After a four-year absence, which, in retrospect, actually spared them from the abuse suffered by most metal bands during the peak years of alternative rock, Iced Earth returned to action with 1995's Burnt Offerings.
Known for their uncompromising defense of epic classic metal, the band gets right back to work with the elaborate title track's surprising mix of soft piano tinklings, chorused vocals, double kick drums, and crushing guitars.
Remarkably, it all seems to work, and while his ultra-dramatic vocal style occasionally verges on the absurd, resourceful new vocalist Matthew Barlow ultimately carries the day on such standout tracks as "Creator Failure" and "Brainwashed." Then, just when you thought things couldn't get any more grandiose, the band embarks upon the ponderous, 16-minute trilogy (something which would become a tradition for concluding subsequent releases) that is "Dante's Inferno" -- a piece of daunting complexity that will no doubt terrify as many as it delights.
Still, classic metal has often been about pomp anyway, and this is what Iced Earth is all about, take it or leave it.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnt OfferingsJon Schaffer, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 07:22 | 16 MB | 53 MB |
| 2 | Last DecemberJon Schaffer | Iced Earth | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | DiaryDave Abell, Matthew Barlow, Woody Schabata, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 06:14 | 14 MB | 45 MB |
| 4 | BrainwashedJon Schaffer, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 5 | Burning OasisDave Abell, Jon Schaffer, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 05:59 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 6 | Creator FailureDave Abell, Matthew Barlow, Jon Schaffer, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 43 MB |
| 7 | The Pierced SpiritDave Abell, Jon Schaffer, Randall Shawver | Iced Earth | Play | 01:53 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 8 | Dante's InfernoJon Schaffer | Iced Earth | Play | 16:26 | 37 MB | 114 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 375 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Abell | Composer, Guitar (Bass) |
| 2 | Matthew Barlow | Composer, Vocals |
| 3 | Rodney Beasley | Drums |
| 4 | Howard Helm | Keyboards |
| 5 | Tim Hubbard | Photography |
| 6 | Iced Earth | Chant, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Tom Morris | Engineer, Producer |
| 8 | Woody Schabata | Composer |
| 9 | Jon Schaffer | Composer, Guitar (Rhythm), Producer, Vocals |
| 10 | Randall Shawver | Composer, Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |