The Album Reader Reviews:

	Title: Horror Show Artist: Iced Earth Label: Century Media Release Date: 6/26/01	There are currently 14 Reader Reviews of this album. Average Rating: 3.93 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Submitted by aeris2001 (7/21/02):
Iced Earth are just brilliant and I'm impressed by every new album I get. HORROR SHOW is no exception. While I miss the fast intensity of their first 3 albums, their stuff is solid. I only gave it 4 out of 5 because of minor flaws and filler tracks. here are my thoughts (remember, all opinion):
WOLF the most fun Iced Earth song I have heard (I have all 6 original albums), the chorus just makes me want to get up and party. 4 out of 5
DAMIAN is truely brilliant, excellent use of vocals to create a brilliant atmosphere combined with keyboard at start and end, with solid middle section. Even better then the SOMETHING WICKED trilogy songs. 5 out 5
JACK- basically to me it's a filler, an truely average song... not a bad song... but I won't listen to it much. 2 out 5
GHOST OF FREEDOM- brilliant song, slightly repetitive at times, but the end isawesome. 4 out 5
IM-HO-TEP- another brill one with a great chorus. 4 out 5
JEKYLL AND HYDE- another filler, improves over "Jack," but gets boring quite fast. 2 out of 5
DRAGON'S CHILD quite possibly the album's poorest track, maybe even poorest song in their 6 albums, few good moments, but it's zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 1 out of 5
TRANSYLVANIA- good solid iron maiden cover, I love instrumentals but this didn't set me on fire. Sorta like "Orion" from Master of Puppets, in that many ppl love it, to me average, still quite a HAPPY song which is poss why I don't love it. 3 out of 5
FRANKENSTEIN- another tasty song, similar to other songs earlier, and slight repetitive, but still great. 3.5 out of 5
DRACULA- truly terrific. Love the melodic intro, and as the heavy stuff kicks in, you can just feel his anger, and feel sorry for his pain. Its end is fitting, represents the endlessness of Dracula's pain and quest, and its futility to defeat god. 5 out of 5
THE PHANTOM OPERA GHOST- fav track of album. The intro, female vocals, emotional middle and lyrical content make it an classic. I wish they would use more female vocals to support barlow... Iced Earth's quality music with Wishmaster operatic type vocals would be, to me, the best band ever. 5 out of 5
Overall, brillant album. Not their best over all (Night of the Stormrider) but definitely not worst (Burnt Offerings ps, I think this worst album BUT, "Burnt Offerings" is my fav iced earth song and "Dante's Inferno" a masterpiece, the others except "Last December" bore me).
Here's where I rank it:
6-Burnt Offerings
5-Iced Earth
4-Horror Show
3-Dark Saga
2-Something Wicked This Way Comes
1-Night of the Stormrider
Still a MUST buy... never since old school Metallica (Kill..., Ride..., Master..., "Black") has there been such a great metal band.
(remember all this is opinion... many will disagree, these are my views)

Submitted by Red Man (5/18/02):
For those who like to "blow smoke up Jon Schaffer's ass" and "kiss Iced Earth's ass" every time they release something - hey, that's their thing. I'm not going to pass judgement on these people, at least not for now. Personally, though, I'd much rather just listen to a kickass album. Horror Show lets me do exactly that.
When I first heard about the concept based on classic horror characters, I was highly skeptical about just how good the album could possibly be. But as it ends up, Iced Earth have pulled off a masterpiece album here.
I'm not going to bother reviewing the album track by track or anything, because those details have already been touched on elsewhere on this web site. What I will say, though, is that each and every one of the songs is excellent - fast, dark, hard, heavy, crunching, rocking, ripping - whatever else you want to describe them as, you get the idea. Plus, the cover is a brilliant work of art.
Sadly, Iced Earth have left behind their old sound of straight-out thrash. Burnt Offerings a few albums ago saw the last of that. Schaffer doesn't have nearly as many genius speed riffs as he once did on songs like "Funeral", "Travel in Stygian", or "Dante's Inferno". Also, vocalist Matt Barlow isn't completely shoved aside from the music now, as vocalists were before to provide room for more showy jamming on the guitars.
But this doesn't mean that there's been a let-down in the quality of the music. While I'm going to miss the sound of Iced Earth's first three albums, just so long as subsequent albums are as great as Horror Show is, there's not going to be any complaining from me.

Submitted by Marc Champagne (3/4/02):
Iced Earth, Satan, monsters. Ahhh... malevolent heaven to my ears... The album's strength is that each track has a distinct musical signature, especially the almost funky intro and the Phantom of the Opera track, which ventures into new and promising territory for the band. The only thing that left me a tad disappointed (and which is the price to pay for the tracks' individuality) was the absence of a three-part 15 min. or so whopper of an album finale; but I guess I have been spoiled so fat by their previous work that I have grown picky. Never thought they could top Something Wicked, but they did (or equaled it, depending on the day).

