Customer Reviews

Tribute To The Gods

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

If you like classic rock, or just love Iced Earth you will love this album. This album is a cover on some of the greatest bands ever to live on this earth. YOu get covers of Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, And AC/Dc.

The best song on this album is the cover of the great song, Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron Maiden. Already that song is brilliantly written and done perfect by Iced Earth addedd a little bit more of a dramatic edge to it that made me appreciate it in a diffrent way. Nothing beats that dramatic deep voice of Matt Bartlow. So believe me if you like the original you will like this.

Another one of my favorites on the album is Dead Babies by Alice Cooper. This one was actually way better then the original which surprised me because I am a huge fan of Alice Cooper, but I always felt that Dead Babies was missing somthing and Iced Earth Just seemed to know what to do to remedy that.

The third best son on there is the remak of Blue Oyster Cult's Burning For You. THis song is also much better then the original because allthough the original is a great song, Bartlow just sounds way cooler then the singer to Blue Oyser Cult.

So if what you saw makesthis Cd sound good to you buy it. This is not for people that like corny bands like MOdest Mouse or Green Day, If you like that stuff get out of here. This is for fans of Iced Earht, A lot of classic rock, and Blind Guardian and the likes. So go get it if you have good taste.

Out of the 3,000+ bands that I like it's hard for me to pick an all time favorite, but I guess Iced Earth are probably it. I love all their albums, and when I heard about a cover song cd coming out I had no doubts it would be amazing. This is without question the ONLY cover album worth owning! Whether or not you've heard Iced Earth this is a must if you love classic heavy metal! It's hard for me to pick a favorite but I guess my top 5 are... "Black Sabbath", "Dead Babies", "Number of the Beast", "Long Way to the Top(If You Wanna Rock & Roll)", and "Creatures of the Night", with the runner-ups being "Highway to Hell", "Burnin For You", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", and "Screaming for Vengance"(yea,, its THAT HARD, this cd is THAT GOOD!) Oh my GOD these covers are so amazing! Matt Borlow does a great job singing these classics... WHY DID HE HAVE TO LEAVE THE BAND?

Incredible cd, a must for both Iced Earth fans AND classic heavy metal lovers.

Iced Earth is one of my all time favorite bands and I love each of their releases. So naturally when they put out recordings, I scramble after them. Tribute To The Gods is their next studio album but it's, as the title would suggest, a cd full of covers. Their official follow up to Horror Show(super great album, folks) is due out sometime in 2003. This will tide me over until then because these are some great covers. Take what you know about bands covering other band's songs and throw it out the window because Iced Earth are in top form on these songs. This collection isn't a thrown together, awful played, hurried through attempt to cash in on money.

These songs are really high quality and very very fun to listen to. Naturally, this isn't iced earth's best material and if you're a new fan just discovering them then I suggest get any of their albums(i would say Something Wicked This Way Comes or Horror Show). But then again, this isn't even their material so it's not going to be their best nor is it supposed to be. Sure they added stuff and put their very own iced earth twist on the songs but they stay close to the originals that I have heard.

Every song on here is heavy and contains IE's trademark rhythm guitar courtesy of the awesome Jon Schaffer. He actually sings a song on here, God Of Thunder. He does a really good job on this song. He doesn't have the range of Matthew Barlow (one of my all time favorite vocalists) but his voice is EXCELLENT. It's very heavy and gritty with an edge. It really fits the style of the song. Good job, Mr. Schaffer. Not only is he a super excellent guitar player, he has now proven himself to be a worthy lead singer. The rest of the songs are sang by the ever impressive Matthew Barlow who joined IE with their 3rd album, BURNT OFFERINGS(A metal classic). He brings his superb singing style to all the sings and they sound really great. It's hard to imagine some of these songs with a different singer but Matt makes it sound as if he originally sang them to begin with.

It's hard to top the original but Iced Earth come really close to doing it on some. The covers of Blue Oyster Cult and Iron Maiden and AC/DC sound so great and natural that it's almost scary. They are defiantly the best songs on this cd. However, EVERY song is great and I listen to and enjoy them all.

All in all, another amazing release by Iced Earth, a band that seems to be able to do no wrong. Be sure to look for the new iced earth cd, the follow up to 2001's Horror Show, in 2003.

