Customer Reviews

Alive in Athens

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow, this is, quite simply, amazing! I don't care what I said about "S&M", this is the best live album ever made! "S&M" is actually nowhere near the best, I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway, this was an excellent buy, the best two hours and ten minutes ever caught on tape. 22 of Iced Earth's greatest (like they have any bad ones, ha!), from all of their albums. Not many bands can do their stuff exactly like the recording, but Iced Earth has come closer than any band I've ever heard. This is proof that there is no electronic alterations of any kind, Iced Earth is the real deal. This is a definite must-have for any metal fan. It is very near perfect. My friend Reaven was wrong about Larry messing up the solos, I heard no missteps, they are done perfectly (he is superior to Randall Shawver, you know). If I had to complain about anything, it'd be that not every song from "Something Wicked" is on here, cuz that's my favorite album and everything, but oh well. Only five of them aren't here. The energy of the concert is caprtured well, too. You can tell that the Greeks really love this band, I wish they got that big of a reception here in the U.S. I'd love to see these guys live, I know it would be beyond incredible, almost a religous experience, you know if the album is this good, the real thing must be unbelievable. Anyway, this is a great album, the epitome of what a live album should be. I can't recommend it enough.

Once again Iced Earth impresses me beyond belief with their latest release. While I'll strongly suggest the European 3-disc copy, the double disc is an excellent start for any new Iced Earth listener. I guarantee that any true metal fan will go on to buy all six albums (though I definitely favor Burnt Offerings to the present; Matthew Barlow makes all the difference). I've been fortunate enough to see Iced Earth live, and the guys couldn't have been more down-to-earth or willing to autograph/take pictures with all of us devoted fans. After the show, Jon Schaffer actually came up to my friends and I to thank US for being such an awesome audience. He went on to talk to us for half an hour, along with the rest of the band who walked over soon after. We continued talking right up until they climbed on their bus to head to the next show, but not leaving before shaking our hands and thanking us once again. The fact that this band is still in the business primarily to perform music is incredible, and it's great to know that they will never change their image for additional fame and/or money. I can't stress enough my recomendation for Iced Earth ... for so many reasons I respect them to the fullest, both as musicians and individuals.

There is no real explaining how good this cd is. If I had to destroy all of my albums but one I would probably keep this one. First of all, it's a double album containing over 2 hours of music which I got for the price of a single album, with the greatest consistency of any album I own, except possibly Aenima. Buy it. Buy it now, especially if you don't own any Iced Earth. Now, with that gushing aside I'll go into an actual review.

As stated in an earlier review, I am generally not big on live albums. The problems that plague most of them are not significant here. The fans sing along some, which is occasionally a problem, and their perpetual chanting of "Iced Earth" between songs can be kind of annoying, but they usually don't matter too much. The sound quality is excellent, which it usually isn't, and the bands performances are flawless. Smedley's drumming is particularly good, better than on most of the albums. The one real complaint against the album is that most of the songs aren't substantially different from the original versions, though I consider them different enough that this cd is completely worth owning despite my having the studio versions of every song but one.

Though this album is perhaps the most consistent I own, I will still complain about the track listing a little. The excellent album, Burnt Offerings, is under represented, with only 2 tracks(though one is extremely long, 16 minutes) and none of them being the classic title track or "Diary" or "Brainwashed". A handful of other classics are missing, like "Consequences", "Disciples of The Lie" and worst of all "Scarred", which is especially annoying because it does include the other 2 songs of the "Suffering" trilogy, so it messes up the continuity of it, not to mention it's simply being an awesome song. The thing is, though some other songs should be on here, only one song, "Melancholy", seems like it would be an acceptable loss.

This cd does contain an excellent overview of the bands career up to with just under half of the album being from before "The Dark Saga", and the rest from that point on, which is good because that marked a distinct change in the bands style. Sadly, it of course contains no songs from "Horror Show", since it wasn't even released yet, but there is already too much material from the earlier albums to be compiled here. The earlier stuff is very "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All" esque, except generally even more complex, though with a bit more melody as well. This music benefits from the new recording, because the original versions sound quality is a little flat and sterile, even in the "Days of Purgatory" versions, with the "Stormrider" material being much more intense and powerful. The best stuff from this era are generally the longest ones, such as the 10 minute "Angels Holocaust/Stormrider" the 9 minute "Travel In Stygian" and the 16 minute "Dante's Inferno", with the shorter "Path I Choose" also being particularly strong.

The later stuff is slower, simpler, shorter and more melodic, though with a greater variety of song types, since the early songs are almost all prog-thrash epics. The Ballads, "A Question of Heaven" and "Watching Over Me" are among the best from this era, with the faster, heaviest songs on the opposite end of the spectrum being the next strongest, particularly "The Last Laugh", "Slave to the Dark" and "Burning Times". Thus this album has a great variety of songs, as much so as is possible while having all of them being rooted in 80's underground metal. Lyrically, this all comes off a bit weird, as it has three different storylines from concept albums all interweaved together, but this doesn't matter much, as Iced Earth has alway been about sound, not message.

So what does this all come done to? It's a compilation of most of the best material by arguably the best band ever. So, once again, buy it, buy it NOW!

Not many bands can replicate their sound to perfection live, but Iced Earth deliver the goods on "Alive In Athens". Jon Schaffer and Larry Tarnowski's playing are tight and brutally heavy, and of course, Matt Barlow's vocals are explosive as usual! It's always disheartening to hear that the great singer on the album can't bring it to the table live. You can't say that about Barlow though. This album further cements the fact that IE truly are a talented, and brilliant band. You only get one chance to nail it live and IE definitely nail it, song after song, to absolute perfection. Even though the lead work isn't true to the originals all the time, you can't blame Larry for trying to put his own feel into the leads. My only complaint is that whoever mixed this album could have been a little more generous w/ the bass mix...Do yourself a favor and try to get your hands on the 3CD version, you won't regret it!
I've never seen IE live but after listening to "Alive In Athens" I know that when I finally do, I'll definitely be getting my money's worth.

It's a shame the U.S. just doesn't get this band and therefore Century Media only releases the 2 CD set here and the 3 CD set in Europe. This is a live album that gives Maiden's 'Live After Death' a run for the money. Pure brilliance! Iced Earth is one of the few bands that sounds just as good or better live than they do in the studio. What really stands out on this set is the material from I.E.'s last album 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. While I was a little disappointed in SWTWC as a studio album (especially after the brilliance of Dark Saga) when IE plays the same material live it rocks HARD! Buy the 3 CD import or you're cheating yourself!

Here we have it. We have here, one of the most awesome live albums in metal history. Rock in Rio can't even hold a candle to Alive in Athens, in my opinion. Almost everything about this album is completely mind-blowing. Most of the time, I'd rather listen to a studio version of a song rather than a live version, but not with Alive in Athens.

With Alive in Athens, Iced Earth takes the studio to the audience and multiplies the awesomeness on all kinds of levels. This is the true poster boy of all live albums. There are no mistakes, no breaks, or anything stupid. All there is room for is the pure power of heavy metal. I know Jon Schaffer traditionally doesn't use BC Rich guitars, but he used one well on Alive in Athens.

The guitars have a very heavy crunch sound, as if you're being beaten into the ground with a sledgehammer. The solos stand out more than on the studio albums, even though some parts couldn't be harmonized it's still just as good. The thing I would have changed would have been to take out "Last Laugh" as well as "The Path I Choose," and replace them with something like "Burnt Offerings" and "Consequences," maybe. Dante's Inferno on Alive in Athens easily beats the Burnt Offerings studio version. The sound is so sweet, crushing, heavy, and melodic.

I was glad to hear Barlow do the Night of the Stormrider material, because I wasn't a fan of Greely's vocals at all. Matt totally nails the NOTS material with ease, which brings a smile to my face each time I listen to it. When I first bought the album it was in my CD player for over a few months. Yes, it's that good! This album completely pulverizes any live Iron Maiden or Judas Priest album with ease. This album is worth every penny and should be owned by all heavy metal fans.

This is probably the only thing from Iced Earth you'll ever need. The sound quality is almost studio perfection, very crisp and clear sounding, right up there with Slayer's Decade of Aggression or Exodus's Another Lesson in Violence or Metallica's S&M. Listening to this album makes me wish I was there, hearing the crowd chanting "Iced Earth, Iced Earth" just makes me want to chant along with them as they wait for the next bone crushing song. The highlights of this album for me are Burning Times, Pure Evil, Dante's Inferno, Stormrider, Dark Saga, and Iced Earth, all of these songs seem to have the energy that was needed in their studio albums, even the speed up version of Burning Times is very cool, the attitude of the song performance is quite overwhelming. This is again a very powerful album and a great introduction to Iced Earth, I will provide you with the tracklisting of the third disc of the set that I got so you can see that the three disc set is much better, and well worth the money.

Disc 3:
1. Stand Alone
2. Cast in Stone
3. Desert Rain
4. Brainwashed
5. Desciples of the Lie
6. When the Night Falls
7. Diary
8. Blessed are You
9. Violate

This album is absolutely kicking my [butt]. For the true fan, you have to get the 3CD version of this release, which has to be the finest three hours of live heavy metal ever recorded. It's as though the mighty Greek pantheon (you know, Zeus & co.) infused them with divine energy on these nights -- the whole band is bursting with nuclear energy that's bound to slay any fan of loud, fast, intense, melodic, music (too many adjectives...sorry 'bout that!).