Submitted by Ryan (10/28/01):
When I first heard of a new Iced Earth album coming out, I was beyond excited because of 3 reasons. 1) Iced Earth hasn't sold out yet and has no reason to. 2) Matt Barlow has become one of my new favorite vocalists right next to Warrel Dane. 3) Because Iced Earth is one of the greatest new metal bands to mix power and some thrash metal together. However, when I did manage to get my hands on Horror Show, I was a bit disappointed. They focused so hard on not selling out that they've lost most of the Iced Earth qualities that I loved. For those who don't understand, I'll try to break it down as best as I can.
Jon Shaffer's rhythm guitar riffs have always had a speedy tone to them that hooked me in the first place, along with the flow along vocals of Matt and Jon. Both of these aspects were missing on Horror Show due to now focusing more on thick chunky riffs & melodic vocals (mostly in the choruses). The only songs I really got into were "Jack" and "Dragon's Child." The lyrics of this album were great I'll admit, reflecting totally on what they were supposed to. But when I buy a metal album, lyrics are the last on the list that grab me. They could be the cheesiest lyrics ever, but if they had catchy riffs, quality drumming, and nice vocals, it would be a diamond to me. Sorry to "true" Iced Earth fans about this scoring, but a better bet would just be to back catalogue their "truly" better albums.

Submitted by Tom Bowman (10/19/01):
Alright, to those who gave it two skulls, fuck you this is awesome stuff and is an awesome tribute to horror movies and other horror related icons. Recently I've been making audio tapes of my favorite songs off of my CD collection and believe me it's big. Something Wicked and Horror Show-- it was tough to decide which were my favorites as they all were so kewl. I finally decided that from Horror Show I'd pick "Wolf," "Damien," "Jack," "The Mummy's Curse," "The Dragon's Child," "Frankenstein" and finally "Dracula." Yes, that's almost the whole CD, I don't care I love this CD to death. I brought it to a party and the person that threw the party had a gay brother who had a stereo system with a 5 CD changer. I put three CDs in. Of course I picked Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast, Iced Earth: Horror Show and Dokken: Back for the Attack. Two of these CDs I got back, however, Iced Earth... I was very upset when I discovered that it wasn't in the pile of CDs that had been removed from the stereo. I cried for days, that was one of my fav CDs. I hope to get it back on Tuesday though.
Well, those are my two cents plus a little extra.

Submitted by Eric (9/11/01):
Iced Earth is a pretty good band. Inspired by the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden, they seem to have become pretty popular among metalheads everywhere. This band has definitely had its fair share of good songs. Take "Dante's Inferno" for instance. They have also put out some pretty good albums, like Stormrider and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Thus having said that, this band is really not "that good." I mean, sure they have written some great songs, but they are not really inventing anything new. What sickens me is that this band is so "popular" to like. I have nothing wrong with a band getting popular, it is just I have something wrong with fans kissing the ass of everything a band puts out. And this is happening with Iced Earth.
On their latest album, Horror Show, I would say that Schaffer and company have come up with three real winners. "Wolf," "Damien" and "Phantom of the Opera Ghost" are all well written songs that reach some sort of climax. The rest of the album I find is way too pretentious. All this crap with the choir, the acoustic guitars, the mandelins, the keyboards etc. really turned me off. After Something Wicked This Way Comes I expected a heck of a lot more.