Why does Iced Earth produce a cover album worth every penny of its price when the more popular (or, should I say, overrated?) Metallica produces one that's barely above cutout-bin level? Simple - Iced Earth is true to metal; they are one of the last bands that plays metal in its true, pure form. No programming, no special effects, just pure instrumental mastery and vocal supremacy. How do you choose a favorite amongst so many classics? I'd personally say that the two Iron Maiden covers simply blow everything else out of the water (particularly "Hallowed Be Thy Name"), but the covers of Alice Cooper's "Dead Babies", KISS's "God of Thunder," and Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' For You" (one of the only good songs BOC ever made) are up there as well. I don't like "Screaming For Vengeance," but I've never been much of a Judas Priest fan. The AC/DC covers sound a little awkward in Iced Earth style compared to their original format, but this band is able to do things with them so that they still sound good, even if different from the originals. The Black Sabbath cover is pretty good as well. As I said, there aren't any bad tracks, it's just that some are better than others. Jon Schaffer and company pay a brilliant tribute to their biggest inspirations with this masterpiece of a metal album.

I usually dont really like cover albums, I dunno, most of em are just, bleh- but for THIS legendary treasure, saying "bleh" is a sin! This is like, my favorite cd ever, and I know it's kind of recent to put it up at the top but i dont care, this cd is too good. Sometimes when I'm listening to this I forget I'm listening to Iced Earth- THATS how good the covers are!!! and,, when I listen to the original versions now, they actually sound dull compared to these! This whole album is amazing, but my favorites: "Creatures of the Night", "Long Way to the Top", the 2 Maiden covers, and "Electric Funeral"(of course, what kind of metal cover album would be complete without a BLACK SABBATH cover???). and just as with every Iced Earth cd, a very nice cover :)

Buy this cd and play it LOUD to show all those little Linkin Park-loving kids what HEAVY METAL is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS CD!

I LOVE HEAVY METAL!

I LOVE ICED EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are a couple songs here, most noticably "Number of the Beast" that Iced Earth totally butcher to hell. I think on these they tried to make them their own and something new but in this case, that isn't a good thing. Number has a great riff on it and you can't even here it. It's less melodic and the only good part is Barlow to be honest. I don't know what Schaeffer was thinking here.

Outside of that though, it's mostly a good tribute. The standouts to me are the Kiss tracks because to me, Barlow has an unbelievably similar voice to Paul Stanley which is something I never really realized until this album which I find quite interesting. The other standouts are the final two tracks that are "Black Sabbath" and "Hallow be thy Name" probably because they're epics and Iced Earth is known for their great epics.

Overall, I recommend this cd. While it is definitely not Iced Earth's best or the best tribute CD I have, it is worth it, just be warned about hearing some butchering on a couple of tracks.

As a special treat, Iced Earth recorded an all-covers album called TRIBUTE TO THE GODS as a part of their limited 5-CD box set DARK GENESIS early last year. By the end of the year, TRIBUTE was released seperately. Of course, the box set was too expensive, so I was fortunate that the band released this as a seperate album. Although IE's original music is pretty serious and intense for the most part, TRIBUTE TO THE GODS shows us another side of the band: they actually have fun. Yes, you heard right. That's not to say their music isn't energetic (which it most certainly is), but TttG shows the band laying back a bit and giving a heartfelt dedication to the metal forbearers who shaped their own sound. Usually covers albums are hit or miss, but Iced Earth has the chops and the energy to pull it off.

All 11 covers on this album are performed excellently, and some even better than the original versions. Most notably, on the AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, and KISS covers, Jon Schaffer and Larry Tarnowski (who recently left the band) up the heaviness and tempos on the guitars, making them even more slashing than ever, and it sounds awesome. Matt Barlow still proves he's one of metal's top vocalists with yet another versatile performance - definitely moreso here because the songs jump from all different kinds of rock and metal.

Like I said, I love every song on here, but my favorites would have to be the following: "Highway to Hell" (AC/DC), "Burnin' for You" and "Cities on Flame" (Blue Oyster Cult), "God of Thunder" (KISS), "Screaming for Vengeance" (Judas Priest), "Dead Babies" (Alice Cooper), and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (Iron Maiden). "Hallowed" is the undeniable high point of the record. It's gotta be the most perfect cover I've ever heard. I recently heard Cradle of Filth's cover of the song, and IE's version puts it to shame.

Not since Spock's Beard's SNOW have I had this much fun listening to an album so far this year. TRIBUTE TO THE GODS is an incredible metal history lesson from today's greatest metal band.