Everything here tops what they've done in the studio...Schaffer's legendary right-hand picking, the guitar solos, the urgent vocals. Kicking things off is the destroying double-whammy of a speeded-up version of "Burning Times" and then "Vengeance Is Mine". The centerpiece of disc 1, a titanic version of "Dante's Inferno", makes the original sound like a Michael Bolton ballad! The band's eponymous tune, "Iced Earth", is kicked into high gear with added speed and power. The epic Something Wicked Trilogy explodes with ferocious metal intensity and storytelling. The original sounds kind of boring now. The chorus on "The Coming Curse" is amazingly good live, with Schaffer singing a growly backing vocal, and Matt Barlow's scream punctuating the last line awesomely. ("Savior to my own, devil to some | Mankind falls...SOMETHING WICKED COMES!!!") The band's proud tribute to their fans, "Blessed Are You", is very powerful live, because it goes straight to the audience. The crowd freaks out when "A Question to Heaven" starts up (listen to them sing along). I can't listen to this album without smiling like an idiot, banging my head, and screaming, "Yeah!" These days, whenever I don't know what to listen to, I immediately turn to Alive in Athens.

The song selection is sick. There are just too many incredible Iced Earth songs on this album, and with the energy level so unthinkably high, it's staggering how intense this baby is. It will leave you physically exhausted by the end. After listening, I am forced to lie down for a few minutes and rest. I can't handle how good it is. Much of the package is devoted to Something Wicked, and you'll hear nearly everything is has to offer (minus "Consequences", "1776", and "The Reaping Stone"). All but two songs are here from The Dark Saga. Night of the Stormrider's songs are here in abundance. Even Burnt Offerings is generously covered. I would have given my left leg to hear them perform "Burnt Offerings" live, because it's one of my favorites of theirs, but that's just a personal wish, not a detriment. It would have only made a perfect live set extra perfect! It's hard to complain...these three discs cover about 60% of the band's catalogue up to this point! Matt Barlow, of course, is the best metal vocalist alive. His range is unbeatable. Live, he throws more vigor into the performance. There may have been an overdub here and there, but according to everyone who has seen the band in concert, Barlow delivers. He's the real deal.

And this band feels the love. Jon and Larry feel it in those guitars, Matt feels it in the vocals, Brent on the drums, James on bass, and Rick on the occasional keyboard. The audience (5,000 Greeks) feels the love too. Listen to them sing with Barlow on "Watching Over Me", it's quite uplifting. It's as if Iced Earth is a religion to them...well, actually, that makes sense. Iced Earth is a band of heavy metal gods. This is the best live heavy metal album ever. It has dethroned Iron Maiden's incredible Live After Death for me, which is no mean feat, considering how I once considered that the defining live metal release. Someone mentioned that Larry Tarnowski screws up some of Randall Shawver's guitar solos. Other than the fact that Tarnowski's tone is much different, the only thing that sounds a little off to me is the trilling in "Vengeance is Mine".

Now, I realize this review isn't very good. But buy it and experience its ineffable greatness first-hand. My words do it no justice. It's so good, it makes you feel guilty listening to it. You'll wonder, "Am I good enough for this?" Again, it's mind-blowing. Buy it. Few things are as exciting as a live metal show, and this goes far beyond even those common intensity levels.

This is THE band to watch out for in the next few years. Although I feel their best work is "Night of the Stormrider", I got a feeling that the next album will blow all the others away. Ok, now to my album review...

This album just ROCKS! Better than Maiden's "Live After Death" and Bruce Dickinson's "Scream For Me Brazil"...combined! If you consider yourself a Metal fan and don't own this album, order the 3-cd import NOW! You don't know what you're missing. The best tracks are Travel in Stygian, Pure Evil, Question of Heaven, and Dante's Inferno.

Just last year I bought the "Something Wicked" album, the only I.E. release I owned until ordering this double-disc concert set. That's a great album, but now I can see that this band sounds even better in performance! I can't fully describe it in words. These guys deliver over two hours of heavy metal bliss, covering all of their albums (as far as I know), so there are a few slow songs as well as plenty of Jon's wonderfully, sickeningly fast triplet patterns on rhythm guitar. Finally, the graphic art is untouchable. The cover features a blue night sky and the moon in the background, with "Set Abominae" from the "Wicked" album holding his staff over a fire in one hand and a huge tattered Greek flag in the other. On the first CD he is standing over a fire, with the night sky and a darkened building behind him. On the second disc he is completely engulfed in flames, with one arm outstretched and a photo of the crowd merged into the lower left area of the fire. I haven't seen a more bad-ass package, folks. I give it a solid ten, even after just the first hearing. I know that with each listen I'm only going to get more and more into it... you sure as hell should do the same!