The demise of Matt Barlow, and the introduction of Tim Owens, was a major talking point at the release of this album. And as much as I enjoy Matt Barlow’s work with Iced Earth, I was looking forward to hearing what Ripper could bring to the band.
What you are immediately confronted with is this – it is still Iced Earth. OK, the lead vocals have changed slightly and been incorporated into the mix, but the music is still the same – the great drumwork of Richard Christy, the rifling guitar work of John Schaffer. “The Reckoning (Don’t Tread On Me)” is the foremost indication of this, just a typical Iced Earth performance. I love “Attila”, where Ripper doesn’t extend so much into his ‘upper reaches’, and perhaps this is where some songs just don’t feel right. These two songs, plus “Declaration Day” and the slower and softer “When The Eagle Cries” are the best for me on the album, along with the wonderful Gettysburg trilogy.
While I don’t think it is Iced Earth’s best work, that certainly isn’t the fault of any particular person. Ripper is great, and while his vocals mightn’t work in every song, when they do they are just fantastic. Perhaps the arrangement could be better, I don’t know. It is a difficult thing to marry up a different set of vocal chords to an established writing style. On The Glorious Burden there just feels like there are too many places where the two are out of synch.
Rating: Not all that it could be, but not bad by any stretch of the imagination. 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment