Artist: Iced Earth
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 1995
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: Burnt Offerings Artist: Iced Earth Label: Century Media Records Release Date: 1995 Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Slither's Review:
Jump in the wayback machine with me all ye who graduated high school around the 2000 mark. As a metal fan during those formative years it is likely that opinions were formed and solidified concerning genre taste that would last a lifetime. It is also likely there are a few virginal steps into the genre that some would rather forget or at the very least explain away with creative excuses. As we approach my sophomore year the varsity locker room images many would rightly call horrifying will appear. Envision if you will three types of band shirts in my repertoire and three bands whose albums appeared exclusively in the disc changer featured prominently in that same locker room; Pantera, Metallica, and Korn. To paraphrase one of the more ubiquitous metal denizens of the internet, "My universe began with Kill em' All and ended with Reinventing the Steel." My taste may have been slightly more diverse, but owning a few Ozzy records and one scary brutal death metal album I was afraid to listen to (Eaten Back to Life) can not explain away who I was during that time, nor am I ashamed of it. The turning point away from jock rock is a clear one in my epic tale of metal, marked by two events. In 1999 my then drummer gave me a copy of Burnt Offerings by a band called Iced Earth, and in 2000 I stumbled across a website called Metal Judgment and purchased the Testament album they gave 5 skulls to. The former recording is the one which I give classic status to this week.While at the time of my receiving this album I would never have cared to make such a distinction, Burnt Offerings is essentially a thrashing power metal version of early Therion. The raw power and sense for thrash riffs infused with classical melody present here would never again be revisited by this band after their quite dramatic formula shift on The Dark Saga; this is easily their heaviest work. The clutter of odd time signatures are ignored on this album in favor of a straightforward and honest approach that needs only the occasional profound tempo shift from Rodney Beasley's drum kit and the staunch melody laced throughout each carefully planned riff. Riffs brought to life by the godlike right hand of John Schaffer, the only man I can think of in metal deserving of guitar hero status for the work of his pick hand rather than his fretwork. The animated malevolence here marks Burnt Offerings as an album that even the most dour opponent of clean vocals must appreciate.
The third time was the proverbial charm for Iced Earth, this 3rd album saw both their 3rd drummer Rodney Beasley whose kit work is matched only by Richard Christy and the 3rd most perfect vocal match for the band in Mathew Barlow. Though Jon Schaffer himself may be in the camp casting stones at the mix on this album I tend to disagree on what determines an appropriate level of production for an Iced Earth album. I will readily admit that I am not fond of the Morrisound approach featured on the band's first two releases but the smothering weight of Burnt Offerings which exemplifies both the plodding nature of the rhythm section and the bass guitar's tendency to strike like an executioner's axe seems perfectly appropriate for the album's diabolical subject matter. The vocals sit mired amidst the suffocating guitar tone and between the Schaffer/Barlow dual vocal attack, gut-rattling growls and screeching highs are produced which give this album more emotion and tasteful relevance than the vast majority of whom similar accolades are heaped upon. This album highlights all the best qualities of power metal with epic songs that are truly deserving of the term all tempered with a blistering thrash knack for ruthless riffs. If you suffer from the impression that all power metal is flowery and only death and black metal have the ability to evoke pure evil then I boldly suggest a quick removal of head from ass and the expedient purchase of Burnt Offerings.
"Abandon All Hope Who Enter Here."
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