Band:	Iced Earth
Album:	The Melancholy E.P.
Style:	Heavy metal, US power metal
Release date:	1999

01. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
02. Shooting Star [Bad Company cover]
03. Watching Over Me
04. Electric Funeral [Black Sabbath cover]
05. I Died For You
06. The Ripper [Judas Priest cover]
07. Colors [live]

Following the excellent album Something Wicked This Way Comes, Iced Earth released The Melancholy EP including the studio versions of excellent ballads such as 'Melancholy [Holy Martyr]', 'Watching Over Me' and 'I Died For You' but also three covers and a previously unreleased live track from their must Alive In Athens.

Let's go to the essential, the studio tracks are all great ballads but if you own the albums, there's no surprise because they are exactly identical to the originals. Point one. On the other hand, the covers are brand new. 'Shooting Star' is a good one, but it doesn't sound like Iced Earth at all. Same thing for 'Electric Funeral' [originally Black Sabbath] and 'The Ripper' [Judas Priest]. In my opinion, the best of the three is 'The Ripper'. But once again, any cover made by Iced Earth sounds exactly like the original. So, it's new but standard [but still well done].

Now, the only very interesting track is the live version of 'Colors' [from their first album Iced Earth] and that song is from the Alive In Athens' sessions, always a certificate of great quality. And yes, that version rocks a lot. Though, I don't know why it wasn't included on the original Alive In Athens, seeing that 'Colors' is way much better than some others on that album. But then, I guess when you have so many great songs, you are led to make choices.

Conclusion? Well, a great tune with the previously unreleased version of 'Colors' live in Athens, three average covers and three great ballads, that makes The Melancholy EP worth checking out!