Iced Earth

Would it be unfair to call Iced Earth's self-titled debut their most divisive album? It has some of the best riffs and a few of the greatest songs they would ever write, and still there are fans who won't touch it. While poorly produced in comparison with their other albums, I don't think that would have been enough to dissuade people from an otherwise biting assortment of power-thrash. On a purely musical basis, Iced Earth is one of the band's best. No, if there's anything that has murked the debut's reputation, it's the vocals. It might be said that an Iced Earth without Matt Barlow is like an Iron Maiden without Bruce Dickenson (or, more appropriately, a Judas Priest without Halford) but I don't think anyone would retroactively condemn it just because the band's best-loved frontman isn't featured. No; people will love or hate the debut almost purely depending on what they think of Gene Adam's vocal performance. If it's any indicator, the reason he never returned to perform on Night of the Stormrider was because he refused Jon Schaffer's recommendation to take singing lessons. To be sure, Gene's thin, occasionally off-key wail accounts for the weakest vocal performance of Iced Earth's career, but I do think it works for the album's rawer sound, the same way Paul DiAnno's voice worked on the first Iron Maiden records. Your mileage may vary, but a single questionable link and unpolished execution aren't near enough to dismiss the most underrated chapter in the band's history.

Although most offerings from Iced Earth would lend enough reason for me to have dismissed the band as a particularly case of trad-heavy tripletcore, I'm proven wrong every time I pay due attention to one of their albums. Such is the case, at least, with their self-titled. Even this early on, Jon Schaffer had already discovered the triplet and fostered a not-inconsiderable love of using it in his riffs. Although I might have expected its repeated use to grow tiring, there are plenty of parts on Iced Earth where I'm pleasantly struck by how unpredictable the music becomes. Make no mistake; Iced Earth had already found their heavy-power-thrash niche and nestled in snugly by the time of their debut, but my first reaction of songs like "Iced Earth" and "Written on the Walls" was actually to think of classic progressive metal- early Queensryche and Fates Warning in particular. Although I tend to associate Iced Earth with conventional, melodic-based songwriting, some of the compositions here draw in multiple time signature changes. As per expectation; most of the riffs are still built from the same infamous chugging triplets, but the changes of pace are unexpected and abundant enough to keep the listener on their toes. "Written on the Walls" is easily the best cut from the album, with enough switch-ups to accommodate a progressive epic five-thirds its length, and it's not alone when it comes to memorable songwriting. "Colors", "Curse the Sky" and "The Funeral" also stand out as particularly well-penned tunes. Say what you will about Jon Schaffer; he knows how to write a damned fine riff when the mood suits him.

"Iced Earth" is one of the strongest openers Iced Earth have produced in their careers, and though the dull masses may condemn me for saying so, its brilliance is due in part to Gene Adam's vocal performance. I'm not going to defend him as a conventionally 'good' vocalist, but like more than a few better-acclaimed metal vocalists, he pushes his limited capability as far as it can go. His falsetto wails sound pleasantly uncomfortable and shrill, like a constipated goblin. Although it's no substitute for Barlow's ballsier versatility, Gene makes the most of the album's heavier sections. The more nuanced bits are more trouble for him, however; there's a retroactive expectation for Iced Earth vocals to bring versatility as well as bravado. In this respect, Gene is much less successful. His chest voice is noticeably uncharismatic, and while his wail benefits from being untrained and largely intuitive, I do wonder if it would have limited Iced Earth to have kept him around for longer. I'll reiterate this less-than-popular opinion of mine by saying Adam serves the same role here that DiAnno served for Iron Maiden. Being their most noticeable influence on the album, it's little wonder comparisons can be made between the two bands. And much like Iron Maiden, as strong as Iced Earth's earliest stuff was, it was for the best that they decided to move forward.

If there's anything I think is most unfavourable about Iced Earth, it's not Gene Adam, but the album's production. Although the drums pack a solid punch, and the situation's been improved somewhat by the its 2001 remix/remastering, there's still something off about the guitars. The quality sounds like something they might nowadays have done as a demo with their eyes closed. Regardless, I don't think the recording or even the thinness of the vocals are enough to take away from the best parts of Iced Earth's debut offering. Within the context of their career, I think they left themselves enough room to really amaze with Night of the Stormrider their second time around. Even so, they hit more than enough marks on the debut to make it a near-essential part of their discography; and, if nothing else, one of the most criminally underrated observations yet produced in the American power metal scene.