Genre: Thrash / Power / Heavy Metal
Country: USA
Members: Jon Schaffer - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Stu Block - Lead Vocals
Troy Seele - Lead Guitar
Freddie Vidales - Bass Guitar
Brent Smedley - Drums
Brent Smedley - Drums
Website: http://www.icedearth.com/
This is it. I'd been periodically checking Youtube for a taste of what Stu and ICED EARTH sound since Matt's departure, about twenty days before the official album release I bumped into a good sample that really cheered me up; a remake of the song "Dante's Inferno" showed that Stu would fit well in ICED EARTH, bringing his own elements in the band but not carving a brand new route in metal. Dystopia is far better than the 2008 album if you ask me (the crucible of man. You can read the minquisition here). The album is more power than thrash, yet with the same, well known thrash riffs by the ingenious soul of ICED EARTH, Jon Schaffer. As written above, Stu Block carried with him a part of his former band (INTO ETERNITY, Canada, melodic, death, power, thrash, almost every genre of metal, worth giving it a try), such as the remarkably high pitched vocals at times. There are some people saying "I could swear that this was Barlow", they are not quite off the point. The harsh and low vocals are left unchanged, there is no great change in the singing in general and this is, to my mind, a proof that Stu is really open minded, versatile and hard-working. This switch won't bother the loyal fan, I really welcomed Stu.
Talking about the instruments' parts, ICED EARTH have added more melody to their songs than in their last album releases. At least I can hear some solo parts that are quite interesting and not simple as it used to be (this adds to the fact that the album is more into power metal), and the two ballads can make Dystopia sound quite complete. "Anguish of Youth" firstly gave me the impression that it is the successor of "I died for you" from the Dark Saga album. "Tragedy and Triumph", the longest track on the album, has a dim connection to the Iron Maiden song "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (the second riff really brings me that song to mind) and to "the Incurable Tragedy" by Into Eternity (the last chorus sung by Stu is quite alike to the song's main melody). This doesn't make the whole album boring at all, on the contrary, it's really interesting, the new singer can draw even more attention.
To sum up, I highly recommend Dystopia. Counting 2-3 legendary songs and about the same number of interesting songs can't go unnoticed. The Deluxe Edition can be really good gift for any metal fans!
My favourite songs on the album:
- Dark City
- Anthem
- Anguish of Youth
- Iron Will
This is it. I'd been periodically checking Youtube for a taste of what Stu and ICED EARTH sound since Matt's departure, about twenty days before the official album release I bumped into a good sample that really cheered me up; a remake of the song "Dante's Inferno" showed that Stu would fit well in ICED EARTH, bringing his own elements in the band but not carving a brand new route in metal. Dystopia is far better than the 2008 album if you ask me (the crucible of man. You can read the minquisition here). The album is more power than thrash, yet with the same, well known thrash riffs by the ingenious soul of ICED EARTH, Jon Schaffer. As written above, Stu Block carried with him a part of his former band (INTO ETERNITY, Canada, melodic, death, power, thrash, almost every genre of metal, worth giving it a try), such as the remarkably high pitched vocals at times. There are some people saying "I could swear that this was Barlow", they are not quite off the point. The harsh and low vocals are left unchanged, there is no great change in the singing in general and this is, to my mind, a proof that Stu is really open minded, versatile and hard-working. This switch won't bother the loyal fan, I really welcomed Stu.
Talking about the instruments' parts, ICED EARTH have added more melody to their songs than in their last album releases. At least I can hear some solo parts that are quite interesting and not simple as it used to be (this adds to the fact that the album is more into power metal), and the two ballads can make Dystopia sound quite complete. "Anguish of Youth" firstly gave me the impression that it is the successor of "I died for you" from the Dark Saga album. "Tragedy and Triumph", the longest track on the album, has a dim connection to the Iron Maiden song "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (the second riff really brings me that song to mind) and to "the Incurable Tragedy" by Into Eternity (the last chorus sung by Stu is quite alike to the song's main melody). This doesn't make the whole album boring at all, on the contrary, it's really interesting, the new singer can draw even more attention.
To sum up, I highly recommend Dystopia. Counting 2-3 legendary songs and about the same number of interesting songs can't go unnoticed. The Deluxe Edition can be really good gift for any metal fans!
My favourite songs on the album:
- Dark City
- Anthem
- Anguish of Youth
- Iron Will
9/10
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