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Album Review – Iced Earth / Horror Show (2001)

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Are you looking for the ultimate Heavy Metal soundtrack to spice up your Halloween party? Mr. Jon Schaffer and his henchmen can definitely help you with that.

IcedEarth-HorrorShowTampa, Florida-based Power/Thrash Metal veterans Iced Earth might be one of the most underrated bands in the history of heavy music, and I believe they’re not bigger or more famous due to Mr. Jon Schaffer’s fickle temper, which has resulted in countless (and unstable) lineup changes in the history of the band, lowering any expectations a fan might have about their future. I personally don’t care that much about the mood of any musician, as long as this doesn’t negatively affect the overall quality of the music. Take a look at Dave Mustaine and Dani Filth, for example, and you’ll notice there are some changes in their music, but the core essence of Megadeth and Cradle of Filth is always there for the delight of their fans. Due to those constant changes you never know exactly what to expect from Iced Earth, as they sometimes deliver really bad material, but fortunately for all of us their 2001 album Horror Show showcases the Iced Earth we all want to listen to, sounding powerful, well-engendered and, above all, very creative and entertaining.

Horror Show is not just a traditional Heavy Metal album, also bringing a lot of the energy from Power Metal and some of the violence found in Thrash Metal, and that’s in my opinion the best “formula” Jon and his crew can offer us. Furthermore, it’s kind of  a concept album focused on different horror stories, making it even more interesting for Heavy Metal fans that also enjoy reading a frightful book or going to the movies to see a good dosage of monsters and blood. For instance, all songs on the album are based on classic horror films, from werewolves to vampires and mummies, and many of the lyrics are lifted directly from the source material, proving that when Jon doesn’t let his personal issues interfere in his music, the final result is always fantastic. Add to all that some incredibly talented musicians like Matt Barlow on vocals, Larry Tarnowski on the lead guitar, Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Death, Charred Walls of the Damned) on bass and Richard Christy (Death, Charred Walls of the Damned) on drums, and there you have the utmost recipe for awesomeness.

Wolf, the first track of the album inspired by The Wolf Man films, is an excellent heavy song to kick things off, showing why Jon is considered by many one of the best riff-makers in Heavy Metal. The speed of the song and its grinding riffs give it an amazing Thrash Metal touch, not to mention its chorus inspired by a poem that is recited in the 1941 film The Wolf Man, making any fan excited for the rest of the album. Then we have Damien, inspired by The Omen films, presenting outstanding lyrics that make a lot of sense if you have read the book or seen the movies like I’ve done (“When the Jews return to Zion / And a comet fills the sky / The Holy Roman Empire rises / And you and I must die”). As a matter of fact, the chorus was taken from the 1976 film The Omen, and the spoken section was adapted from a speech in its 1981 sequel, Omen III: The Final Conflict, just to give you a sense of how detailed this song is. Things get even better in Jack, inspired by the one and only Jack the Ripper, with Jon slashing our ears with his riffs in great “Ripper” fashion. Moreover, perhaps the funniest thing about this song is that Horror Show was the last studio album (apart from their album of cover songs called Tribute to the Gods, from 2002) Matt recorded before Tim “Ripper” Owens (The Ripper himself!) joined the band in 2003 and recorded The Glorious Burden in 2004, which is for me one of their best and most consistent albums of all.

The album continues with Ghost of Freedom, the only song that wasn’t inspired by any horror movie or character. It’s a very beautiful ballad and one of the top moments of the whole album, showing us a more “romantic” side of Jon and how good Matt’s voice can be even when he’s not screaming. The following three songs might not be masterpieces, but they surely keep the album at a high level of adrenaline and epicness. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh’s Curse) (inspired by The Mummy), Jekyll & Hyde (inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), and Dragon’s Child (inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon) not only have amazing concepts, but the music itself is very pleasant and cohesive, embracing us all and pulling us deeper into the world of horror created by the band throughout the entire album.

IcedEarth_Promo2001Frankenstein (“surprisingly” inspired by Frankenstein) is even better than those three tracks, raising your energy level and making you want to headbang like a crazy motherfucker, followed by the best song of Horror Show without a shadow of a doubt, the stunning Dracula (also “astoundingly” inspired by Dracula), a metal masterpiece that’s absolutely flawless from start to finish, presenting to the listener the duo Jon and Matt at the peak of their forms. This is an all-time fan favorite and a mandatory track in any of the band’s live setlists, also bringing to our avid ears ass-kicking lyrics (“Do you believe in love? / Do you believe in destiny? / True love may come only once in a thousand lifetimes…”). Lastly, we have The Phantom Opera Ghost, obviously inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, and despite all the additional elements and musicians it sounds too pretentious and doesn’t deliver what the fans are actually expecting.

