Another few years and another few new Iced Earth songs that make me wonder what I was thinking as a teenager when I fell in love with them so bad. Somehow there's just something missing from everything since Horror Show. When The Glorious Burden came out I blamed Ripper Owens, but considering Barlow came and went again after that and Stu Block is a talented guy (if a little unmemorable), the problem is clearly Schaffer. These new songs are just blaaaaaand - forgettable songwriting and bedroom production. The guy gets a pass for their first few albums, but it feels like this band has been on life support for like 15 years now.

Clear The Way (December 13th, 1862)



I like this a lot. That said I am easily impressed when the lyrics deal with honour, pride and fighting men It has a semi-epic feel to it with some classical instrumentation and war chanting. The drums do sound super synthetic unfortunately but the song is overall pretty cool.

This album's fine. Nothing great, just fine. "Seven Headed Whore" and "The Great Heathen Army" are still the best tracks on the album, but "Black Flag," "Defiance," and "The Relic" are pretty solid as well. Really, the only song I outright didn't like was "Raven Wing."

So, all in all, Incorruptible is 1000x better than Plagues of Babylon.

Wow this was actually a good song, I feel like they couldve skipped the intro and kept it at the middle instead of both but eh, Im hopeful this is gonna be a good album.

Pretty neat stuff, it somehow doesn't sound exactly like a previous/typical Iced Earth song! Except maybe the Gettysburg suite on The Glorious Burden. Definitely enjoying the heightened presence of the lead guitar melodies on these songs.

Am I the only person that hates the guitar tone and how the drums sound? I'm getting a headache as I listen to it. The guitars sound so flimsy and weak. That being said, I don't think it is a good song either. It's not really the standard Iced Earth song structure wise, but just because it is different it doesn't make it good. I feel like they just meshed in a bunch of ideas that they couldn't complete as songs into a 9 minute crapshoot. There are literally about a dozen different song ideas in here that barely eclipse a minute (at the longest) before moving on to the next breakdown or lame riff and or random instrumental. I hate being a negative nancy, but I feel like I have to when it comes to Iced Earth. It's just really bad. Sorry, not sorry. I do like when the vocalist sounds like Barlow, but that's because I like Barlow. lol

I don't agree on the meshing a bunch of ideas together and it sounding incomplete or lacking a thread. I think it works fine. But the production isn't the best. But this is often the case with Iced Earth I find. I actually like the otherwise quite despised Glorious Burden but the drum sound on that one is really bad. Several people have complained about their sound on the new songs as well (the problem this time around is quite different though).

I think this may be the best song they've premiered off this thing though it can stand to have a minute or two shaved off that run time. I'm still expecting this album to be a high 7 at best.

I'm with you. Production is dry as a popcorn fart and it grates on me hard. Stu Block is poorly used here. He can access a timbre similar to Barlow, but his delivery is so rote and the on-the-nose lyrics don't do him any favours. Barlow could emote and squeeze all kinds of colours into a single line of verse. With Stu they're just words on a page. I think Stu could do very well but it just sounds so meathead. Pure Rigs of Dad.

Just listened to the album, a 7/10. Some standout tracks. Black Flag Clear the Way are my personal favorites but Seven Headed Whore is also pretty good. GHA is great as well. The Relic has that sort of Consequences feel from Something Wicked, not a bad song but meanders along. Didnt like the Veil that much.

So yeah, I wouldnt say a return to form but its a great album.

"Clear the Way" just has too much chaff for my liking. If they shaved it down to a 6-minute track, it'd be great.

I think this is a pretty goddamn solid album. Their last one kinda missed the mark if I recall correctly, but this one hits on many fronts and keeps a brisk pace throughout.

Been listening to this a few times. I have to say that I really like the high points. The albums starts with three strong tracks and closes with the semi-epic, all of which I appreciate quite a bit (and perhaps a couple more songs). But in the middle there are several tracks that I don't even feel like I can sit through even on the first listen. The Veil being the worst offender.

I liked this way more than I thought I would, with Clear The Way, Black Flag and Ghost Dance being my favorites. I've gone into every IE record since TGB expecting it to suck, so pleasantly surprised.

This album way superseded my expectations being I'm not that fond of "Seven Headed Whore." I'm actually liking this a lot.

Their best album in years. Very pleased with it. Really only a couple songs that I do not care for, but other than that this is really good IMO. I've listened to it quite a few times now and I love Seven Headed Whore. It's the best track IMO.

Just wanted to say Black Flag is such a fucking good song. Goodness.

You guys are all insane, this is just as boring as they've been for the past ten or fifteen years.

