Iced Earth--Dark Genesis (2001/Century Media)
--.--
A boxset that's set up to be a comprehensive view of the band's early career, as its first three albums have been musically remastered, and for the first time ever the
band's late-80s demo, 'Enter the Realm', is now available on CD. The package comes as a hardcover case, with an extensive booklet held within. The band's history is
charted from guitarist's Jon Schaffer's youth, and there are numerous pictures from times past. All of the discs' lyrics are also added.
The remastered 'Iced Earth,'
'Night of the Stormrider,' and 'Burnt Offerings' all have much clearer and stronger distortion now--this is most evident on the first two albums. The biggest change in 'Burnt
Offerings' appears to be the mix, where background textures and effects now stand out more.
A fifth, all-new release is included entitled 'Tribute to the Gods'. This
disc will be released separately sometime in the Spring/Summer of 2002 (and thus is reviewed separately), and features covers from Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, AC/DC,
and more.
Other than the 'Tribute' disc, there's isn't much new here. The band had already re-worked many of its early-career tracks on the 'Days of Purgatory'
offering, and 'Alive in Athens' contained a good chunk of the catalog as well. Still, with all-new CD artwork and band information you can't find in too many other places,
most diehard IE fans will want to pick it up. The quality of the package isn't in dispute--it's top shelf.
TRACK LIST: DISC ONE--Iced Earth
DISC TWO--Night of the Stormrider
DISC THREE--Burnt Offerings
DISC FOUR--Tribute to the Gods
DISC FIVE--Enter the Realm (Demo): Enter The Realm/Colors/Nightmares/Curse the Sky/Solitude/Iced Earth
Back to Discography