ICED EARTH (1991)

Gene Adam - Vocals
Jon Schaffer - Rhythm guitar
Randy Shawver - Lead guitars
Dave Abell - Bass
Mike McGill - Drums

Produced by: Tom Morris

The debut album by Iced Earth. US power metal, heavily influenced by Iron Maiden and Metallica. The album is real tough, heavy, sinister and there's that trademark Iced Earth gallop that's present in almost all the songs. This album is like a compilation of mini epics - might be a bit tough to get through in one go because of all the tempo changes and fast-slow-fast-slow breaks in nearly all the songs. Aside from the awesome rhythm work, there's also guitar solos a-plenty on this one (not always the case with Iced Earth)! The vocalist Gene Adams has a voice that could fit in old school thrash, here it doesn't work quite as well as it could. I'm sure his voice is what makes it hard for many fans of the Barlow-era to get into this album.

Anyway a rock solid debut. The lead vocals probably being the only complaint I have, but it is not a significant one.

1. Iced Earth
2. Written on the Walls
3. Colors
4. Curse the Sky
5. Life and Death
6. Solitude
7. The Funeral
8. When the Night Falls

Random thoughts:
- The album was released in Europe already in November 1990
- The cover of my copy is not the one pictured above, but something that looks a bit like crappy Japanese manga or something. I took a shot of all my Iced Earth CDs, so I'll post that at some point.
- You get introduced to the 'Jon Shaffer gallop' 3 minutes into opener. But then it's in your face all throughout the disc.
- The song is not among my favourites, but clearly it being the namesake of the band (and the album) it holds a special place in their set. The lyrics go something like:
"Iced Earth has risen, nature will fall,
death and destruction, mark them or fall"

- There are hardly any keyboards on the album, but they do appear in the Written on the Walls intro. A wonderful track. Keys are played by Roger "the Hammer" Huff.
- I really liked what they did in Days of Purgatory with Colors. Really beefed it up and Barlow also fits right in. I think I prefer that version to the original album version. As it is here, also not among my favourites.
- There's a movie called 'Colors' that came out in 1988, but it took place in LA not NY, so I guess we're talking about gang colors in general here in this song.
- This could be a great workout album with the fast instrumental breaks and the gallop. I did hear the US army was playing Iced Earth during their training routines in the Middle-East.
- The back cover of my CD names track #4 "Curse in the Sky", then the booklet calls it "To Curse the Sky". I look it up on their website and it says "Curse the Sky". We'll go with that...
- The Funeral could be straight off Justice for All. Sounds totally like Metallica.
- When the Night Falls has the best Iced Earth riff ever. It's also probably my favourite track on the album.

So let's hear it, what do YOU think?

I love it. It's one of my favorite Iced Earth discs. When I first heard it I couldn't stand Gene's vocals, but things have changed over the years. Not their best album, but it does come pretty damn close imo.

I first heard most of the songs on Days of Purgatory with Barlow's vocals so I actually prefer those versions over these. Still,this is a good debut despite Adam's vocals.

As for the cover,I have the one pictured above. I've seen the other cover too. Which one is the original ?

Does anyone know if this was ever released on vinyl?

IE's debut was underproduced, gritty, and nasty sounding. In other words, totally killer. The two most obvious influences are the speed of vintage Metallica and the epic feel of Iron Maiden. Musically the band already had its sh*t together pretty well and were already playing the trademark "Iced Earth Sound" that would serve them well for the next decade, but the weak link on this debut is definitely the vocalist...Gene Adam sounds like David Wayne with a bad head cold. I got used to his odd croaks after a few spins of the album but for a lot of people, his voice was the textbook definition of "acquired taste." Unsurprisingly, he was gone after this lone recording.

This was the first I.E. album I purchased, so I can kinda say that I got in on the ground floor with this band, even though I bought it several years after its original release. I found this disc (still in its long box!) in a crate of cheap CDs at a flea market somewhere around mid-to-late '95. I had never actually heard the band at that point, but I had heard of them (I had recently read a rave review of the then-current BURNT OFFERINGS release in a 'zine) and it was only two bucks, so I figured it was worth the risk as it was so cheap. Fortunately it didn't suck, in fact I got hooked on this album/band pretty quickly. The mid 90s were pretty "dry days" for American metal fans so it was pretty exciting to discover a fairly "new" power/speed band (and one from the oh-so-trendy U.S., even!). I especially dug "Curse the Sky," "Written on the Walls" and "Colors" and I immediately set off to collect their other CDs. Just think, If I hadn't risked that two bucks I might not have become the Iced Earth fanatic that I was for much of the next ten years.

