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CD reviews

Alive in Athens

Iced Earth - Alive in Athens Audio CD

A fair review of the Iced Earth "Alive in Athens" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Iced Earth reviews here, or go back to the Iced Earth tabs.

Band: Iced Earth
Title: Alive in Athens
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-08-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Burning Times 2: Vengeance Is Mine 3: Pure Evil 4: My Own Savior 5: Melancholy (Holy Martyr) 6: Dante's Inferno 7: Hunter 8: Travel in Stygian 9: Slave to the Dark 10: Question of Heaven 11: Angels Holocaust 12: Dark Saga 13: Last Laugh 14: Last December 15: Watching over Me 16: Stormrider 17: Path I Choose 18: I Died for You 19: Prophecy 20: Birth of the Wicked 21: Coming Curse 22: Iced Earth

Beyond words
This is simply the greatest live album ever made. I'll try to keep this brief. The band puts on a simply remarkable performance here, and you can feel the intensity while you're listening to it. I would have sold my soul to be in the audience for this godly performance, but unfortunately, I was three years old.

Like I mentioned earlier, the band's performance is magical. Larry's solos are shred to perfection, and Jon's performance solidifies himself as the best metal rhythm guitarist ever. James's bass isn't very audible, but if you get the DVD you see that he is a shredder in his own right. Brent Smedley contributes his awesome drum work to this release, and his performance is also brilliant. But, of course, the real star of the show is Matt Barlow, the greatest vocalist to walk the earth. This release proved that he had no interest in any studio alterations to make his vocals "polished"; live, he is the real deal. He can make himself sound like five different singers, all in the same song("Dante's Inferno" is probably the best example of this). This is one of, if not the greatest live vocal performances of all time, rivaled only by james LaBrie on Dream Theater's "Scenes From a Memory", and Daniel Gildenlow on his magical performance on pain of Salvation's "12:5".

I'm not going to go through all of the tracks(there are over 20 on the original version, and even more on the 3-disc version), but if I had to pick my favorite it would definetely be Dante's Inferno. This was already possibly the best song ever, but this performance has made me forget about that one. To quote another reviewer, this one makes the other look like a Michael Bolton ballad. The band shreds their instruments to dust, and Matt delivers my favorite vocal performance in a song, ever. It's THAT good. You have to hear this.

So, to sum this up, this is beyond words. Sometimes when I listen to this, I feel like I should bow my head to admire its perfection. If you even remotely like metal, you owe it to yourself to get this album. If you're just starting to get into metal, this should be your first choice. This review may not have been a whole lot more than a guy gushing about a cd, but I hope it gives you an idea of what to expect. 674 stars.

Metal is ALIVE IN ATHENS and in New York
This is the cd that got me into this band, I was on the internet in a Heavy Metal chatroom and some kid around 17 ( I'm 2x that ) Told me about Iced Earth and sent me a sample of mp3. I was instantly interested, he told me to get this cd becuase it had alot of songs from their catalog of cd's. The production is excellent I must say, and the amount of music you get is well worth every penny. I love Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and "OLD" Metallica ( pre Black album) and this band has all aspects of those bands.
some of the highlights for me are "Melancholy, the 16 min Masterpiece "Dantes Inferno" Something wicked trilogy songs, etc.

If you love Tradtional Heavy Metal. . . buy this cd. . . . NOW!!.

Can anyone say Perfect?
What i'm going to say is that this album is a great live album. I'm not going to babble on and on about this CD for many have already babbled. Instead of getting 1 studio album or getting a best of collection, just get this album (similar to Iron Maiden((Live After Death))). Amazing. Only Iced Earth has the bravery of playing a 16+ minute song! More amazing riffs, half or whole ballads, long epics, short shredding solos to longer more melodic ones, this is a perfect album in all aspects. A Must have for any not just metal fan, but music lovers in general. Get This album NOW!!! Quit out of Amazon and look online for your closest music stores info! SEE IF THEY HAVE THIS. ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.

Definite Live Collection!
This is THE live album, the live album that ranks up there with Decade of Aggression, Live After Death, and Live Scenes from New York. Iced Earth never fails to please me. Everything about it is energetic and intense, and Iced Earth are one of those rare bands that sound just as good live as they do in the studio. No studio overdubs here, folks, just all out unadulterated metal.

Anyone new to Iced Earth should start here, just dont drool on the amazing artwork. .

Athens is Alive!!!
We have here, one of the most awesome live albums in metal history. Here we have it. Rock in Rio can't even hold a candle to Alive in Athens, in my opinion. Almost everything about this album is completely mind-blowing. Most of the time, I'd rather listen to a studio version of a song rather than a live version, but not with Alive in Athens.

With Alive in Athens, Iced Earth takes the studio to the audience and multiplies the awesomeness on all kinds of levels. This is the true poster boy of all live albums. There are no mistakes, no breaks, or anything stupid. All there is room for is the pure power of heavy metal. I know Jon Schaffer traditionally doesn't use BC Rich guitars, but he used one well on Alive in Athens.

The guitars have a very heavy crunch sound, as if you're being beaten into the ground with a sledgehammer. The solos stand out more than on the studio albums, even though some parts couldn't be harmonized it's still just as good. The thing I would have changed would have been to take out "Last Laugh" as well as "The Path I Choose," and replace them with something like "Burnt Offerings" and "Consequences," maybe. Dante's Inferno on Alive in Athens easily beats the Burnt Offerings studio version. The sound is so sweet, crushing, heavy, and melodic.

I was glad to hear Barlow do the Night of the Stormrider material, because I wasn't a fan of Greely's vocals at all. Matt totally nails the NOTS material with ease, which brings a smile to my face each time I listen to it. When I first bought the album it was in my CD player for over a few months. Yes, it's that good! This album completely pulverizes any live Iron Maiden or Judas Priest album with ease. This album is worth every penny and should be owned by all heavy metal fans.

You can see a complete list of all Iced Earth discography, or go back to the Iced Earth tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.