Submitted by L.S. BHAN (9/9/01):
Nothing personal against Analog_Kid, but frankly, he has no fucking clue what he's talking about. This is quite possibly Iced Earth's greatest album yet, excepting maybe Burnt Offerings (which is one of my top favorites, period). Every single song on here kicks major ass, even "Ghost of Freedom," which none but I seem to like.
"Wolf" kicks the album off in roaring fashion, with one of the heaviest and fastest moments in IE's enormous catalog. "Damien" follows up with the most intense power I've heard in a song; it perfectly fits the mood of "The Omen" movie (which just happens to be one of my favorites of all time). Absolutely chilling. After the last few notes fade out, "Jack" kicks in with some of the most intense riffing on Horror Show, and the rest of the song is pure metal bliss as well. "Ghost of Freedom" is next; I get the impression that I'm one of the few people to exist who likes it as much as the other tunes on here. If nothing else, it's an excellent showcase for Barlow's incredible talents. "Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse)" is up next, and has some cool lyrics alongside crunching riffs and some of the best soloing on the album (written by lead guitarist Larry Tarnowski, for once). Then comes "Jeckyl & Hyde", which, like "Jack" before it, once again has some great riffs. Track 7 is "Dragon's Child," and while it's not as great as everything else on here, it still kicks major ass. "Frankenstein" is next, and features Schaffer on lead vocals during the chorus. Then two more godly numbers close out the album. First is "Dracula," with some more great riffing, awesome lyrics and vocals-- everything that makes Iced Earth such an awe-inspiring band. Finally, track 10, "The Phantom Opera Ghost," closes out Horror Show with the second longest song on it (almost nine minutes, as opposed to "Damien" being a tad bit over nine), and some of the best moments on the album. Plus, we are treated to a guest female vocalist to boot-- and I'll say it now, I'm no sexist, but I don't care too much for women vocalists in metal. But with this song, Iced Earth has managed to successfully create a song utilizing both male and female vocals for the two characters, and I love it. One of their best, no doubt-- a fitting way to close out this monumental release.
What's not to like about 'Horror Show'? NOTHING, damn it, and this is why I'll never understand how anyone could ever rate it anything less than five skulls. Everything about HS is perfect. Hell, what do you expect, riff-meister Jon Schaffer essentially wrote the whole thing by himself anyway (excepting those places where Barlow wrote the lyrics or vocals melodies, and where Tarnowski contributed to the music of "Im-Ho-Tep"). This is why Schaffer is my single favorite songwriter, and it's because of what he writes that he is one of my favorite guitarists.
Iced Earth has quickly grown to be my favorite band. Horror Show is but one reason why. Buy this damn album, precious little else can even begin to compare.

Submitted by Analog_Kid (9/3/01):
Of all the Iced Earth releases, (including the self-titled debut) this is, for me, the easiest to throw onto the shelf... never to be heard from again. While it has its moments ("Damien," "Wolf" and "Phantom Opera Ghost"), there isn't enough good material here to make a decent E.P.! Sorry to all those of you reviewers who just love to blow smoke up Jon Schafer's ass but this is simply a cheesy, over-blown, boring release.
To me, this is the I.E. equivilent to Iron Maiden's No Prayer For The Dying: It's unnecessary, unwanted, undesireable and will find its way into bargain bins and used CD stores faster than a Christina Aguilerra CD single. After Something Wicked... I expected SO MUCH MORE from this band! This is a disappointment the likes of which I have never had. Avoid it and buy yourself a copy of Night Of The Storm Rider!

Submitted by Colin W. (8/9/01):
Horrow Show is a great follow up to the praised Something Wicked Comes This Way album. The concept behind the album is real cool, being about horror classic characters, and the lyrics don't come off as being cheesy. The sound retains all the great raw heaviness that Something Wicked did. Richard Christy as always put in a great performance. All the songs are really well written by Jon. I'm a bit confused why the non-horror song was near the beginning of the CD. I would have thought it would make more sense to make it last and call it a bonus track. The only other question I have is why people still call Iced Earth power metal. Am I the only one out there that see them as being a thrash band? They are just too heavy and non-cheesy to be power metal. I can't wait to see them with Judas Priest and Anthrax.

Submitted by Lee (8/7/01):
Not being such a big power metal fan anymore (too much cheese... Blind Guardian and Rhapsody fans you know who you are), I picked up this album based on the JC reviews. What do I think? A good album, not the masterpiece it is being hailed as though. Just too much cheese, especially in the very weak lyrics throughout coupled with (to me) a very thin sound. It has that annoying problem I find with all power metal, it just does not sound heavy to my ears, either the production or the vocals give it a fast, but not "heavy" feel to me. Complaints out of the way I will compliment now. The songs "Jack," "Damien" and "Phantom" absolutely smoke. Especially "Damien," which is a huge nine minute opus. Plus it is heavy as fuck and conveys the "Evil and horror" of this concept much better then the cheese found on songs like "Wolf" and "Dracula." Also for a Power metal vocalist Barlow really smokes. While I feel that hailing this album as a masterpiece is a huge overstatement it is still a solid and true slab of metal. A worthy addition to fans of any style. It hits the cheese line but doesn't go over the edge like so many others. Buy it, you will be happy, especially when you hear "Jack" and "Damien." Just skip the silly power ballad that is track 4 I believe.

Submitted by Kane (7/4/01):
Horror Show, the latest offering from Iced Earth, is not only a worthy album for Iced Earth fans, it's a worthy addition to any self-respecting metalhead's collection (Old school of Nu). The production is nothing less than awsome. Schaffer and Barlow seem to seamlessly feed back on one another this album instead of trying to find their own groove. This album has a much more "live" feel to it than some of their others. Highlight tracks are "Jack," which should stomp out any imitators out there, and "Ghost of Freedom," which is somewhat of a ballad, but hell I like it and it has a lot of heart, all the right potential for a good ballad in my eyes. Over all this CD is a purchase which many will most likely dismiss because of all the metal trends out there. Give it a chance at least, love it or loath it, at least you'll know it's there.

