The Glorious Burden
(2004, SPV)
After
spending much of their career focusing on dark fantasy and similar themes,
The Glorious Burden marks a turn towards reality for Iced Earth. The album
specifically covers events in world history, and because history is often
defined by conflict and tragedy, the tone remains just as dark, epic, and
powerful as previous works from the band. The album goes as far back as the
fifth century A.D. with Atilla the Hun's ravages across Europe, and as far
forward as the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. In between, there is
the American Revolution ("Declaration Day", "Valley
Forge"), the Napoleonic Wars ("Waterloo"), and World War I
("Red Baron/Blue Max"). The album's centerpiece, however, is "Gettysburg
(1863)", a three-part, 32-minute epic that tells the tale of the defining
battle of the American Civil War. Backed up with a full orchestra and led
by the vocals of new singer Tim Owens (ex-Judas Priest), the music portrays
the tremendous power and emotion that must have been present when those two
great armies clashed, with the fate of a nation hanging in the balance. Taken
as a whole, The Glorious Burden proves that some of our most amazing and
resonant stories come not from the imagination of mankind, but rather, from
our real-life deeds, for good and ill, throughout all of human history.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
1 - The Star-Spangled Banner
2 - Declaration Day
3 - When the Eagle Cries
4 - The Reckoning (Don?t Tread On Me)
5 - Greenface
6 - Attila
7 - Red Baron/Blue Max
8 - Hollow Man
9 - Valley Forge
10 - Waterloo
11 - When the Eagle Cries (Unplugged)
Disc 2 - Gettysburg (1863):
1 - The Devil to Pay
2 - Hold At All Costs
3 - High Water Mark
Band:
Jon Schaffer - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Tim Owens - Lead Vocals
James MacDonnough- Bass Guitar
Richard Christy - Drums
Guest Musicians:
Recorded at:
Morrisound Studios - Tampa, Florida
Produced by Jim Morris and Jon Schaffer
