Alive in Athens [Live]

Iced Earth

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 10, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00000JKFY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,852 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

1999 two disc live set recorded at a soccer stadium in Greece over two nights and featuring nearly three hours of music from one of the U.S.'s top dark metal groups. 22 tracks. Double slimline jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!, January 24, 2001

By	The Wickerman (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best metal band proves their perfection once again!!!!!!, October 27, 1999

By	Anne Downs (Richmond, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, August 13, 2002

By	General Zombie (the West) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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!