave to the Darkö, though to close ║ │
│║ the concert with ôThe Hunterö was a nice ║ │
│║ surprise. ôDanteÆs Infernoö is here, in full 18 ║ │
│║ -minute glory, though itÆs the 2011 version. ║ │
│║ Sadly, the epic is the sole representative from ║ │
│║ Burnt Offerings. I would have gladly chosen that ║ │
│║ albumÆs title-track over most of the songs here. ║ │
│║ And IÆd certainly replaced the overlong yawnfest ║ │
│║ that is ôDamienö with ôThe Phantom Opera Ghostö ║ │
│║ (though a bit tricky to pull off live), or even ║ │
│║ better, with my Iced Earth all-time favorite ║ │
│║ tune, ôTravel in Stygianö. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ A good thing is that the Iced Earth guys remain ║ │
│║ interested in recording their live albums in mid ║ │
│║ to low profile countries, some of which happen ║ │
│║ to have limited but extremely passionate metal ║ │
│║ fandom, like Cyprus. IÆm glad a band of this ║ │
│║ caliber chooses not to record a concert in ║ │
│║ Japan, the States or somewhere in Latin America, ║ │
│║ (even if I live there), like most big names do. ║ │
│║ It helps you remember metal is loved and enjoyed ║ │
│║ throughout most of the third-planet-from-the- ║ │
│║ sunÆs surface, and maybe somewhere under the ║ │
│║ ground and out in space as well. IÆm also happy ║ │
│║ for Iced Earth, they seem to finally have found ║ │
│║ a stable lineup and a more than worthy and ║ │
│║ capable frontman. But for the fans, this might ║ │
│║ not be mandatory purchase, unless you are one of ║ │
│║ those lucky Cypriots chanting ôIced ║ │
│║ motherfucking Earthö or just love all things Stu ║ │
│║ Block. Even if I truly respect the man and wish ║ │
│║ him a lasting career with Schaffer and co., the ║ │
│║ live album from this outfit IÆll keep playing on ║ │
│║ and on will be Alive in Athens. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Line-up: ║ │
│║ Jon Schaffer ║ │
│║ Brent Smedley ║ │
│║ Troy Seele ║ │
│║ Stu Block ║ │
│║ Luke Appleton ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ - CD1 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - Intro [01:23] │
│ 02 - Dystopia [04:53] │
│ 03 - Burning Times [03:38] │
│ 04 - Angel's Holocaust [04:35] │
│ 05 - Slave to the Dark [04:49] │
│ 06 - V [03:28] │
│ 07 - When the Night Falls [07:56] │
│ 08 - I Died for You [04:55] │
│ 09 - Invasion [00:40] │
│ 10 - Motivation of Man [01:33] │
│ 11 - Setian Massacre [04:20] │
│ 12 - Stormrider [04:14] │
│ 13 - Pure Evil [06:00] │
│ 14 - Wolf [05:48] │
│ 15 - Dark City [05:46] │
│ 16 - Dracula [06:00] │
│ 17 - Ten Thousand Strong [04:01] │
│ - [ ] │
│ - CD2 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - Anthem [04:47] │
│ 02 - Declaration Day [04:24] │
│ 03 - Days of Rage [03:07] │
│ 04 - Melancholy [04:56] │
│ 05 - Encore Intro [02:29] │
│ 06 - In Sacred Flames [01:27] │
│ 07 - Boiling Point [03:01] │
│ 08 - Damian [09:54] │
│ 09 - Watching over Me [05:06] │
│ 10 - Dante's Inferno [18:04] │
│ 11 - Iced Earth [07:10] │
│ 12 - The Hunter [05:43] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [144:0] min │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
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└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