Reckoning [Single]

Iced Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single
• Label: Hunter
• ASIN: B0000DIN05
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,396 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopefully a taste of things to come...., November 14, 2003

By 

P. Mendez (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reckoning (Audio CD)

Many Iced Earth fans we're angry to find that the lead singer Matt Barlow had left the band earlier this year. Now with a new singer (Tim "the Ripper" Owens, ex-Judas Priest) IE has found a new beginning.

Now, contrary to what the reviewer "Matt" said Tim Owens is not another Blaze Bailey. When Blaze joined Iron Maiden their sound changed, radically, to a more goth approach.

One listen to this single will tell you that the iced earth 'sound' hasn't changed much. You still have your slow powerful ballads (HOLLOW MAN), the classic iced earth melodic-power-thrash songs (THE RECKONING) as well as those mid-tempo songs that made Something Wicked such a refreshing album (Valley Forge). The other song in this disc (WHEN THE EAGLE CRIES) is an acoustic version of the song in the album, and while it still kicks ass, it also makes one want to listen to the real thing.

And this is a themed album, like stated previously, not a concept-album. The last 3 songs in the album, however, will be about the battle of Gettysburg (each song telling the story of each of the 3 days there was fighting). The closing trilogy will features the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Gettysburg' will consists of three songs, the first and the last one clocking in at about 12 minutes the second one at 7 minutes. (icedrealm)

I will not compare this to Iron Maiden's new album for that is a full album and this is just a 4 song sampler. But if this is a taste of things to come then January 13 will be a long, albeit worthwhile, wait for most, if not all, fans.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THEY ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!, October 30, 2003

By 

Bodom J (Bethpage, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

First of all, I love iced earth A LOT. One of my favorite bands ever. When i heard Matthew Barlow quit, i was frickin devestated. I just couldn't believe that someone with an amazing voice as his would just quit. ANYWAY, not only did he quit but he also caused album production to be pushed back a few months. The Glorious Burden was pushed back to Janurary 13th, so to tie the fans over until then, Iced Earth has released this EP/Single featuring 4 songs with new singer Tim Owens, who replaced Halford for judas priest. halford has joined back, so tim went with iced earth!

Please note that this cd has 4 songs even though amazon says it only has 3. now onto the songs:

Track One is The Reckoning (Don't Tread On Me). This song rules, a awesome thrash metal rythm guitar thanks to Jon. It starts out with the chorus, which sounds like a church choir then it goes into the blazing guitar part and you can really hear the bass, it rules. Then you hear Tim Owens come in with this very high picthed shrill. Not a power metal one but one kinda like chuck does on Death's Sound Of Perseverance.

Track Two is When The Eagle Cires (Unplugged). This sound is acoustic and really shows all Tim's voice. The chorus is tim saying, "when the eagle cries" with some really cool acoustic guitars playing. When the chorus comes around again, he says it with even more expression and even louder. Then there is this AWESOME latin soudning acoustic guitar solo.

Track 3 is Valley Forge and my favorite here! Got a really cool chorus and some very very awesome lead guitar. has two solos in it, one in the middle of the song and one at the end when tim is saying the chorus.

Track 4 is classic iced earth. As with a lot of their songs, it starts off slow and acoustic then turns heavy. The last half of the song is the best part because it has acoustic guitar with heavy guitar and another guitar doing a great solo.

All in all, this is a good little cd. If this is what the Glorious Burden is going to sound like then I must say it's going to be Iced Earth's best album. Tim is a very excellent replacement for matt, even though matt will always be in my top 5 singers of all time.

buy this. now

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good sample of what's to come, October 3, 2004

By 

Matt Pullen "stickyshooZ" (USA, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reckoning (Audio CD)

Up until the release of this single, Iced Earth had been laying low for some time. Everything was changing so fast; the band's beloved singer, Matt Barlow, had announced his departure to pursue a career in criminal justice; Larry Tarnowski had given up his position on lead guitar to call it quits; Ralph Santolla was recruited for lead guitar; and the notorious vocalist, Tim "Ripper" Owens had joined the band to fill in Barlow's enormous shoes. Owens' joining the band drew a lot of attention from everyone. This was the most talked-about line up change at the time.

Jon Schaffer's decision to recruit Owens was surrounded by skepticism, even from the long time fans of the Judas Priest vocalist who had originally "replaced" Rob Halford. Everyone pondered; how in the world could anyone ever replace Barlow? The majority thought that Ripper's style wasn't even right for Iced Earth, although Jon Schaffer insisted otherwise. Will the "Ripper" make the upcoming full-length a glorious victory, or will he be one of Iced Earth's burdens? Let's find out.