The limited edition has a bonus disc with two totally opposite moments: an incredible cover for Iron Maiden’s Transylvania, where Jon does what he does best with his guitar; and a tedious interview with him that lasts for over an hour. I guess there’s a one-disc version of Horror Show that includes Transylvania as a regular track, so if I were you that’s the one I would buy. And finally, one thing that Iced Earth have always delivered are stunning album arts. The band’s own mascot, Set Abominae, might not be part of the compositions this time, but he certainly makes the front cover of Horror Show designed by Danny Miki and Travis Smith darkly captivating. In a nutshell, Horror Show, which makes the already distant year of 2001 look like it just happened yesterday, is a mandatory choice for that Heavy Metal Halloween party you’re planning with your friends (as well as a good source of inspiration for your costumes), or maybe you can just dress up as Jon Schaffer and walk around your neighborhood playing some of the tracks from Horror Show on your guitar, how about that? We could even call this new Halloween tradition as “Trick or Thrash”.

Best moments of the album: Wolf, Damien, Ghost of Freedom, Dracula and Transylvania.

Worst moments of the album: The Phantom Opera Ghost.

Released in 2001 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Wolf 5:20
2. Damien 9:12
3. Jack 4:14
4. Ghost of Freedom 5:12
5. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh’s Curse) 4:45
6. Jekyll & Hyde 4:39
7. Dragon’s Child 4:21
8. Frankenstein 3:50
9. Dracula 5:54
10. The Phantom Opera Ghost 8:41

Limited Edition Disc Two
11. Transylvania (Iron Maiden cover) 4:30
12. Interview with Jon Schaffer (conducted by Sumit Chandra) 69:27

Band members
Matt Barlow – vocals
Jon Schaffer – guitar
Larry Tarnowski – lead guitar
Steve DiGiorgio – bass
Richard Christy – drums

Guest musicians
Yunhui Percifield – lead vocals on “The Phantom Opera Ghost” as “Christine”, backing vocals
Jim Morris – guitar solo on “Ghost of Freedom”, keys, backing vocals
Howard Helm – keys (pipe organ) on “The Phantom Opera Ghost”
Richie Wilkison, Rafaela Farias & Sam King – backing vocals

Album Review – Altars of Grief / Iris (2018)

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Highly influenced by the desolate landscapes and the solitude of long, prairie winters, here comes one of the biggest names in Canadian Blackened Doom with a superb new album narrating a tragic story of a deeply flawed man and his dying daughter.

Formed in November 2013 in Regina, the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, Blackened Doom act Altars of Grief has worked over the years to develop a weighty concoction of Death Metal, Sludge Metal, Funeral Doom and Atmospheric Black Metal along with a strong focus on storytelling and the desire to convey authentic emotion, highly influenced by the desolate landscapes and the solitude of long, prairie winters that inspired the moniker of “Prairie Doom Metal”. After the release of their 2014 debut fill-length album This Shameful Burden, the band returns in full force with the bold and multi-layered Iris, narrating a tragic story of a deeply flawed man and his dying daughter, named Iris.

Featuring a stunning artwork by Travis Smith from Seempieces, brilliantly depicting Iris’ final moments as she kneels before the winter beset church and embraces her fate, and the mesmerizing cello by Raphael Weinroth-Browne (who by the way played cello for Canadian Folk/Melodic Black Metal band Thrawsunblat on their amazing 2016 opus Metachthonia), Iris is not just an album of heavy music, but an amalgamation of emotions that will transport your mind and soul to the desolation of the prairies. “The story of Iris is very much rooted in our prairie surroundings and deals with the struggles of addiction, sickness and religion. A father finds himself unable to connect with and care for his young daughter, Iris, who has fallen seriously ill. Spiraling deeper and deeper into his vices, and feeling rejected by Iris’ new found and unwavering faith, he gets into his car and decides to leave her behind. Somewhere along the icy road, he loses control of his vehicle and perishes. His purgatory is to watch helplessly as Iris slowly succumbs to her illness without him”, comments the band’s lead singer Damian Smith.

Melancholy and grief permeate the air in the opening track Isolation, a masterpiece of darkness led by the strident and somber guitars by Erik Labossiere and Evan Paulson, while Damian obscurely declaims the song’s lyrics through his anguished gnarls, proving why he’s a poet of the underworld. Hence, the music flows majestically until its grand finale, setting the tone for Desolation, where a Stygian atmosphere is suddenly joined by heavy-as-hell riffs and the crushing Black Metal beats by Zack Bellina, also presenting introspective and touching words (“I opened my eyes / To the night sky / The unending storm / Revealed itself before me / Weightless in my resolve / But, still a burden remains / With this final breath / Please, forgive me”). Moreover, it’s simply impressive how Altars of Grief can sound so distinct from one song to another, also bringing forth a perfect balance between harsh growls and deep clean vocals.

