Iced earth: the glorious burden

I only got into iced earth after buying dystopia, a few years ago.

so I started checking their earlier catalogue.

the glorious burden is the latest cd I acquired. and what an album it is.

ripper owens has an amazing performance and the songs are perfect.

thoughts on this cd?

I agree. This has always been my favorite IE album. Owens' vocals are simply fantastic and Shaefer's songwriting and playing or top-notch.

I don't like it as much as some of the others, but it does have pretty good highlights. Like the Reckoning, Red Baron/Blue Max, Waterloo and Attila.

Those four songs + the Gettysburg trilogy alone make it a worthwhile record, even if the other stuff doesn't work quite as well.

Declaration Day is pretty cool, too.

This was the last album I bought from Iced Earth (though I've checked out others on Spotify and YouTube since then).

Iced Earth was one of my absolute favorite bands in the 90s and early 2000s. When Glorious Burden came out I bought it on release day. And was just really not into it. It wasn't bad. And I didn't really even mind the vocals much. Something about the all around package just left me a bit disappointed.

I might've just been getting burnt on the band though. I don't know. I haven't really listened the CD much over the past 10 years. Maybe I should give it a fresh listen and see what I think now.

I was kind of disappointed initially too. I had high hopes, because I like Owens so much.

T.G.B. was the last I.E. disc that I got into biggy styley. Up till that point they were one of my favorite bands but after this one they became pretty inconsistent.

I like this album, but like Freddy, I started to lose interest after this album. Jon was getting too orchestral, epic and "Blind Guardian" for my tastes. Thankfully he's reigned it back in, focusing more on just guitar, bass and drum.

I have always liked a few songs by them but was never a big fan. Seems that they only know how to play 1 riff and it gets old fast. I'll give this album a chance though.

There were a few songs on here that I really liked.

Really good album, but the Gettysburg trilogy is amazing. Read the lyrics and story as the songs plays. It really enhances the songs, which is rare with most concept pieces.

I dig the Glorious Burden. Dark Saga, Something Wicked and Burnt Offerings are my favorites.

Not one of my fav IE discs. The songs just aren't nearly as strong on this album, as they were on previous!

Gettysburg + filler = TGB lol. Just kidding, a lot of very good IE songs on here but Gettysburg is one of the finest metal epics released in the past 15 years. The lyrics actually inspired a newfound interest in Civil War history. Jon really outdid himself with that one.

MetalRob331 wrote:

Not one of my fav IE discs.  The songs just aren't nearly as strong on this album, as they were on previous!  

I agree if you're talking about NOTS.

This is the last one from them I really enjoy. Something Wicked is my favorite.

which is the other one to feature ripper owens?

is it good?

Framing Armaggeddon: Something Wicked Part 1. Take out all the ambient tracks and it's a very strong album. Rob is right, a bit more memorable than TGB. Except Gettysburg is pretty much the best Iced Earth song(s) ever haha.

It doesn't get any better than the self-titled or Night of the Stormrider, to be quite frank. I can't say that most of Iced Earth's material is really my cup of tea!

Burnt Offerings was their best. Dark and cruel shit. Creator Failure still gives me the creeps ("apocalyptic SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN").

Gilbert wrote:

which is the other one to feature ripper owens?

is it good?

Here's the Iced Earth Discography thread (zipped file):

http://www.datafilehost.com/d/d078ac96

Obviously the links in the pages don't work, so you'll just need to open each page separately.

I have never listened to a I.E. cd ever.. So tell me what is your favorite cd by them.. I know there has been different vocalist & fans siding with there fav. singer.. I.E. Sabbath Ozzy vs Dio etc.

I personally find them to be extremely bland for a band that plays thrash-tinged power metal. But out of the few Iced Earth albums I've listened to, I'd say "Burnt Offerings" is their magnum opus.

"Night of the Stormrider" and the self-titled is worth a listen as well.

Of the Owens albums, this is the best. Of the IE albums it is pretty good though not as good as most of the Barlow albums (sans the last one). However, the Gettysburg Trilogy is one of the best, most epic metal trilogies of all time.

corplhicks wrote:

Burnt Offerings was their best. Dark and cruel shit. Creator Failure still gives me the creeps ("apocalyptic SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN").

Probably my favorite IE album tied with The Dark Saga (my first IE album).

They have been on quite a roll with the last two. Hope they can keep it up.

assault_attack wrote:

I have never listened to a I.E. cd ever..  So tell me what is your favorite cd by them.. I know there has been different vocalist & fans siding with there fav. singer..  I.E. Sabbath Ozzy vs Dio  etc.  

Night of the Stormrider is a great place to start. You'll love it, I guarantee you. You like riffs, right?

And that's before they got Barlow! While Stormrider might be their best, it was with Barlow that they really became a major league band. The most easily accessible Barlow-era album is Something Wicked This Way Comes (from 1998). But Burnt Offerings, Dark Saga, and the newer Dystopia (with Stu Block) are also all awesome.

Glorious Burden is probably not the best place to start with. There's too many dull tracks and the good shit (Gettysburg) is complex and pompous, and not necessarily representative of Iced Earth as a whole. Owens is also a vocalist that has his own aura around him, and that can possibly take over the listening experience a little. Like, "this is a Ripper Owens album!" - instead of going: "It's an Iced Earth album!".

Lari wrote:

assault_attack wrote:

I have never listened to a I.E. cd ever..  So tell me what is your favorite cd by them.. I know there has been different vocalist & fans siding with there fav. singer..  I.E. Sabbath Ozzy vs Dio  etc.  

Night of the Stormrider is a great place to start. You'll love it, I guarantee you. You like riffs, right?

And that's before they got Barlow! While Stormrider might be their best, it was with Barlow that they really became a major league band. The most easily accessible Barlow-era album is Something Wicked This Way Comes (from 1998). But Burnt Offerings, Dark Saga, and the newer Dystopia (with Stu Block) are also all awesome.

Have to agree with this. If you start with Barlow material, it will be harder to get into Stormrider. It's a fine album but speaking as one who started with Barlow, the vocalist is a little overwhelming and caused me to miss out on the greatness of this album for a long time.