Iced Earth

Iced Earth are now one of the most famous groups in the North American metal scene. And for a good reason: apart from the objective quality of their productions, they were among the first bands to merge European old school power metal with American-style thrash metal. This is why they have achieved fame and have become a model for many other bands and the lords of the darker side of power metal.

Their first album, however, is definitely more thrash than power metal. It is too fast and not hard enough to be pure thrash, but at the same time too violent to be pure power. And violence is the predominant feature of this short but intense work.

Cold and granitic riffs, Gene Adam's coarse and overwhelming screams and unstoppable and ferocious rides are what mainly compose this record. There often are acoustic, calmer parts, but they do not diminish the harshness. There are also the icy notes of a keyboard and good, if not extremely exciting solos, and the drumwork is elaborate enough not to be boring. However there are some songs that are forgettable, especially Written on the walls and Colors, and this does penalize the album. Fortunately, most songs are underrated classics. Hatred, anger and melancholy are the prominent feelings. Particularly great is the contrast between the two parts of Life and death, the first one being slow and sad and the other heavy and desperate. There are also two instrumentals, Solitude and The funeral, which have an almost doom metal-ish atmosphere, apart from being excellent to observe the musicians' technique. Wisely, the best is left last. When the night falls is a masterpiece. It's really long when compared to the other tracks (nine minutes), and without doubt, it is the most power metal song on the album and this is probably what elevates it above all the others. In any case, it remains the most appropriate choice to conclude Iced Earth.

Technically, all musicians are flawless. Which, for a debut album, although not so rare, is still lovely. In particular, the then 22-year-old Jon Schaffer is already proving to be a future champion of the noble art of creating memorable riffs. A separate discussion must be made for Gene Adam. He is often considered to be among the worst singers in the history of metal, but in reality he is not completely unable to sing. He is certainly the worst of Iced Earth's singers (but among these there are also Matt Barlow and Tim Owens, so the standards are quite high) and he would not have been able to sing songs like those on subsequent albums, much more difficult from a vocal point of view, but for such a simple and thrash album a rough voice like his is fine. In addition, his clean voice is not extremely pleasant but certainly it is expressive.

This album is still rough enough, but the seeds of future splendor are there and are impossible to ignore. It's great for thrash metal lovers and a must-hear for Iced Earth fans. In its small way, it remains a great experience.

Best tracks: When the night falls, Life and death, Curse the skies