Great album and despite not being much of a fan of Barlows predacessors (sic). The music is awesome as can be. Angel's Holocaust is one of my top IE songs. Other favoirtes are the s/t, Path I Choose, Desert Reign, Pure Evil, and Travel in Stygian (I only remember these cause their on Alive In Ahtens but despite Barlow not singing on the actual album I still liked the songs when I had this CD). Still another CD I need to recapture (as well as the next 2).

Listening to Stormrider again this morning on the way into work, I noticed that the vocalist John Greely was a pretty decent singer in his own right and not that much different style-wise than Barlow. Maybe he didin't have the same range but I'm wondering if given more time to develop, this Greely guy could've been just as good (or better) than his replacment.

Did he ever do anything else before or after his time in IE?

Well, this has been a good thread so far. I was WAY behind and my first IE album is The Glorius Burden, and I lover Ripper's vocals. However, I've been listening to the debut on youtube with the original vocalist, and it's just fine to me. I've never understood the Barlow worship. He's good, but he's not that good to me. Anyhow, this thread is likely to cost me money.

I can see that I guess. He does have a "big" voice. The singing version of a loud talker, perhaps.

I love him in Pyramaze, which is funny because his presence there is offensive to so many King fans.

I never quite understood the fanboy worship for Barlow either, until I saw Iced Earth live back in '02....Barlow has a sense of drama and theatricality (is that a word?) in his vocals that none of the other I.E. vocalists have possessed. That "theatrical" style fits right into Schaffer's visions of grandeur

I.E. was pretty great with Greely on vox, they were damn good with Owens on vox, but Matt Barlow and that band simply go together like peanut butter and jelly.

I think it helped they were one of the few power metal bands getting much attention in the states at the time. Barlow is good but he's way down on the list of PM singers for me.

I like Barlow, Greely and Owens about equally. They are all great singers in their own right.

If Greeley had stayed onboard, I feel that Iced Earth could have still achieved that epic-ness they got later on. He was capable.

Here's how I'd rank the Iced Earth vocalists. I like them all.

1. Matt Barlow (just barely my number 1)
2. Tim Owens (fantastic singer!!!)
3. John Greely
4. Gene Adam

Two great albums so far. Stormrider is my favorite Iced Earth album, with Mystical End and Stygian being my faves off of it. Just a quick note, for those that own the remastered versions, they are also remixed as well. On the original stormrider, Before the Vision actually has Schaeffer speaking a dialogue before Greely sings. This is omitted on the remaster. Also, on Travel in Stygian, there is about 11 seconds cut out in the middle of the song on the remaster. Not sure why that is as when they play the song live it includes that part.

As pointed out before, the falling angel cover is the U.S. version. Apparently, the European cover suffered the same fate as the Bonded by Blood original cover. How times have changed.

One of the appeals of Barlow is the fact that he is a bass barritone in a genre dominated by tenors. High range is easier for tenors to acheive than people who's voices aren't naturally blessed with that ability. Barlow had to work hard to go beyond the limitations of his natural range and in doing so is what makes him such a great vocalist. Another thing about Barlow is that he has experience singing in many music styles. Apart from metal, he can sing opera, music theater, and country (I've read an interview with him in a book on heavy metal singing). It all boils down to the fact that when you hear Barlow, you know it's him, there is no one who even comes close to him. Unique vocalists that can not be replicated in metal are rare which is why the Barlow worship exists.

Still, it's my honest and humble opinion that Barlow is a bit overrated.

NotS is one of the best metal albums of the 90s imo. It's a true classic.

I've been spinning Stormrider all week in work and in the car and I'm really digging it more that I thought. I've always thought it was good, but now something is really clicking with me.

I guess I never spent a good amount of time listening to it in the past. When I became a full-on Iced Earth fan, I grabbed up their entire discography pretty quickly without giving the individual albums the proper attention. It's certainly re-kindling my interest in the band's older material overall.

BURNT OFFERINGS (1995)

Matthew Barlow - vocals
Jon Schaffer - rhythm guitar
Randall Shawver - lead guitar
Dave Abell - bass
Rodney Beasley - drums

Produced by Jon Schaffer and Tom Morris

Another major lineup change as Matt Barlow joins the band. He certainly has the voice (and the hair) to get the job done. There's also a new drummer.

