On stage: Iced Earth

 
- Waldrock Festival
 
- June 1998
 
- Burgum (NL) -


 
- W.O.A.
 
- Aug. 2000
 
- Wacken (D) -


 
- Iced Earth
 
- Jan. 2002
 
- Hardenberg (NL) -


 
- Bang-Your-Head
 
- June 2004
 
- Balingen (D) -


 
- Iced Earth, Annihilator & Turisas
 
- Oct. 2007
 
- Cologne (D) -


 
- RockHard Festival
 
- May 2008
 
- Gelsenkirchen (D) -


 
- Bang-Your-Head
 
- June 2008
 
- Balingen (D) -


 
- Judas Priest & Iced Earth
 
- June 2008
 
- Düsseldorf (D) -


  
- Saxon & Iced Earth
  
- Feb. 2009
  
- Cologne (D) -


 
- RockHard 2011
 
- June 2011
 
- Gelsenkirchen (D) -


 
- W.O.A.
 
- Aug. 2011
 
- Wacken (D) -


  
- Iced Earth
  
- Oct. 2011
  
- Bochum (D) -


 
- Iced Earth, White Wizzard &: Fury UK
 
- Nov. 2011
 
- Birmingham (GB) -

- Iced Earth, White Wizzard &: Fury UK -
- date - November 5th 2011 - Birmingham (GB), Academy 2 -






 

  


  

Fury UK were the band to open the night, and what a band. Not one of the musicians was lacking in skill, and they were a pleasure to behold. Front man Chris Appleton is undeniably a massive show-off, and this suits Fury UK's stage style just fine. The audience clearly loved the excellent fret-smashing on show and cheered, giving the band the praise which they clearly deserved. Not many bands are faultless - that's a lot to boast - but Fury UK, of all bands, arguably are, and even if they aren't usually then they certainly were this night. Not all 21st century heavy metal is dull and terrible, and Fury UK could - and should - show the world how it's done. This was an outstanding opening set, and really set the tone for the rest of the night.



White Wizzard were up next, and they seemed to have a couple of problems (although nothing major). The band's sound was terrible (the actual sound itself, not the music or the songs), and although there were occasionally breaks from the crackling of a microphone or the screeching of a guitar, the sound quality seemed to fluctuate for most of their set. The band didn't give up though, and (perhaps grudgingly) finished their set. There seemed to be quite a few White Wizzard fans in the audience, and even they didn't seem too thrilled. The problem seemed to be that no-one in the band apart from vocalist Michael Gremio really seemed to put any effort into the show, and it was fairly obvious to say the least. Their set drew on, and in spite of the blatant flaws, White Wizzard's show was enjoyable for the most part. Songs included Over The Top, 40 Deuces and High Speed GTO, and they weren't played badly, but rather without enthusiasm.



Iced Earth - the name is almost sacred. The band's performance this evening was exceptional, impressive, magnificent, momentous, phenomenal - any other positive adjective one could think of! The concentration and hard work that was put into the show was so obvious, and it paid off greatly. Stu Block was excellent at 'socializing' with the audience as it were, and he was such an amicable man - not to mention an outstanding singer. There are still, to this day, arguments and rows amongst fans of Iced Earth as to who the greatest vocalist for the band has been. Could Stu Block be the best vocalist that the band has had? Absolutely! Hopefully he shall grace the band with his presence for many years to come. This show was stunning; it felt like Iced Earth had never done a better show in their life (although they probably have). With a set-list consisting of Dystopia, Angels Holocaust, Slave To The Dark, V, Stand Alone, When The Night Falls, Damien, Dark City, Anthem, Declaration Day, Tragedy And Triumph, Dante's Inferno and Iced Earth - a brilliant selection of songs from their latest album 'Dystopia' - there was no room for complaint.



Remember, remember, the 5th of November - White Wizzard, Iced Earth and fun!

  
  






Stephanie Malin



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- Iced Earth - October 30th 2011 - Bochum (D), Zeche -






 

  


  





















  
  

A new chapter in the history of Iced Earth started with Dystopia and the first show of their Dystopia World Tour was scheduled for Bochum. I was curious to see Iced Earth with their new singer Stu Block, but also wanted to see Fury UK and White Wizzard. But then I had a nice conversation over a cup of coffee, well several cups - and missed the support bands. As I'm going to see Iced Earth again on this tour, there will be another chance.



Finally it was time for Iced Earth to hit the stage! They kick off with Dystopia and head into a show full of great  tracks - new and old. A perfect opener, coz so Mr. Block could show his talent. Next in line Burning Times and Angels Holocaust, two classics where Stu had to proof that he's the right guy to step into Matt's shoes. Stu doesn't try to copy Matt Barlow, he tries to present the older Iced Earth songs in his own way, but without changing them too much.  After Slave To The Dark and V they offered the threesome Stand Alone, When The Night Falls and Damien, all songs which they play live, even if not every time around. Jon Schaffer, Troy Seele and Freddie Vidales were firing riffs and putting on quite a show which gave Block space to get into it. It was the first show for this line-up and so not everything worked perfectly, but I'm sure they will get into the groove soon. With Anguish Of Youth they gave the fans a short break, the power ballad off Dystopia won't replace I Died For You for me, but it's almost as good. I have no doubt that in future some melancholy and expressive tunes will find their way onto the set list. Personally I'm curious to hear how Watching Over Me, Melancholy and The Hunter will sound when Stu Block is singing them. But then Jon Schaffer and his mates  surprised the Iced Earth fans with Dante's Inferno which was chosen to be the encore. And no show with out the band's hymn Iced Earth. And so the first show of Dystopia World Tour ended. After the show many headed to the merchandise booth while others were on their way home, but all seemed to be quite happy... I'm looking forward to see them later on this tour, coz at the first day not everything works perfectly and a new line-up needs time to grow together on stage - even if it didn't look like this was their first show. So I can only recommend, catch them live when you get the chance to!