My copy of the debut is adorned with the ugly-ass album cover shown above and I have always hated it. Seriously, what the hell IS that pink stuff wrapped around that angel? Intestines? Some sort of parasitic creature? Bubble Tape gone horribly wrong? All in all it's one of the (Comic Book Guy voice) WORST...ALBUM COVERS... EVER. (Second only to Metal Church's HANGING IN THE BALANCE, which will always be the king...)

There are at least two other covers for this album... I believe the "angel" shown above was the original U.S. pressing, while the "manga" flying creature thingy that Lari speaks of in his original post (if it's the one I'm thinking of) was the original European pressing. Then when Century Media upgraded/remastered/re-released the I.E. entire catalog in the early '00s it got yet another cover. Any of the others are preferable to that terrible "falling angel" art in my book.

I'm gonna have to break this one, as well as some other old Iced Earth albums, out to follow along with this discography. I didn't really start getting into these guys until the Something Wicked...album. I need a refresher on these older ones.

I'm pretty sure this is the version of the cover I have...

Iced Earth debut was released at a time when real heavy metal was quickly loosing ground. Thus neither the band, or this album, got the recognition they deserved. I, for one, didn't discover them until 'Something Wicked This Way Come' in 1998. I was also of that mind that Matt Barlow was hugely responsible for me liking Iced Earth. So I never really bothered to check out their fist CD. Well, I might just have to reconsider that thought now. It is clearly evident that Jon Schaffer is the mastermind behind the bands music, and that is probably the most apparent here. Even with Gene Adam behind the microphone, this still sounds 100% Iced Earth to me. Several of the tracks from this album is also been a part of their live set ever since. To conclude, 'Iced Earth' is a fine power metal album, and as good as anything the band have put out since.

Killer tracks: Iced Earth, Written On The Walls, Curse In The Sky, When The Night Falls

Nice couch.

That old crap? We actually just bought a new one. It should ship next week.

This one is a goner

I never could get used to Gene's vocals after hearing Matt for so long before I heard this one. Good music and they held true to what they wanted to do while grunge was taking over.

Iced Earth is one of my all time favorite bands. I've purchased every album from them so far, with the exception of "Days of Purgatory" - and the live ones/greatest hits.

This first album is a fine album - and I always thought it (and the follow-up, "Night of the Stormrider") were both underrated.

Never really got much into this one (mainly because I heard everything else before (Stormrider through Something Wicked) and I got rid of it before it could grow on me. I will get it again (along with all the other IE albums) and come back later once I listen to it again.

NIGHT OF THE STORMRIDER (1992)

John Greely - vocals
Jon Schaffer - rhythm guitar, vocals
Randy Shawver - lead guitar
Davel Abell - bass
Richey Secchiari - drums

Produced by Tom Morris and Jon Schaffer

The debut album was excellent in almost every possible way, but there was still a need for a lineup change. Changing of vocalists turned out to be a great upgrade. John Greely sounds great. The band performance and the songwriting is also even better this time around, if possible. The end result is, if the last one was 'awesome', EVEN BETTER than that. In fact, I would rank this album in my top ten of all time. It was also my first Iced Earth disc. It turned out to be a real popular album in Europe, while USA was moving away from heavy metal at that time. It was actually released 1991 in Europe.

1. Angel's Holocaust
2. Stormrider
3. The Path I Choose
4. Before the Vision
5. Mystical End
6. Desert Rain
7. Pure Evil
8. Reaching the End
9. Travel in Stygian

I don't think there are weak songs here - almost all the songs also got played the last time I saw the band. Mystical End might have been the only exception, but I wouldn't call that a weak spot. It's supposed to be a concept album, but the story is a bit vague (and not that great, to be honest) about a supernatural ass-kicking demon warrior that fights the world. I wouldn't necessarily pay too much attention to it. The songs work just fine without being connected to anything. This is an essential album for anyone wanting to get into the band. The Schaffer-gallop is prominent once again, but there's more variety (within the Iced Earth sound) and the vocal melodies come across much better this time around. Greely has a great heavy metal voice. Too bad he turned out to be a nazi or something and had to be kicked out.

The symphonic intro to Angel's Holocaust is an adaptation of Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi by Carl Orff.