The title-track Iris brings forward more of the band’s enfolding musicality, blending the aggressiveness of Atmospheric Black Metal with the obscurity of Doom Metal, also presenting very subtle nuances of Melodic Black Metal. In addition, Erik and Evan once again fire a mix of rage and harmony through their flammable strings, enhancing the taste of this very complete and bold composition. Then we have Child of Light, where an epic and melancholic intro evolves into a full-bodied sound, and with Zack together with bassist Donny Pinay building a massive, atmospheric wall of sounds with their instruments, generating the perfect ambience for all vocal styles used by the band; followed by Broken Hymns, another captivating, neck-breaking tune where Raphael is truly outstanding with his cello, adding a marvelous touch of delicacy and melancholy to the overall musicality. In other words, this is a song tailored for closing your eyes and letting the band guide your mind and soul to their dark and mournful world.

And Altars of Grief personify the grievous, obscure voices of the bitterly cold winds of winter in the Atmospheric Black Metal extravaganza titled Voices of Winter, with Damian’s growls being delicately complemented by Raphael’s stunning cello sounds and the whimsical guitars by Erik and Evan, whereas in Becoming Intangible the sound of the cello and the acoustic guitars walk hand in hand in the smoothest way possible before morphing into contemporary extreme music, sounding very atmospheric, gripping and bold until its beyond piercing ending. Zack is once again a beast on drums, not to mention the latent poetry found in the song’s lyrics (“I can barely see the sun / I guess this path was truly flawed / Judgement comes with revelation / And, I’ve never felt so close to God”), flowing into one of the most beautiful outros in underground extreme music, titled Epilogue, performed by Raphael and his always astounding cello.

You can listen to Iris in its entirety on YouTube, follow Altars of Grief on Facebook, and purchase your copy of this masterpiece of the underworld from the band’s own BandCamp page, from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp or webstore in distinct bundles (Iris CD, Iris CD + Nachtterror / Altars of Grief – Of Ash and Dying Light vinyl split, Iris CD + shirt + patch, and Iris CD + Nachtterror / Altars of Grief vinyl split + shirt + patch), as well as from iTunes or from Amazon. If you were not familiar with “Prairie Doom Metal” before listening to Iris, now you have a very good reason to get to know more about such distinct sub-genre of extreme music. But if Altars of Grief are already a recurrent part of your playlist, the emotional story told in Iris will simply make you even more addicted to their desolate and imposing sounds.

Best moments of the album: Isolation, Iris and Broken Hymns.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Hypnotic Dirge Records

Track listing
1. Isolation 9:19
2. Desolation 6:15
3. Iris 6:20
4. Child of Light 7:02
5. Broken Hymns 8:11
6. Voices of Winter 7:26
7. Becoming Intangible 9:17
8. Epilogue 2:05

Band members
Damian Smith – vocals
Erik Labossiere – guitars, vocals
Evan Paulson – guitars, vocals, programming
Donny Pinay – bass, vocals
Zack Bellina – drums, vocals on “Broken Hymns”

Guest musician
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – cello on “Isolation”, “Child of Light”, “Broken Hymns”, “Voices of Winter” and “Becoming Intangible”, all instruments on “Epilogue”

Album Review – SpiteFuel / Second To None (2017)

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Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a new flammable entity hailing from Germany is born, bringing you a broad spectrum of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and Rock N’ Roll always true to their motto “we don’t care, we just rock!”

There are countless instances in the world of heavy music when a fresh new start is necessary to fix some issues and flaws a band might have in order to move forward with their career, and in the case of German metallers SpiteFuel those changes couldn’t have been done at a better time, culminating with the release of their gripping new album titled Second To None. After the split-up of the also German group Strangelet in the beginning of 2016, three of the former members of the band, lead singer Stefan Zörner, guitarist Tobias Eurich and bassist Finn Janetzky joined forces with ex-Devil’s Darling members Timo Pflüger (guitar) and Björn-Philipp Hessenmüller (drums) to form SpiteFuel, aiming at blasting their traditional Heavy Metal and Hard Rock the likes of Judas Priest, Accept, Guns N’ Roses and Queensrÿche throughout the entire world, always remaining true to their motto “we don’t care, we just rock!”

