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A possible blueprint to the band's finest hour yet to be recorded.-
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| Iced Earth: Dystopia |
Power Metal, Thrash Metal
Century Media Records
October 18th, 2011
- Dystopia - 5:49
- Anthem - 4:55
- Boiling Point - 2:47
- Anguish of Youth - 4:42
- V - 3:39
- Dark City - 5:42
- Equilibrium - 4:31
- Days of Rage - 2:17
- End of Innocence - 4:07
- Tragedy and Triumph - 6:41
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| Review Information |
Release length: 45:10
Review posted on October 9th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 7.5/10 |
 
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Iced Earth (1990) • Night of the Stormrider (1991) • Burnt Offerings (1995) • The Dark Saga (1996) • Something Wicked this Way Comes (1998)
Horror Show (2001) • The Glorious Burden (2004) • Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 (2007)
The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked (Part 2) (2008) • Dystopia (2011)
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| EP(s): |
The Melancholy EP (1999) • Frankenstein/Ghost of Freedom (2001) • 5 Songs (2011)
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| Single(s): |
The Reckoning (2003) • Setian Massacre (2007) • Overture of the Wicked (2007) • I Walk Among You (2008) • Dante's Inferno (2011) (2011)
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| Demo(s): |
Studio Demos '89 (1989) • Enter the Realm (1989)
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| Compilation(s): |
Days of Purgatory (1997) • Dark Genesis (Box Set) (2002) • Tribute to the Gods (2002) • The Blessed and the Damned (2004)
Slave to the Dark (Box Set) (2008) • Enter the Realm of the Gods (2008) • Box of the Wicked (Box Set) (2010)
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| Live CD(s): |
Alive in Athens (1999) • Festivals of the Wicked (2011)
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| DVD(s): |
Gettysburg (1863) (2005) • Alive in Athens (2006) • Festivals of the Wicked (2011)
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| Review |
Iced Earth has stood the test of time and the many quakes that seem to have devastated the band's line-up on more then one occassion. The list of members to the group that have been left behind for one reason or another is astounding and perhaps rivals some of the other acts in the world who consider line-ups a revolving door, such as bands like Annihilator. Of course, there was no line-up change more significant then the departure of Matt Barlow for Tim "Ripper" Owens, and then Matt's return, only to retire from singing to focus on his career as a policeman. This left the doors open for a new vocalist, and instead of finding Owens back at the helm, especially given his time was the most successful commercially for the band, was a man who could answer the cries for Barlow's signature voice: Stu Block of Into Eternity fame. But, does this change mean a return to the vintage Iced Earth sound, or is this going to be an album that leaves the band at a disadvantage trying to work him in?
Much like any Iced Earth album, Dystopia has that cleaner production with heavy bass-driven sound with varying atmospheres. A good deal of the music here sounds like early material by the band, while some songs retain that sound and atmosphere of the Owens-era Iced Earth, such as with "Anthem" and it's more marching-esque approach. The guitars sound good on the recording, having a decent volume that doesn't dwarf the additional deep bass that supports them thanks to a more traditional sound against some lower twangy chords, but that last part is usually in an effort to match the atmosphere or just overall sound of the song. The drums of course have that a decent thud to the bass kicks with snares that sound similar to them, adding to that bass-driven sound while others sound pretty rich and loud,, but the cymbols feel a little too low in volume, leaving these to come off a little weak in the final mix sadly, but are not horrific or in any way make the album or any of the songs unlistenable. In fact, these sound a lot better on the slower tracks, like the afforementioned "Anthem" and definitely on "Anguish of Youth" compared to the faster songs of the release. Sadly this instrument isn't the only thing that feels restrained thanks to the audio, as the guitars and bass sound good, but don't feel as strong in the audio, as if being held back due to the audio and not being given the chance to be as heavy as they could be. The vocals are pretty dominant in the mix too, varying between the lower singing and some higher falsettos, never really sounds restrained as far as the performance or volume goes.