Jon Schaffer sings lead vocals on 'Stormrider'. A feat that wouldn't be repeated until The Glorious Burden album, when he splits High Water Mark with Tim Owens. Schaffer still sings Stormrider live and you can always guess when it'is about to be played as they set up his mic center front just before the song, or if they play it together with Angel's Holocaust, before that.

The album only has 7 'real' songs, but the epic Travel in Stygian more than makes up for that. Still to this day my favourite Iced Earth song. It has everything you need from a heavy metal song. Fast breaks, softer breaks, great drumming, tempo changes, great infectious chorus and even a mosh break. Choruses are great all throughout the album, too. Desert Rain has a great big chorus, something that wasn't really there in the debut album.

The live version of Pure Evil from Alive in Athens is absolutely phenomenal. They upped the tempo and made it sound real nasty.

Favourite tracks: Travel in Stygian, The Path I Choose

I might open my still sealed Iced Earth box to finally hear this since I don't own a separate CD of it.

"FIGHT ON! GRAB ON! STORMRIDER! STORMRIDERRRRRRR!"

...my fave non-Barlow I.E. disc hands down. After getting lucky with my blind buy of the first Iced Earth I went out hunting for their other CDs shortly thereafter. Problem was, they were kinda hard to come by at the time (circa 94-95), at least in the U.S. I am pretty sure I got DARK SAGA as a new release before I got this one, so STORMRIDER was probably my 3rd CD by them. I found it in the music section of a Barnes & Noble book/music superstore of all places, and I remember the guy behind the counter raised an eyebrow when he saw me place it on the counter, he said "Wow, an Iced Earth fan! Great album!" - so that was the first time I'd met anyone else who had even heard of them.

As for the album, I was blown away by it, it was miles better than the debut. John Greely's vox were a vast improvement over the croaky Gene Adam (glad to see him go, go, go, go, goodbye) and the performances all around were kicked up a notch. There's not a bum track on this album.

It would be another couple of years before Iced Earth finally started to catch fire in the U.S. (there wasn't much buzz about them here till THE DARK SAGA/SOMETHING WICKED) but they were already in good shape musically on STORMRIDER. All the pieces (except the vocalist position) were firmly in place.

This is a great album though John is only the third best singer to be in the band. This band gets so many props for staying true to what they wanted to do during the 90's. Did I already say that?

Eh. Not a huge fan of the first two. I can't dig on the vocalists. I prefer Days of Purgatory, the double CD version. Barlow is way better. Of course, that album is far too bass-heavy, though, so I tend to not listen to that as much either. But I dig 'em.

I like Night of the Stormrider, however I think the selected songs from that album sound better on the Alive in Athens album. Both the Barlow vocals and live setting give 'em extra punch.

Night of the Stormrider is getting a spin after I get back from lunch though. See ya.

A definite step up from the debut. A better vocalist makes all the difference.Night of the Stormrider is an excellent album and I too feel there isn't a weak song on it.Desert Rain,Pure Evil, and Travel In Stygian stand out though.

LOVE this album! It's actually my 4rth favorite from the band overall.

Even though I loved the debut, with Gene Adam - this was an improvement for sure. Heck, I even like this one better than the first Barlow album (Burnt Offerings).

If someone was complaining about the art on the debut album, the cover looks real cool this time around.

By the way, anyone really try and get into the story of the Stormrider? Iced Earth was one of the first metal bands I got into and I used to think the story of the album is real badass, but reading the lyrics now I just cannot even understand half of what is happening. The 'story' is very disjointed and I think you shouldn't necessarily even call it a concept album. More like a thematic album about a person giving into evil. The lyrics are powerful and visual, but as a narration that should encaptivate and make you follow, it just doesn't flow well enough to be a story.

From what I understand, the main character is bitter and angry about something and is then lured into being evil. And he becomes evil throughout seven or eight songs. Yay, great story. I guess you can fill in the blank spots yourself and make it more personal.

BUT any of these songs individually work real well metaphorically. Mysterious, yet there's plenty of angst, hatred, all that stuff to be found. That's good lyrics for any teenager angry about their curfew or cleaning their room. Explains why I thought it was so badass originally.

I must say the 'demonic' image of the band sort of started here.

The pentagram in the back cover is a bit cheesy though.

I usually don't pay attention to lyrics in any band I listen to.

However, the songs themselves are very strong on this album.