Written by Daniell on 15.10.2011 at 18:46
Iced Earth always has 1 brilliant song on every album, that is far far ahead of anything else. For example, "Come What May", "The Clouding", "Damien". Sadly, there is no such song on "Dystopia".

Written by Valentin B on 15.10.2011 at 21:45

It does let off though imo later, and some songs go a bit too far with the Maiden worship like Equilibrium, the last part of Dark City and Tragedy.

Written by RavenKing on 15.10.2011 at 22:19
It sounds a lot like Maiden here and there, indeed. But at least it's like the old, good Maiden and not the crappy stuff they have been releasing for over two decades now.

Written by Uldreth on 16.10.2011 at 18:22

Well Days of Rage is relatively agressive but I don't like it, it just doesn't have anything else beyond agression, kind of like Violate, that is another song I never really understood why people like so much.

Written by Valentin B on 15.10.2011 at 21:45

I agree that all IE albums have one real stand-out track, i'd also add the self-titled track, Travel in Stygian, Dante, The Coming Curse and of course A Question of Heaven.

Imo this album also has one of those tracks, and it is the title track itself. It has the perfect combination of power, catchiness, and being generally epic, with the post-chorus vocal part sounding to me like a slight throwback to the insane epic "Travel In Stygian" from you know which album. Definitely the highlight of the album, and then to follow it up with such a good live anthem, is in my opinion a really nice way to start the album. It does let off though imo later, and some songs go a bit too far with the Maiden worship like Equilibrium, the last part of Dark City and Tragedy.

Written by DragonWisdom on 17.10.2011 at 16:06

Written by Valentin B on 15.10.2011 at 21:45

I agree that all IE albums have one real stand-out track, i'd also add the self-titled track, Travel in Stygian, Dante, The Coming Curse and of course A Question of Heaven.

Imo this album also has one of those tracks, and it is the title track itself. It has the perfect combination of power, catchiness, and being generally epic, with the post-chorus vocal part sounding to me like a slight throwback to the insane epic "Travel In Stygian" from you know which album. Definitely the highlight of the album, and then to follow it up with such a good live anthem, is in my opinion a really nice way to start the album. It does let off though imo later, and some songs go a bit too far with the Maiden worship like Equilibrium, the last part of Dark City and Tragedy.

For me, I think the stand out track is Anguish of Youth, its catchy as all hell, the lyrical structure is very Iced Earth and the course is a fucking ANTHEM! I have given this disc at least 3 consecutive spins and I keep coming back to that track. As far as the review, I agree with everything said. Stu kills it on this one and its a great step forward for that band.

Written by Hammer34 on 24.10.2011 at 20:21

I largely agree with the review, though I would say Dystopia is more than just solid; it's quite good IMO. Glorious Burden through Crucible I think are mixed bags with some strong moments, though I agree "Come What May" is about the only major highlight on Crucible. Horror Show I like a lot, but I feel like it has a lot of cool and "impressive" tracks on it vs. any that are my go-to, favorite IE songs. That said, I think Dystopia is the most "complete" IE album, in terms of being an immediate, great listen from start to finish, since Something Wicked. I would agree there is no "Coming Curse" on Dystopia---that one, stand-out, mind-blowing track---but it's a pretty strong collection with no "skips" IMO.

I was a big skeptic about Stu Block, but he won me over on this album. There are spots where the emulation of Barlow sounds a little too deliberate, but that's perhaps an intentional emphasis on Schaffer's part to show Block will do justice to the Barlow catalogue/style. As for the high-end singing, I actually prefer what Block does here to Ripper, and I also like the bits of more extreme vocals that Block injects here and there.

In some of the speedy riffs and heavier parts, but in particular slower songs like "Anguish Of Youth" and "End of Innocence" I hear a bit of Demons & Wizards influence. And, yes there are some blatant "Maiden moments," in "Dark City" especially, but they're so obvious they have to be intentional "homages" by Schaffer.

All in all a great return to form IMO. And the introduction of a young, capable singer, who can do justice to the past and bring something new to the table, bodes well for the future.

Written by Milena on 15.10.2011 at 18:11

I find this release awesome and would have rated it higher myself, but I'm not an Iced Earth fan so I don't know how it compares to others

Written by Doc G. on 26.11.2011 at 08:55

You and me both. A good chunk of it I think is Stu Block, he is a really versatile vocalist. I've always found Iced Earth sort of boring before this album. I liked The Glorious Burden when I first bought it when I was just getting into metal, but now I rarely listen to it. Aside from that I've never really been impressed by this band.

It's a bitter-sweet sort of thing. I really like Into Eternity and I would really like to see Stu stick with them, but I just have this feeling that he's going to leave them to dedicate more time to Iced Earth. On the other hand, he's performed really well here, and for me has sparked an interest in a band I don't normally care for. If what Barry says is true, and this is the only beginning, then I might start following this band more closely.