Burnt Offerings is a real intense album. The songs sound even more aggressive than before, Barlow's vocals are sang in a lower register than Greely's and there's a sixteen and a half minute epic about going to hell (all nine of them).

1. Burnt Offerings
2. Last December
3. Diary
4. Brainwashed
5. Burning Oasis
6. Creator Failure
7. The Pierced Spirit
8. Dante's Inferno
.............. I. Denial, Lust, Greed
.............. II. The Prodigal, The Wrathful, Medusa
.............. III. The False Witness, Angel of Light

Here there are two great personal favourites: the opener Burnt Offerings and the epic Burning Oasis. The former being a great showcase of Barlow's abilities. Possibly the best Iced Earth chorus right there.

Spill your blood, offer me good omen
Make the sacrifice, the hour's close at hand
Burn your soul, offer me good omen
Take your very life, this I command!

Burning Oasis is a hidden gem and a personal favourite, but again, almost all the songs seem to have tempo changes and at least one kickass thrash metal break. None more famous than the last track on the album: A three part journey through Dante's Inferno is Schaffer's greatest undertaking (at least it was before Gettysburg a decade later). I never read the book, but certainly this seems like a great way to tell the story. It really does take several listens to fully appreciate this album. Last December is probably the only instant pleaser here.

Musically Burnt Offerings is not significantly different from the first two albums, and the Schaffer signature gallop is there (in your face, right from the opening track) but the guitars sound a bit different - maybe more 'modern' sounding, very heavy, but the older ones had better separation between instruments. The drum parts are also faster so that I wouldn't call the overall sound muddy or 'nu', but just more chaotic, I guess.

In conclusion, another great album. To me it lacks a bit of the appeal the first two had, but it is not any worse for sure. The songs are amazing, AGAIN. And obviously Barlow is a great singer. No complaints. Buy this album if you didn't already.

I'm sure I'm probably gonna be in the minority on this one -- but I actually like the first two Iced Earth albums better than this one.

I love Barlow, but he just wasn't in his element yet with Iced Earth on this one.

Now the follow-up, "The Dark Saga" goes down in history as Iced Earth's crowning achievement. But this one just never clicked with me for whatever reason.

In fact, I remember being a bit disturbed at the absence of Greely when this one came out.

However, this is still a good album and I like it. As I like all of Iced Earth's albums.

but this one is in the lower portion of their catalogue for me.

I actually agree that it's not in the top for me but I like it better then the first two.

This album was certainly more heavier and "darker" sounding than the first two albums. Not much changes from the original to the remaster, but I've had people swear to me that the remaster sounds less heavy. Maybe the clean up took away some of the atmosphere of the original?

I do prefer the original as one of the changes is an echo added to Barlow's voice, most notably in Burnt Offerings and Dante's Inferno.

Probably, my second favorite album. If it's not this one, it's Dark Saga.

Also, Schaeffer does not hold this album in high regard. Probably due to the fact that it took awhile for this album to be released through Century Media. The negative feelings certainly came through in this release.

Yeah, Jon doesn't like it, which is sad because it's a fantastic album. "Dante's Inferno" is easily in the top 5 best IE songs.

That's interesting that Jon doesn't like this album.

I do like it.

It's just one of my least faves from the band.

When I was busily running around trying to get caught up on the Iced
Earth discography in the mid 90s, this album was the toughest one to
find. I think I eventually ordered it direct from Century Media. By the time I got this one DARK SAGA was already out, so I was already hip to Barlow... and though I liked DARK SAGA well enough, I liked (and still do like) BURNT OFFERINGS a lot better. I don't understand why Schaffer hates it, it's an absolutely fantastic record. This is Iced Earth's darkest, gloomiest, nastiest album for sure. The "Dante's Inferno" epic trilogy @ the end is worth the album price all by itself. Other faves are the title track, "Brainwashed" and "Last December."

My favorite IE album with Barlow. I don't like it as much of NotS, but it's still a ripping disc. Haven't listened to it in ages though.

Probably the IE album I like the least. I really do need to spin it more though.

You guys ever heard Barlow's pre-Iced Earth band, Cauldron? Check this out:

rapidshare.com rapidshare.comCauldron__US_.zip

You'll notice some similarities between some of these songs and some on Burnt Offerings. (Unless you guys are too old school for downloads; no one is touching the stuff I upload. Haha.)

I have the Cauldron stuff as mp3's- It was actually much heavier than I expected.