Iced Earth - Dystopia
Century Media, October 2011
7/10
I’ve never been a
huge Iced Earth fan so it’s a little difficult for me to place Dystopia in the context of the band’s
large catalog, and their latest album does little to change my view that the
band generally is above average yet fleetingly brilliant. Following a brief
reunion with original vocalist Matt Barlow, Jon Schaffer and company have
recruited Into Eternity screamer Stu Block. Stu drops his death growl to
banshee wail range featured in Into Eternity to adopt a traditional style
similar to Matt Barlow. It’s an interesting transformation that gives me
increased admiration for Stu’s skills. Aside from that surprise, Dystopia offers little different from
what can be regarded as a typical Iced Earth power metal album. The songs
generally alternate between fast, galloping riffs and solid, fist-pumping
romps. Everything is executed to perfection and there is little with which to
find fault except that one feels like you’ve heard this all before. There’s
really two ways to look at this. If you’re an Iced Earth fan and value
consistency, Dystopia is a guaranteed
winner. On the other hand, if you were hoping for boundaries to be pushed and
limits tested with the wide-ranging vocal abilities of Stu, then you’re bound
to be a bit disappointed. “Days Of Rage” is probably the exception to this, but
it’s not enough. Count me in as disappointed. Dystopia is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but
rather imagination and creativity seem to be what’s missing.
Iced Earth will
perform tonight, Tuesday, June 26 at Myth in St. Paul in support of Volbeat
with Hellyeah.
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