ALBUM:HORROR SHOW
ARTIST:ICED EARTH
YEAR OF RELEASE:2001
RATING:****

Iced Earth's '01 release marks what is IMO, one of their best works to date. Aptly titled Horror Show, the disc features songs devoted to mosters drawn from classic films and literature, including Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. In addition, it has one song drawing from reality("Jack", based on Jack the Ripper), one supposedly drawn from The Omen but seemingly drawn more from the biblical story of the Antichrist than the vision The Omen presents, and one song drawn from no real source aside from respect for soldiers who have died in combat. It has a little something for everybody, but without sounding disjointed or thrown together. Over the course of the 55 minute album, we get:"Jack", "Jeckyl and Hyde", and "Wolf", bringing back the Stormrider days, "Frankenstein", a slower, darker, doomier track that recalls the Burnt Offerings era(and has some lead vox in the chorus from Jon Schaeffer as well as Matt), "Damien", a 9 minute epic track with stylistic similarities to their recent trilogies(both Something Wicked and The Dark Saga), "Ghost of Freedom", a typically well done IE ballad, and "The Phantom Opera Ghost", another epic which features both male and female lead vocals and includes several styles, both calm and aggressive. Rounding out the album are "Im-Ho-Tep", a mid-pacer which features some nifty Egyptian style melodies, "Dragon's Child", a mid-paced song, and the least impressive(though not a bad song) track on the disc(not counting the cover song) IMO, and "Dracula", which starts acoustically, builds into a really fast paced number, and closes with a layered chorus and guitar leads that remind one of Blind Guardian. Those who get the limited edition also get a second disc that includes an hour long interview with Jon Schaeffer and a cover of Iron Maiden's "Transylvania"(which is well done, though I'd have preferred they cover a song with vocals). Overall, there should be enough variety on this disc to appeal to both fans of the newer, calmer stuff, *and* fans of the older thrashier stuff. Highlights of the disc include "Dracula", "Frankenstein", and "The Phantom Opera Ghost", though there's really no bad songs on the entire disc.

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