Iced Earth – Dystopia (Century Media)

Happy National Metal, everyone. It’s easy to toss aside a band like Iced Earth as a joke. My friend bought their debut CD during our phase of buying music based solely on the cover art. Their concepts are almost exclusively taken from science fiction movies, books, or comics. They are viewed by many as just a silly caricature of Iron Maiden. The career of guitarist and lone constant band member Jon Schaffer has been rocky, to be sure. The first two Iced Earth albums each had two different lead singers and both were laughable to the Phil Anselmo on Pantera‘s pre-_Cowboys From Hell_ extent. It wasn’t until Matt Barlow joined that the band had a voice powerful enough to drive through the heaviness of the music, reaching an apex on Something Wicked This Way Comes. Since that album, the quality and shtick had grown more and more tiresome. The endless string of concept albums had finally alienated me. However, with Dystopia (while also steeped heavy in movie concepts), the band sounds rejuvenated. With new singer Stu Block (In Eternity) in tow, Schaffer has a legitimate writing partner and mouthpiece that has Barlow’s range but also more depth. The operatic vocal arrangements are far better (and less ridiculous) than they have been and they drive the album. “Equilibrium,” and “Dark City,” may blatantly rip off the films of the same names but they get the blood pumping. The title track may be the best song they have ever had and this is easily the best collection of tunes since 1998. If you jumped off the bandwagon like I did, now’s the time to get back on.