“iced_earth”
Iced Earth
Alive in Athens
Century Media
This double-live album of true metal power takes the listener on a power metal stormride through the heart of Hellas. I’d not be surprised if the real cause the recent earthquakes in Athens just happened to be an aftershock from this show that was recorded in January 1999! Or maybe the riots aren’t about President Clinton, but they’re just a bunch of rabid Iced Earth metalheads…
This, their seventh release since 1990, is a mammoth undertaking. I gathered from the liner notes that recording both days of a 2-day Greek metal Bacchanalian – two separate sets – required serious some heavy metal planning. The best of their metal portfolio was presented to the sold-out (both nights) 5,000+ crowd and no doubt they wanted the “perfect” live album forever setting in polycarbonate Iced Earth’s work as the millennium turns.
Alive In Athens contains twenty-two of Iced Earth’s well-crafted, power metal operettas (their style is medium- to long-playing, 10-minute metal onslaughts) like “Dante’s Inferno,” “Travel In Stygian,” “Slave to the Dark,” and “Pure Evil.” The first night started with the intensely crunching “Burning Times” that addicts after the first riff! More fuel for the metal fire comes from “Stormrider,” “Dark Saga,” “Angels Holocaust,” and “Birth of the Wicked.” An excellent way to welcome in the new millennium of metal!
Century Media, 1453-A 14th St., Suite 324, Santa Monica, CA 90404; http://www.centurymedia.com
