Description

Limited cassette box featuring 4 albums on cassette. Limited 500 copies

Iced Earth
By the time they recorded their eponymous debut, heavy metal traditionalists Iced Earth were seasoned veterans, having gradually climbed their way to the surface of a Florida club scene swimming with hundreds of death metal bands. And it shows, for despite a few production kinks, their sound (combining a tremendous Iron Maiden influence with a few thrash metal tricks, namely double kick drums) was almost fully developed. Led by rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, the group storm their way through a series of galloping anthems filled with guitar harmonies, complex time changes, and admirable musical chops, especially from lead guitarist Randall Sawver. Written on the Walls, Colors, The Funeral and When the Night Falls are only a few of the highlights — most of which were later re-recorded with new players for 1997’s Days Of Purgatory compilation. Purists may prefer the raw original versions.

Night Of The Stormrider
Iced Earth’s second effort is a concept album with a mystical, horrific story line. It traces the path of a man who is betrayed by religion and turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth. Through it all, he feels no remorse for his deeds, and upon reaching the end, numbly accepts his fate of eternity in Hell. Musically, the band picked up a new singer and drummer for this album. The singing is a definite improvement from the debut, ranging from a powerful growl to a Halford-like scream. Such skill is necessary to portray the wide range of feeling on this album. There’s quite a bit of background keys on this disc, some choral moaning, and a memorable piano outro, which all add to the dark mood. There are also several excellent acoustic passages seamlessly interwoven with the driving guitar riffs. The music meshes perfectly with the story, magnifying the hatred, manic joy, confusion, and sadness present in the lyrics. After listening to this musical masterpiece, one cannot help but to feel some of the sadness and guilt that the Stormrider was unable to feel for himself.

Burnt Offerings
After a four-year absence, which, in retrospect, actually spared them from the abuse suffered by most metal bands during the peak years of alternative rock, Iced Earth returned to action with 1995’s Burnt Offerings. Known for their uncompromising defense of epic classic metal, the band gets right back to work with the elaborate title track’s surprising mix of soft piano tinklings, chorused vocals, double kick drums, and crushing guitars. Remarkably, it all seems to work, and while his ultra-dramatic vocal style occasionally verges on the absurd, resourceful new vocalist Matthew Barlow ultimately carries the day on such standout tracks as Creator Failure and Brainwashed. Then, just when you thought things couldn’t get any more grandiose, the band embarks upon the ponderous, 16-minute trilogy (something which would become a tradition for concluding subsequent releases) that is ?Dante’s Inferno — a piece of daunting complexity that will no doubt terrify as many as it delights. Still, classic metal has often been about pomp anyway, and this is what Iced Earth is all about, take it or leave it.

The Dark Saga
Iced Earth continues to mature and evolve with their fourth release. “The Dark Saga” is a concept album based on the popular Spawn comic book series. It tells the story of a man who sells his soul in order to return to his true love on Earth. But he soon discovers that she is married to his own best friend. He is left completely alone in the world, and although he has good inside, he is influenced by dark forces. Everything that he desires is denied, even his own death. Fans of earlier Iced Earth albums might notice the change in the musical style to fit with this dark love story. The focus is less on technical musicianship (although the playing is still as impeccable as ever), and more on creating a complete story through sound and words. Thus, the music is generally more dark, emotional, melodic, and simple than other Iced Earth albums. This is not to say that the songs are uninteresting; to the contrary, some of the most amazing Iced Earth songs appear on this album. The crushing heaviness and power remains, but it is entwined with beauty and grace, creating Iced Earth’s most thoughtful and emotional work to date.

Track list:
Cassette 1: Iced Earth
1. Iced Earth
2. Written On The Walls
3. Colors
4. Curse The Sky
5. Life And Death
6. Solitude
7. Funeral
8. When The Night Falls

Cassette 2: Night Of The Stormrider
1. Angels Holocaust
2. Stormrider
3. The Oath I Choose
4. Before The Vision
5. Mystical End
6. Desert Rain
7. Pure Evil
8. Reaching The End
9. Travel In Stygian

Cassette 3: Burnt Offerings
1. Burnt Offerings
2. Last December
3. Diary
4. Brainwashed
5. Burning Oasis
6. Creator Failure
7. The Pierced Spirit
8. Dante’s Inferno:
a) Denial, Lust, Greed,
b) The Prodigal, The Wrathful, Medusa,
c) The False Witness, Angel Of Light

Cassette 4: The Dark Saga
1. Dark Saga
2. I Died For You
3. Violate
4. The Hunter
5. The Last Laugh
6. Depths Of Hell
7. Vengeance Is Mine
8. The Suffering: Scarred
9. Slave To The Dark
10. A Question Of Heaven