Iced Earth

Iced Earth has quite the illustrious career, but how did it all start? Well, their self-titled release in 1991 was quite the humble beginning. Gene Adam is the vocalist; it’s an understatement to say his vocals are awful. This is some of the worst singing I’ve ever heard. Why he was in the band at all is beyond me. Luckily, the musicianship makes up for it. Jon Schaffer is a master at the rhythm guitar, plus he basically writes all the material. Dave Abell is one great bass player, who you can actually hear on this record. Mike McGill, who’s basically unknown to just about anyone, does his job here. Randall Shawver is one of Iced Earth’s best guitarists who were loved most by the fans. He’s quite underrated; he can pull off all the solos with precisian and flare. The line-up here is great.

The production is surprising. For a debut album it’s quite good. You can hear everything clearly and it makes Gene Adams horrible vocals a little more bearable. The album opens with the bands staple, “Iced Earth.” Which is of course of their best tracks. It shows the listener what their all about. “Written on the Walls” has a cool piano intro, great guitar playing, and interesting lyrics. “Colors” is also quite interesting. The chorus here is very catchy even though the vocal performance lacks. All the songs here are worth listening to, “The Funeral” is basically in instrumental except for the short chant in the middle. “When the Night Falls” is the epic here, it begins with a sound effect intro which goes straight into the music itself, which isn’t bad. The song is quite enjoyable, although in not a fan of the vocal melodies in the chorus.

The songs I mentioned that have problems aren’t from the musicians themselves; it’s the damn vocals. Yes, I understand I’ve mentioned this many times, but it’s the only real thing wrong with the album. Overall this is a great thrash/power mix, check it out if you’re looking to get into Iced Earth. Any fan of the band should get it, but beware of Gene Adam…