Hailing form Heilbronn, a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, SpiteFuel offer the listener during Second To None’s over 45 minutes of music a broad spectrum of Heavy Rock, from hard neck-breakers and heavy mid-tempo pounders to fragile ballads full of emotion, all in the name of Rock N’ Roll. The cover artwork, made by renowned American artist Travis Smith (Seempieces), who has already worked with several iconic bands such as Nevermore, Iced Earth and Death, among others, completes a coherent overall picture of the music found in Second To None. Furthermore, despite being a newly reformed group, SpiteFuel still keeps the initial fire that gave birth to Strangelet burning inside them, proving their excitement and passion for heavy music will never cease no matter what.

The tribal and enthralling On Burning Wings introduces us to a Hard Rock extravaganza named Purified, where its blazing guitars and nonstop action fill every single space in the music. Moreover, Tobias and Timo blend the fury of German Power Metal and the fun of American Hard Rock in their riffs and solos, also presenting hints of the sonority crafted by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Then we have a good dosage of headbanging riffs and crushing beats in a badass feast named By My Hand, an excellent choice for a rock n’ roll radio playlist where Stefan effectively plays the role of the band’s frontman like Vince Neil, Brett Michaels and so many other Hard Rock idols; followed by the even better Whorehouse Symphony, venturing through heavier fields with hints of Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold added to its already solid musicality. That fusion of metal styles ends up working extremely well, turning it into the best and most unique song of the album in my opinion, with highlights to the great performance by Stefan with his more aggressive vocals and to Finn with his rumbling bass lines.

In Regrets, what starts in a melancholic way quickly morphs into a pleasant power ballad, showcasing a passionate performance by Stefan on vocals while the rest of the band maintains a dark but smooth vibe flowing, including a soulful guitar solo to spice things up a bit; whereas in the first single of the album, Sleeping With Wolves, a howling wolf warns the listener a heavy music party is about to begin. It’s another song with pounding drums and heavier-than-usual riffs à la Avenged Sevenfold, without losing the harmony of Hard Rock and with highlights to the gripping performances by Stefan on vocals and the skillful Björn on drums. And the rising instrumental bridge Adamah’s Tribes works as a mysterious intro to Triad Of Faith, where the old school Heavy Metal riffs and solos by Tobias and Timo, together with the always thunderous bass guitar by Finn, give the Hard Rock played by SpiteFuel a more serious and epic taste.

Fly, a serene ballad by these talented German rockers, is a moment of peace amidst all the heaviness blasted throughout the rest of the album, with an absolute focus on the gentle vocals by Stefan, but all that tranquility doesn’t last for too long as the band gets back to their flammable rockin’ sounding in Devil’s Darling, named in allusion to one of the bands that originated SpiteFuel. Once again presenting sharp riffs and bass lines, it’s a good Hard Rock composition, albeit not as exciting as the rest of the album (it should sound a lot better if played live, though). And lastly, despite its melancholic start, It Remains Empty Forever quickly becomes an electrified Rock N’ Roll chant with modern Hard Rock and Heavy Metal elements, also displaying hints of progressiveness thanks to the drumming by Björn.

As mentioned in the beginning of this review, a new entity known as SpiteFuel was born from the ashes of Strangelet, and based on the high-quality of the music found in Second To None these German rockers seem to have finally found their desired shape and sound, which will certainly propel them to new heights in the rock and metal universe. You can get in touch with the guys through their official Facebook page, listen to their music through their BandCamp page, and buy your copy of Second To None at the MDD Records webstore, at the Nuclear Blast webstore, at the EMP webstore, on Amazon and at several other retailers such as Saturn and Media Markt. SpiteFuel don’t care, they just rock, and after taking a good listen at Second To None you’ll realize that’s exactly what they want us all to do together with them. Well, we can’t say no to some good old Rock N’ Roll, right?

Best moments of the album: Purified, Whorehouse Symphony and Sleeping With Wolves.

Worst moments of the album: Devil’s Darling.

Released in 2017 MDD Records

Track listing
1. On Burning Wings 1:14
2. Purified 3:49
3. By My Hand 4:21
4. Whorehouse Symphony 5:20
5. Regrets 6:17
6. Sleeping With Wolves 6:14
7. Adamah’s Tribes 0:40
8. Triad Of Faith 4:19
9. Fly 4:19
10. Devil’s Darling 4:10
11. It Remains Empty Forever 4:45

Band members
Stefan Zörner – vocals
Tobias Eurich – guitar
Timo Pflüger – guitar
Finn Janetzky – bass
Björn-Philipp Hessenmüller – drums