Tribute to the Gods

Iced Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 12, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B0000787G7
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,323 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It seems crazy to cover definitive metal songs such as "Highway to Hell," "God of Thunder," and "Screaming for Vengeance" unless you are trying to redefine heavy metal, which surely isn't Iced Earth's intention. For their many young fans, however, Tribute to the Gods is a crash beginner course in headbanging history. In the early 1980s, these same Judas Priest, Kiss, and AC/DC songs first spun Iced Earth's Jon Schaffer into a vortex of metal mania. Now, his version of Iron Maiden's classic "Hallowed Be Thy Name" will surprise those who think Papa Roach only borrows riffs as a last resort. Strong on dueling midtempo guitars, the band tackles Blue Öyster Cult's "Burnin' for You" with finesse. There's a lack of energy, however, on some of the simpler songs. Inadvertently, Tribute proves Iced Earth belong with imitative second-wave bands like Accept and Helloween. --Ian Christe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The gods pay tribute to the gods., November 26, 2002

By 

The Wickerman (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tribute to the Gods (Audio CD)

Seeing as how I'd already bought Iced Earth's first three albums, and wasn't really willing to buy them again in the box set, I've been waiting for this for some time. Well, it was certainly worth the wait. I'm generally not a big fan of cover albums, but I always think it's cool when one of my favorite bands does it. Up till now, Metallica's "Garage Inc." has been far and away my favorite cover album, but I think it's safe to say that this has dethroned it.

Now, if you're expecting this to sound like your average Iced Earth album, you might be a bit surprised. The boys have mostly stayed true to the original versions, meaning the familiar "Iced Earth Crunch" doesn't show up here too often. Jon rarely gets the chance to work out his nearly bionic right hand, but there's still plenty of excellent riffage here. The AC/DC and KISS covers are a great example of this. These bands were already on the threshold of metal, but not quite there. Jon gave them just the right amount of distortion to push them into full-on metal tracks. "God of Thunder" is especially thunderous (pun intended), and "Highway to Hell" just plain rips.

Most of the songs here are of the hard rock/metal fare, but you gotta mix em with a few laid-back tracks as well. The cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning for You" is a bit of a break from the full-on rock, and Matt's vocals here are, as to be expected, just unbelievable. I'm always amazed at how he can dwarf an otherwise excellent vocalist in covering their song. This dude can really sing. The slow, creepy "Dead Babies" (by Alice Cooper) benefits from Matt's mighty pipes as well.

Oh man. Here's the good part. Two covers of Iron Maiden. For a guy like me, Iced Earth covering Iron Maiden is almost too good to be true. Their nearly perfect versions of "Number of the Beast" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" nearly sent me to the hospital. Matt doesn't try to outdo Bruce (but then, it's not possible anyway, even for him), he just does his own thing, and it works. And I gotta say, he really nailed that scream at the beginning of NOTB. Bruce himself couldn't even do it that perfectly on "Rock in Rio". Man. Frightenly good.

As with any Iced Earth album, I could likely go on forever, but I think I've said enough. If you love Iced Earth, "Tribute to the Gods" is unquestionably a must.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What the Gods deserve, April 28, 2006

By 

Black Devil "San" (Bogota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tribute to the Gods (Audio CD)

When I listened to these covers I couldn't believe my ears. Iced Earth presents tributes to the biggest bands ever. The idea of playing covers is to give them a particular touch given by the band that plays the tributes.That's why the songs don't sound the same as played originally. But still, Iced Earth respects the name and history of these musical groups like Kiss which is the band I love the most, and I know for sure that the highest band in the world is honored.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best CD I've listened to in a LONG time., December 3, 2002

By 

J. R. Norton (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tribute to the Gods (Audio CD)

That's right, this is the best CD I've heard in a VERY long time. Plus, I got it from the "used" section of a music store, so that makes it doubly awesome! But why anyone would want to sell this CD for a measly 4 or 5 dollars is beyond me. The grooves here are infectious to say the least, even if none of them are original. And that doesn't even matter. This is a great Iced Earth CD, all covers or not, because as Shaffer wrote in the liner notes, they've "Iced Earthed" these songs, taking them out on their own personal spin. The riff of "Cities on Flame" sounds ten times deadlier than the original, the incredibly distorted guitars add a punch to several of the classic songs, and Matt's vocals are just astounding. He can sound like Paul Stanley, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, or just like himself. The bottom line is that any pure metalhead will rock out to this CD. If you've put off buying it because it's a CD full of covers, I suggest you re-think your position!