Listened to it yesterday and it's typical Iced Earth fare. There is absolutely nothing spectacular about it, and most of the stuff is pretty much disposable, but they occasionally show you that they could be a good band if they tried, which is just infuriating. I kinda liked "Defiance", and bits of "Black Flag" and "Clear The Way"... and I will probably listen to it as often as Dystopia. Which is... not at all.

I still hate their lead singer. Ripper Owens is the one true Iced Earth vocalist.

Dont really want to bump this, but there's a music video for Black Flag(best song on the album) that got released like 4 days ago in case anyone's interested.

Dude doesn't look well, like at all.

Gotta say that while I still think Incorruptible is pretty mediocre, it has more replay value than I honestly expected.

Also my girlfriend got tickets for the Indianapolis show next year and I'm legitimately hyped. Pictures like that do make me wonder how Stu will hold up though...

I'm hyped to see them as well, got tickets for the Detroit show. Incorruptible is good for what it is. The standout tracks are really good - Seven Headed Whore, Clear the Way, Raven Wing.

Lol This is their best song? Then I am really glad I didn't give this album a chance. After listening to the first singles that came out I ignored it's release and rightfully so, I think.

Well, to be fair, they all look pretty under the weather. Like, maybe they all had the flu and were vomitting into a bucket 2 minutes prior to picture time.

Stu used to be my favorite metal vocalist. His range and style is second to none, but he doesn't get to show off any of that in IE. Hard to believe these are the same people. Such a shame.

I liked 'Incorruptable'....one of my favorites this year.

Sounds good to me so far also. The only Iced Earth album I've really listened to in it's entirety before this is Horror Show. The drums do sound a bit processed compared to that, but then they did have Richard FUCKING Christy onboard then.

I hadn't even realised the singer had changed between then and now, so good is his "impression". And to be honest, I'm glad this sounds nothing like Into Eternity. The singing here sounds focused, rather than the mess of styles and influences Into Eternity are (were?).

Stu does have moments where he's similar to Barlow, for sure.

The song "Raven" sounds like they were going for "Headless Children" era WASP.

"Dude doesn't look well, like at all."

"Well, to be fair, they all look pretty under the weather. Like, maybe they all had the flu and were vomitting into a bucket 2 minutes prior to picture time."



That's because they're using that same overblown filter that apparently every band is using as their press release photo. I don't know what exactly, perhaps just contrast and saturation in photoshop to look more "edgy." Has anyone else noticed this trend in the past couple years?

Anyway, as for Iced Earth, I'm pretty much thinking they're about frozen over at this point. Schaffer has found a formula and he's sticking to it, so if you're on board for that specific sound, then they still do it well. But the great albums and riffs of the past are a long ways behind them. Then again you've got Dystopia which had some real fire behind it I felt, and then you give your hopes up after seeing such beautiful cover art on the follow up, Plagues of Babylon. I thought that was going to be a return to the more thrashy, meaty riffs of Stormrider and Burnt Offerings, but that was soon quelched. Incorruptible is passable, probably better than Plagues, but mere shadows of former glory. Into glory ride, glistening steel on the shores of... aww, fuck it.

I loathe giving Blabbermouth traffic as much as the next person, but...

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jon-sc ... ness-deal/

There’s no way this doesn’t wind up biting them in the ass if they try to see it through. The more likely scenario is a rerecording compilation of songs from each of the previous eras before Stu, but their focus should really be on making new albums that stand on their own.

God, I can't believe they're going back to re-recording everything again. I mean, I understand partly that the intent is to gain control over their master recordings, and to get the other band members performance royalties, but jesus christ, is this shit played out. It's like he's got some bent on perfectionism. I really don't wanna hear this version of the band playing the old stuff in the studio. Those records are so fine the way they are, but then again that's pretty much how I feel about all bands re-recording old music.

Good luck getting a Horror Show re-recording to sound anywhere close to the original without Barlow, DiGiorgio and Christy. I get why he's doing it but, damn, as a big IE fan I'm really not excited by this. Especially if he's going the super-processed production route with them, which based on Incorruptible he probably will.

I will rage-vomit if they change the key on any of those songs. I'm getting real sick and tired of bands changing the keys of my favorite songs when rerecording them--Sonata Arctica did it with "Destruction Preventer," Iron Savior just did it with "Tales of the Bold," and now I'm afraid "Wolf" or "A Question of Heaven" will be next.

Man it must be painful being an Iced Earth fan.

Could they really make that much money from it? Half of the albums dont even need it.

Then after they record all the old classics again, they'll be a deluxe box-set compiling it all called The Complete Iced Earth Re-Re-Re-Recordings.

Then Stu Block will leave, another guy will come in and the whole thing will go on indefinitely.