Iced Earth ~ USA ~ Tampa, Florida

Night of the Stormrider (1991)

---3/29/01

For a brief period in the early to mid 1990's, a music movement known as "progressive thrash" thrived in the underground clubs and magazines of the day. Take two parts Metallica riffing, one part Iron Maiden song craft and one part Fates Warning style invention and you have an idea what the sound entails. One of the best at this style were Florida's own Iced Earth... By their second album, Night of the Stormrider, Iced Earth had honed their craft. Each song contains speedy riff after riff and plenty of metronomic activity to challenge the discerning listener. The vocals are clean but deep and heavy.

---1/24/24

It seems every time I hear this album, I give it a +1. I'm almost at the very top now. Everything about this album is perfect - from the atmosphere, to the riffing, the production, onto the compositions, even the much maligned vocals. And it's not even their best album! That goes to its successor Burnt Offerings. The album is super from the first note to the last. Love the cover too.

Best I can tell, this album didn't come out in the States until the following year. The first pressings were released in Germany and Europe. They were still pressing LP's in Germany, and this did get a vinyl release. They used a different cover, and I definitely prefer the US version.

Ownership: 1992 Century Media (CD). Lyric booklet. Acquired in 1994.

1994; 3/29/01 (review); 12//04; 4/1/16; 11/3/17; 1/23/24 (update)

The Glorious Burden (2004)

The kings of the triplet riff. This title is their homage to world history, especially the American Civil War. Unfortunately it doesn't translate to anything more than a typical Iced Earth album. I adore the first three albums by them, and then it's case by case. I have a couple more later ones I'm sure to keep, but probably the rest will be released. I have a lot of their titles, and have already sold a few off. Here's one more.

2004 SPV (CD). Acquired in 2007.

7/12/07; 6/17/16; 11/28/23 (review)

Enter the Realm (1989)

Enter the Realm is Iced Earth's debut EP demo cassette, originally recorded in January 1988 but not released until a full year later. Vocalist Gene Adams has been called out as a "no talent" by band leader Jon Schaffer himself, but I personally appreciate his "real people" approach that very much fits in with the aesthetic of the late 1980s. Had Iced Earth not hit the big time, no one would have noticed anyway, and this recording would be a cult classic sought after by many. Most of this album found its way onto the debut full album, in slightly revised form. 'Enter the Realm' and 'Nightmares' did not reappear until the Matthew Barlow re-recordings on Days of Purgatory. Overall this EP is a really fine early prog / thrash / power metal album.

Ownership: 2008 Century Media (2xCD). Papersleeve. Contains Enter The Realm of the Gods and Tribute to the Gods. Acquired in 2016.

6/14/16 (review)

Also own: Iced Earth (1991); Burnt Offerings; Horror Show; Dystopia; Alive in Athens

Previously owned: The Dark Saga; Days of Purgatory; Something Wicked This Way Comes; Framing Armageddon; The Crucible of Man; Plagues of Babylon; Festival of the Wicked; Live in Ancient Kourian

6/14/16 (new entry)