Setlist Iced Earth:



Dystopia

Burning Times

Angels Holocaust

Slave To The Dark

V

Stand Alone

When The Night Falls

Damien

Dark City

Pure Evil

Anguish Of Youth

My Own Savior

Anthem

Declaration Day

Days Of Rage

Tragedy And Triumph

------------------------

Dante's Inferno

Iced Earth

  
  







Claudia Ehrhardt



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Iced Earth, Annihilator & Turisas
- October, 8th 2007 - Cologne (D), Live Music Hall -





 

  


  

Even as the last killer releases of Annihilator and Iced Earth been years ago I wanted to see the bands live. Perhaps the new material will work better live... Why they added Turisas I have no clue, coz even if they aren't bad, they don't fit in here.

It was almost 8:30 when Turisas entered the stage. As usual they been dressed in fur, the appropriate outfit for their barbaric metal. In the beginning I missed the violin and the accordion, but for To Holmgard And Beyond they joined in. The Finnish celebrated their battle metal, not everybody liked their stuff, but quite a lot people head banged. Fans of Turisas waited for the Boney M. cover of Rasputin which showed again that their disco metal version moved the fans. And with Battle Metal the set ended.

After the intro - Halloween theme - Jeff Waters kicked off with Operation Annihilation. Their latest album Metal disappointed me, but live Annihilator always been killer. Like the opening act King Of The Kill was sung by Mr. Waters himself, but then Dave Padden took over for Clown Parade. The fans want to hear the bands classics and so only 2 songs off Metal - Welcome To Your Death and Stonewall - made it into the set. Actually Annihilator didn't play anymore songs from their last releases, but nobody seemed to care, coz they played Set The World On Fire, WTYD and Never, Neverland. The band played a great show. Jeff Waters is the master of riffs and even Dave Padden did a good job, even if I still would prefer Joe Comeau... But no Annihilator show without Alison Hell! The house was on fire! Hopefully they come back for some club shows, so that there is more time for more classics.

Iced Earth haven't toured much lately, at last not here in Germany. And I remember very well the tours in the late 90's... Iced Earth always been a strong live band, but I'’m a fan of Matt Barlow and even if Tim 'Ripper' Owens is a great singer the new Iced Earth albums couldn't convince me. Framing Armageddon has its moments, but well... Annihilator had a powerful and well balanced sound, but what happened? Iced Earth's sound unbalanced, the drums dominated everything and the vocals and even the guitars partly drowned. Luckily the fans know the words and sing along, so it got a bit better. Beside songs from their latest release Framing Armageddon they played a part of Gettysburg and quite a lot songs from The Dark Saga and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Songs like Vengeance Is Mine, Something Wicked This Way Comes The Hunter and My Own Savior are still gems, but even as 'Ripper' did a great job it wasn't the same. In my opinion he hasn't the charisma of Matt Barlow and he should be himself and not try to copy Rob Halford on stage. Only Dracula (Horror Show) made it onto the set list which was okay, but why didn't they play Dante's Inferno? The fans were shouting for this one. At least the played Melancholy as an encore and for Night Of The Stormrider Jon Schaffer took over the microphone. And a little before midnight an evening full of metal was over.

Resume: Turisas were fun, Annihilator did a great set and Iced Earth did a decent show, but it looks like they will never be as good as in the late 90's again. A pity! They were the power metal masters and now they are only average.
  
  






Mike
(guest writer)

(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

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Iced Earth - Jan., 17th 2002 - Hardenberg (NL), Podium





 

  


  

After more than 3 years the US-American power metal band returned to tour Europe to promote Horror Show. The band announced during the interviews for Horror Show that they will tour in Europe without any other band, just 150 min. of Iced Earth. Even if the fans are kinda split into 2 groups, the one who love the album and the one who dislike it, a lot of fans showed up.

The first stage set offered songs from the early releases incl. Iced Earth  and Stormrider. The backdrop and the sidescreens should look like metal sheets, but remind me more of ice cubes.... The band in jeans like a reminiscence of the early years. Seems that not every fan was into the old tunes, coz many were talking, waiting for part 2. For many it was a surprise to see bassist Jimmy McDonoghue on stage with Iced Earth again. After a 20-min. break the band came back in black leather. This time the backdrop and the sidescreens remind of the Something Wicked artwork. This part was dedicated to Dark Saga and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Part 2 was what most fans wanted and so they went crazy. Sang along. Highlights of that part were: Dark Saga, I Died For You, Stand Alone, Watching Over Me and the instrumental 1776. And after about an hour it was over.

Another break and than the Horror Show starts. The sidescreens and backdrops showed figures of the album and the band changed again their outfit. During the 45 min. set they played songs like Damien, Jeckyl & Hyde and Dracula. Obviously tonight quite a few fans were in the audience which dislike Horror Show and so they left while Iced Earth were still on stage....

This was the tour opening and so not everything worked out perfectly. The light show was great! The sound was not quite good, Matt Barlow wasn't loud enough, so the whispered words weren't listenable. Matt tried to make himself listen through the massive sound of the guitars. Unfortunately the sound didn't get much better until the end of the night. A new sound guy, perhaps he just needed a day or two more to get into their sound.... To resume..... Not one of their best shows... For me the worst Iced Earth show I saw since the 'Summer Metal Meetings' in 1995.
  
  






Claudia Ehrhardt

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           ©2008-2011 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com