iced earth - alive in athens

just bought this one (3 disc version). i'm kind of new to iced earth, got into them with the ripper albums. really liking this older stuff too!

i'm sure a bunch of you have seen iced earth live. i've gotta know - are they REALLY this good and polished live, or has this one been given the studio touchup treatment like some other live albums (i.e. KISS "Alive!")? alive in athens sounds almost perfect, but i can't imagine them having the money to go back and make major fixes.

any input, anyone?

From the corresponding DVD I saw they sound the same I think.

i still have the 5 lp set sealed. i was there in the first of the 2 shows. but only because i got into for free...i still remember how cold and great was the beer in the club that night....some beautiful moldavian ladies also....

Temple of Blood wrote:

From the corresponding DVD I saw they sound the same I think.

The AiA DVD stupidly uses the audio tracks from the CD. Now this would be fine if AiA hadn't been recorded over two nights as oppposed to one, so some of the footage and songs don't entirely match up (I think there's a bit in 'Stormrider' where Jon says something but isn't actually anywhere near the microphone). Idiotic Century Media there.

Anyway, whilst I've yet to see IE live with Barlow, I have quite a few filmed concerts from that era and they generally seem very tight and come off phenomenally live. The only songs I've seen done badly are 'Burnt Offerings' and 'Wolf', which is a shame as they're two of my favourites. I saw IE with Ripper last year, they were pretty damn good live, must be said. Can't wait to see them with Barlow at this year's Bloodstock festival.

I saw I.E. live in 2002 on the "Horror Show" tour and they were ON FIRE that night. Of course, there's been wholesale lineup changes in the band since then -- Aside from Schaffer and "prodigal son" Barlow, none of the other musicians I saw that night are still in the band -- so I have no idea how they rank as a live act now.

Iced Earth with Barlow were awesome live. Alive in Athens, as far as I know, hasn't been altered. There might be some crowd reduction or whatever, but the live performance sounds legit.





Ripper who?

First video doesn't work, Eyesore. I have a DVD of the gig the second video is from though. Great stuff, although the chorus to 'Wolf' is still a bit off. However, it's not as 'off' as I remember it being.

Great live album, my only regret is that I never saw IE live (niether Barlow or Ripper). I hope to God that IE comes back to Dallas someday.

I'm not a huge fan of live albums in general, but this one is killer. The band is just on fire. I've never seen Iced Earth in person either.