`The Reckoning' starts off quietly, and just when you thought it was safe, the galloping rhythm rides in hard and tramples the little tea party you thought you'd be having upon hearing the opening. Ride hard, rhythm! Slaughter all the terrorists! Pillage their homes and crush their hateful souls! This is one of the aspects that I love about Iced Earth - the thrashy and hard hitting rhythms and explosive drumming.

This rhythm doesn't ride in with just an ordinary thrash sword...it rides in with a heavy thrash sword imbued with the power of melody! Once the song gets a little more into it, the melodic properties flare up and present themselves outside of some crazy headbanging palm muted strumming. Halford erupts with raging screams and shrieks on this song and, wait...what...this can't be right? The notes say that Tim Owens is singing, but how is that possible? No one but Halford could do those high-pitched shrieks!

Damn, Tim Owens never sounded this good in Judas Priest! Ripper really can't be blamed for the bad song writing on the Priest albums, because he didn't have much to do with writing it. Priest, you had an awesome singer that could have sounded like Halford and you BLEW IT! Erase all conceptions you have of Ripper while he was in Judas Priest, because Judas Priest did him no justice compared to his singing in Iced Earth. Given that Tim Owens is not Matt Barlow, it's obvious that he will do a good job at filling in for him.

`When The Eagle Cries (Unplugged)' is probably the most melancholic track on the single, aside from `Hollow Man.' Unless you've been living under a rock for the past three years, then you'd know that the phrase `When The Eagle Cries' is a reference to 9/11 ("the day the eagle cried"). This track alone brought on a lot of criticism, because people began assuming Jon Schaffer was trying to cash-in on this tragedy or promote some kind of American arrogance (some people even claimed it was promoting imperialism!), despite the fact that he's written patriotic material prior to 9/11 (`1776' and `Ghost of Freedom' being prime examples). Musically, this is perfect for portraying the sorrow and aftermath of such a colossal incident with smooth piano and acoustic guitar riffs that introduce it. This version is unplugged, so don't expect any heavy riffing - there are only calm and focused riffs on every instrument.

My only complaint with this song is that the chorus is repeated way too many times. For obvious reasons, this song hits home with me. Matt Barlow's sad backing vocals only make it that more melancholic, as if the song reopens the wound some felt when it was announced that he was leaving. By no means, is this a headbanger. This is just one of those songs you listen to, reflect upon, and take more seriously. Even those who don't like metal should be able to appreciate this (maybe even like it).

`Valley Forge' starts off with a majestic and "foresty" acoustic guitar riff, and then the song kicks off with a punch in the face to heavy distorted crunch. Oh, great, a real heavy metal hitter! Bang that head along with the mid-paced chugging rhythm and down strokes! The inspirational lyrics tell the story of the soldier who suffered at Valley Forge as well as pays homage to those who "kept our freedom free" and reminds us not to take the lives we have for granted. You better like playing air guitar, because with a blazing fast solo like this, you will be forced to play by nature!

This track is way more tame than The Reckoning, but not nearly as calm as When the Eagle Cries, or Hollow Man. People outside of metal, as well as inside, should be able to stomach this one easily.

Hollow Man is on the more depressive side. Think along the lines of `I Died For You' off of the Dark Saga album and you're almost there. This is probably the worst song on the single, given that first of all, there isn't much differentiating this song from past deplorable songs written by Mr. Schaffer, and secondly, there isn't a whole lot of energy to it. As usual, the distorted riffs are bone crushing and possessed with atonality, but I just couldn't FEEL the passion in its entirety as I could with songs like `I Died For You' or `Watching Over Me.' I think what spoils the feeling of sorrow is the acoustic guitar that is used in different spots throughout the song.

To me, it doesn't give me a clear picture of what sorrow and sadness really are. The time changes are a little too fast on part of the acoustic guitar that I just can't imagine a composer saying to themselves "Yeah, I felt pretty pumped up for a brief moment while I was crying with my head in my hands." The distorted guitar parts are absolutely perfect with the mid-paced parts that also manage to slowly chug along, but the acoustic parts are what may throw some listeners off. This is not a bad song by any means, but I don't expect it to become an Iced Earth classic anytime soon. This is another song that most people who are not into metal should be able to enjoy, as well as fans of the genre.

Since The Glorious Burden is already released, I'd say purchasing this isn't really necessary. When I bought this, it had just been released and the new album was not out yet, so at the time it was a big thing. Other than good music, the single comes with a cool sticker which features the artwork for The Glorious Burden. At this point in time, I'd say purchasing this is only worth it if you're a collector or a die hard fan. If you want to hear this material with all of the other songs then just buy The Glorious Burden.