Despite some of the audio issues, Dystopia still has some impressive songs on the album, and "Dystopia" cements the band's interest in returning to their earlier sound nicely, though also shows some of it's faults. Due to the aforementioned faults, much of the music on the recording doesn't quite sound as full, and this track suffers from it for the main verses, though the chorus and building up to it sounds fantastic through tighter guitars that fill the music up nicely by the time the infectious as hell chorus kicks in and gives off a truly remarkable performance by the band, and emotionally gripping vocals that any devoted Iced Earth fan will easily be moved by, all leading to a song that will leave you headbanging along with every twist and turn of the melancholic sound, post-marching introduction of course. The hollower sound doesn't quite follow through to the next faster song, "Boiling Point," which ends up being another one of the album's strongest tracks. The song's more energetic sound compared to the title track, as well as the extra bass kick presence filling the music a little more really makes the song sound fantastic all around.
But for as captivating as the vocals on "Dystopia" can be, the more captivating performances can easily be found on the slower tracks. "Anthem" is literally just that, and thanks to the slower pace the music allows the bass to come through more, which makes the experience richer overall, but still feels a bit held back in some cases, though never during the chorus of any song here. The performance on this track by each member of the band is simply astounding and will leave you singing along the entire time regardless of whether you know the lyrics or not, or picking up your instruments and trying to immitate the music right away. The impact that this song, as well as the stunning "Anguish of Youth" and it's moving music and vocals, manages to remain for a good while afterwards, even as you continue through the album and meet up with other rich sounding experiences such as the entire "Dark City" and it's more energetic and aggressive sound that doesn't quite let up on it's pace. But it's this track that finds a bit of a shift in the vocals, having more falsettos used in the background against the deeper Barlow-esque vocals that have adorned much of the album. These shifts are not bad in any sense and often match the more aggressive material that follows, especially the shorter track "Days of Rage." Of course the song has a simpler approach to the faster sound due to the length, and even the lyrics feel that way with the chorus simply being the song title over and over, but this comes off more like it's meant to incite the mosh pit at live shows then anything. This isn't the most gripping or engaging track, but it's still a good deal of fun to listen to, though the restrained less-edge-driven sound of the album does really make you want to get up and start a mosh wherever you stand.
And that becomes one of the only really hindering tracks on here, and it's because of the audio issues this album seems to have and were highlighted earlier. The only other song on here that feels weak in any sense is the song "End of Innocence," and that's more because of the mainstream sound of the song. The chorus allows the darker, heavier Iced Earth sound to shine through as the chorus tries to recapture the slower emotional sound of "Anthem" or even "Anguish of Youth," which it does an ok job at, especially towards the end when there are background vocals layered over the leads, but overall the song feels more based in an Alternative Rock ballad style with a vocal performance that largely resembles the more mainstream Rock type of vocals you find at the start of "Anguish of Youth." Again, the band also brings in the Owens-era sound of The Glorious Burden through random marching segments, which actually start the album off on "Dystopia," as well as go into the start of the closing track "Tragedy and Triumph" which carries that same atmosphere of that period of the band's music by sound heavy but having a lighter atmosphere that feels more upbeat and reflecting a modern war instead of the previous Gettysburg-related war themes in atmosphere and lyrics. This track also feels a bit restrained in the performance itself, especially in the vocals when you want a more energetic sound to them, largely in the chorus, as well as heavily mainstream, which isn't bad but really doesn't fit the flow of the album in any sense and feels more like a bonus cover track then an actual Iced Earth original. It's great to see the band branching out a bit, but with this and varying of the two larger known and respected periods of the band's sound, it leaves the release sometimes feel unsure of itself and the directiont he band wants to go with it.
Dystopia is far from a bad album, but it's also not one of the group's brightest moments. The audio here finds the music sometimes coming through a little more hollow then it should be during the faster tracks, the slower songs are great but show a more Alternative Rock sense that seems to grow as you continue through each track, and the closing to Dystopia doesn't quite seem to fit the flow of the album while the mixing of different eras of Iced Earth end up giving it a slight sense of uncertaintly to what the band wants the music and presence to sound like. But, what is presented here is the blueprint to what can only be described as their most important album in the band's career that has yet to be made. All the pieces are shown off nicely here, allowing for some genuinely moving passages and songs that make one hell of a strong, memorable impact on the listener. Fans of this band will simply rejoice at this album, but walk away slightly unimpressed due to these faults, as well as hopeful that such a strong, yet heavily varied release is a sign of the good things to come from this powerhouse of a group. Iced Earth doesn't necessarily disapoint with Dystopia, but it does have some faults you wouldn't normally attribute to this group, putting this album one step behind some of their more career progressing releases.
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