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October 8, 2008 |
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ICED EARTH - The Blessed And The Damned
Century Media (2004) |
8.5/10 |
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Book 1 - The Blessed
01. Burning Times
02. Wolf
03. The Hunter
04. Curse The Sky
05. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
06. Stormrider
07. Burnt Offerings
08. Travel In Stygian (Live)
09. Dark Saga
10. Written On The Walls
11. Damien
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Book 2 - The Damned
01. Angels Holocaust
02. Desert Rain
03. Last December
04. Watching Over Me
05. Pure Evil (Live)
06. The Path I Chose
07. I Died For You
08. Disciples Of The Lie
09. When The Night Falls
10. Jack
11. Iced Earth
12. Violate (Live)
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There is no doubt that ICED EARTH is one of the biggest, most respected and admired names in heavy metal. Ever since their debut album, "Iced Earth", in 1991, their music has captured the loyalty of fans from all over the world. With their pure authentic brand of aggressive metal, the band have continued to push forward and stand strong against the trends of modern mainstream music. Founding member, main songwriter and guitarist Jon Schaffer's dedication to creating music has been the focus of his life ever since the inception of the band back in 1988, and that same vision had remained solid throughout ICED EARTH's long-running career.
Century Media Records gave ICED EARTH their start with a multi-album record deal and was their home for over ten years. During the Century Media years, the band released several monumental albums that did extremely well all over the world and to honor the band's time spent with them, the label have compiled this first-ever "greatest hits" collection entitled "The Blessed And The Damned". Containing a total of 23 tracks, this two-disc set features over two hours of remastered material chronicling ICED EARTH's years with Century Media. Although cramming every single one of ICED EARTH's best songs into one package is literally impossible, "The Blessed And The Damned" is a very good compilation of most of the band's best material.
The set is divided into two parts: Book One (Disc 1) - The Blessed and Book Two (Disc 2) - The Damned. Book One opens up with the heavy-riffing "Burning Times", followed by "Wolf". It has some other well-known songs like the fan-favorite "Melancholy (Holy Martyr)", "Burnt Offerings", "Dark Saga", and my absolute favorite ICED EARTH song of all time, "Stormrider". The awesome power of the band's live stage presence can be heard in "Travel In Stygian", which is taken from their very popular live 3-disc set, "Alive In Athens". Book Two has some classic songs like "Iced Earth", taken from their debut album with original singer Gene Adam, as well as "The Path I Chose" from 1992's "Night Of The Stormrider". Other killer tracks such as "Jack", "Watching Over Me" and the crushing "Disciples Of The Lie" give this collection some real heavy weight.
It also has three tracks from "Days Of Purgatory", which were re-recorded with Matt Barlow - "Angels Holocaust", "Desert Rain" and "When The Night Falls". Other honorable mentions are two more live tracks taken from "Alive In Athens" - "Pure Evil" and "Violate". Personally, I would have preferred it if all the live tracks included on both discs were omitted and replaced by their original studio versions. The band's live glory is best captured on "Alive In Athens" itself, and is better left on that particular 3-disc package (in my humble opinion).
Included with this package is some very attractive cover artwork done by Russian fantasy artist, Leo Hao. When you unfold the booklet, it becomes a large illustration of heaven's angels preparing to do battle with hell's demons, which is essentially displaying the perpetual battle of good vs. evil. The 20-page booklet itself contains a full discography (with track listings), lyrics to all 23 songs and an extensive history of the band and what was happening at the time of each album. It also includes several writings by former Century Media publicist Loana dP Valencia, along with an in-depth look into the life and career of Jon Schaffer with commentary from Schaffer himself.
With "The Blessed And The Damned", Century Media bid their final farewell to one of their greatest family members and have done a good job in paying respect to ICED EARTH. Although some great songs such as "Vengeance Is Mine" and "Dante's Inferno" have been left out, this is a great compilation of some of the band's best material. Whether you are new to ICED EARTH or a seasoned veteran, "The Blessed And The Damned" is a worthy addition to your metal collection.
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