Submitted by Frodi Stenberg (7/15/01):
Man, was this worth waiting for!! YES YES AND YES IT WAS!! Three years have gone since Iced Earth released Something Wicked, which was a powermetal blaster. And now their newest offering is upon us, entitled Horror Show, and may I say that it's their best album, and one of the best executed concept albums ever. A concept album about horror movie figures, such as Damien from The Omen, The Wolfman and Dracula mixed with thrash/powermetal, sound quite exciting to me. Well, the album starts with the blistering "Wolf" which really does invite you into the show, followed by "Damien," which is one of the album's best songs; it has everything from calm acoustic passages and choir chanting, evil spoken dialogues-- perfect. "Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse)" is yet another masterpiece, and "The Phantom Opera Ghost" is, in my opinion, the best song and is also the closer. In this song Matthew Barlow and a woman sing together as a duo, and it works better than perfect. The album's atmosphere is incredibly dark and haunting, (remember Burnt Offerings) and the song structures are more complex and do seem to have parallels to the ones found on their Burnt Offerings album. The vocals of Matthew Barlow are just so powerful, man I think he's one of the best singers in metal music, it really shows on this album, without his vocals, this album would not have had the same outcome. A new drummer is also added; namely Richard Christy (Death, Control Denied), who has brought some of his technical drumming, and that also works perfect, not to mentioned the brilliant cover version of Iron Maiden's "Transylvania." The lyrics are quite intriguing (what did you expect), especially in the songs "Damien" and "Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse)," cool stuff. Brilliant album that will surely bring to the top of the metal scene in my opinion. Horror Show gets five skulls. Turn the lights off and put on Horror Show.

Submitted by Paul J. Brown (6/29/01):
Three long years have passed since I first discovered Iced Earth with their Something Wicked... album and in that time, I came to love them and acquire their entire back catalogue. Their heaviness, melismatic passages and ground-shattering (well, only as soon as Matt Barlow stepped up to the mike) vocals were a godsend. Now, Jon Schaffer and his cohorts return with the new album Horror Show.
Goddamn!
This is a totally new beast, this is a band evolved into a monster, which coincidentally is what the new masterpiece centers around: old school ghouls like Frankenstein and Dracula (Play "Dracula" live Jon!!), reality based fiends like Jack The Ripper and the AntiChrist ("Damien") and even literary stalkers like Mr. Hyde and the Phantom Of The Opera. The band, rounded out by veteran MVPs Steve DiGiorgio and Richard Christy add to the metal nature of Iced Earth on an overt level. The melody and speed are ever present, and even female vocals for the first time ever. I don't want to talk too much (NOOOOO, NOT ME!) so I'll leave you with this:
Buy the damn album, crank it, thrash to it.
End of story, metal bretheren!

Submitted by Beldin (6/29/01):
The latest from Iced Earth is finally here, and the consensus is... it's Iced Earth.
I purchased this album mainly because it's Iced Earth (no brainer) and the fact that the "Dracula" sampler/teaser smoked. I was definitely disappointed at first listen when none of the songs really seemed to be as powerful as "Dracula." I decided to give it some time, and having done so, my impression is definitely more positive.
So what about the songs? "Wolf" kicks things off in decent fashion, but it didn't pull me in nearly as much as "Burnt Offerings" or "Burning Times." "Damien" has a very nice intro to it, and the song as a whole is incredible. Sadly, most of the album is mediocre compared to Iced Earth's catalog. Don't get me wrong here-- I'm not saying this album is mediocre; it's simply not up to par with what Iced Earth normally puts out.
What don't I like? The songs (to me, obviously) don't feel as heavy and energetic as past works. Something about these don't get me off. The bass isn't as distinct as I'd like, also.
Matt's voice is definitely top notch here, as is the wicked drumming. I think Yunhui did a great job in her parts (though some of those parts were written with awful rhythm). It's really a shame that I can't give this album the 5 skulls I really want to give them. It's not as good as other Iced Earth albums, but it still blows the hell out of most albums on the market today.

Submitted by Splatt (6/14/01):
Originally discovered by myself on Napster, I had not even heard of the band Iced Earth. After downloading several songs, I fell in love, never had I heard such musical brilliance! Now, I have several of their CDs in my collection, and they are some of my favorites.
Horror Show has been playing on my mind for ages, I had heard it's a concept/story album, I didn't like this idea at first, but whoa! Has it paid off!
"Dracula" and "Damien" really blow me away, along with the rest of the CD!
Whoever ripped this pre release demo CD and posted it in the newsgroups, thank you for a wonderful listening pleasure, now all I have to do is sit and wait for the offical release so I can put that marvellous looking CD into my collection.
10 out of 10 !!!

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