Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Iced Earth
Label: Century Media
Release: 1995
Runtime: 52:39
Rating: 4.5/5
»Burnt Offerings«, the third studio album from American thrash/power metal champions Iced Earth, is still considered their rawest and darkest record to this day. That’s almost certainly down to the fact that the band nearly fell apart before recording even started, since their mastermind, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jon Schaffer had become completely fed up with the state of the music industry and was taking ‘blow after blow’ as the bitter truth sank in. More than three years had passed since the previous Iced Earth effort, the concept-album classic »Night of the Stormrider« (1991), which had cemented them as the great new hope of the American thrash/power metal scene. In that time a lot of interesting songwriting material had piled up, and Schaffer managed to pour all his bile and anger at the industry’s players into it. You can hear it best in the title track, the first of the two huge highlights of Iced Earth’s third studio outing.
Jon’s lyrics on »Burnt Offerings« are full of contempt for a dehumanized society run by corrupt leaders and disgust at human stupidity. He also drew a bit less on mysticism and fantasy than usual this time, so individual songs are that much more inspired by the real world, which only adds to the general cruelty of their messages and the brutal atmosphere hanging over the whole album. As for the lyrics to the best song on the record, if not of Iced Earth’s entire career, which sits right at the end, Mr. Schaffer took his inspiration from none other than the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri, author of the famous ‘Divine Comedy’.
This time too, there were ‘personnel changes’ in the Iced Earth lineup. John Greely, who by Jon’s account was pretty difficult to work with in the studio, was replaced on lead vocals by Matthew Barlow. In him the band finally found what they’d been searching for in their musical vocabulary since day one, even though they’d been almost convinced Greely was the right choice. Barlow completely overshadowed his predecessor: he had a stunning vocal range that could go ‘from hell to heaven’, and from the very start he wowed with incredible emotional depth, the greatest asset of his talent, which was practically unmatched in metal at the time (the mid-nineties). His fascinating, deeply charismatic and passionate vocals gave individual songs a very particular fire that no other Iced Earth singer has managed to recreate, before or since. He could transport the listener to the scene in an instant and get so far inside the characters in the lyrics that it sounded like he was telling stories from his own life. Drummer Rodney Beasley, meanwhile, replaced Rick Secchari, and although he surely wanted to leave a bigger mark on the band, he lasted only a year. Frequent drummer changes sadly became part of Iced Earth ‘folklore’ in the years to come, too.
On »Burnt Offerings« the band slowly grew into their role as songwriters, too, and left behind some of the most complex (and best) creations of their whole career. Their winning mix of epic melody, with plenty of triple-guitar harmonies between the two guitarists (that’s Schaffer and lead guitarist Randall Schawver), and brutality, led by the double-bass pummeling of drummer Beasley, reached new dimensions here. The atmosphere of the individual songs is exceptional, and that goes right from the title track, one of the darkest and most brutal Iced Earth songs ever. There’s never been a shortage of those in the career of these Florida metal forefathers, but few are as convincingly soaked in both raging fury and indescribable melancholy as the songs on »Burnt Offerings«.
The lyrics of the title classic deal with the disappointments mentioned above, the ones Schaffer went through in his first run-ins with the music industry’s treachery. Between the sections you can hear the well-integrated contribution of guest keyboardist Howard Helm, whose symphonic arrangements in the background make the ominous atmosphere even heavier. The vocal contrast between Barlow and Schaffer’s backing vocals is outstanding. While Matt’s epic approach lifts the apocalyptic mood higher at every turn, Jon’s backing vocal, which sounds like some angry devil, is practically bursting with rage. Suddenly there’s a shift into an epic section with mighty guitar harmonies, and after that there’s no shortage of brutal rhythmic passages that no honest thrash band would be ashamed of. A short contemplative section, where Barlow delivers his melancholic performance with flair, is brutally cut off by a fresh outburst of vocal fury, followed by a split guitar solo from Schawver and another switch into epic triple harmonies reminiscent of the classic Iron Maiden era.
»Last December«, another classic, opens with a melancholic section and a stunningly heartfelt vocal performance from the red-haired singing champ, who this time turns into a real martyr, lost somewhere out on the snowy plains. His voice reaches new emotional heights again when it comes to honestly telling a harrowing story. Unlike the opener, the guitar passages here are arranged much more compactly, while the balance between epic harmonies and brutal drum onslaughts is once again beautifully struck. »Diary«, with lyrics contributed by Barlow, has a slight touch of doom metal in its slow rhythmic shades and rolling guitar phrases, which is no surprise since Black Sabbath were also among Iced Earth’s key influences. Later in the song, though, Metallica’s influence starts to take over, as the vocals turn aggressive again, the double bass pedals work at full steam and the guitar passages sound distinctly vengeful, just like on most of the other tracks.
The fatalistic »Brainwashed« opens with an anxious motif, followed by a switch into an irritated section where a brutally-minded Barlow spits bile at church corruption and religious blindness, a theme Schaffer always liked to touch on. Here too, the angry solo deserves a special mention, while the sped-up rhythm gets close to speed metal territory. »Burning Oasis« kicks off with a sound effect that may remind many of a cold wind whistling over desert dunes, which fits the lyrics of this thoroughly aggressive track, in which Barlow shows off some seriously high vocal registers. Schaffer always adored Iron Maiden, especially the album »Powerslave« (1984), so the sudden swerve into Arabic/pentatonic scales in the middle of the song is hardly a big surprise.
Just when it seems the band simply can’t sound any angrier or darker, a new peak of fury arrives in the shape of »Creator Failure«, where the lyrics are one more jab at all of ‘Frankenstein’s monstrosities’ and a prophecy of the coming apocalypse. Devastating guitar passages and cataclysmic drum sections take over, while Barlow sounds like the last surviving chronicler of the end of the human era. The short ballad »The Pierced Spirit« shows Barlow in a somewhat ‘friendlier’ light, enjoying lovely support from subtle acoustic guitar and delicate piano flourishes in the background.
The peak of the album, if not of Iced Earth’s whole songwriting output (in other words, their magnum opus), is the 16-plus-minute super-epic »Dante’s Inferno«, which, as the title already tells you, is inspired by ‘Inferno’, the first part of Dante’s epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’. With Barlow successfully slipping into the role of the poet Dante, Iced Earth take the listener on a dangerous journey through the nine circles of Hell, and the sections of this fascinating super-epic give a pretty vivid and emotional account of the suffering of the damned souls in each circle. The entrance to Hell, which Dante passes through accompanied by the spirit of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, is heralded by a subtle intro with ethereal, mysterious, almost warning guitar harmonies in the background, which promise nothing good for either traveler.
Matt’s deeply melancholic and anxious vocal performance, the kind that raises every hair on your body, changes the moment a brilliant switch into a brutal section hits. It’s announced by the two travelers’ arrival on the banks of the underworld river Acheron, where you can already hear the howl of the first of two infernal ferrymen, the demonic old man Charon. He carries the travelers toward the first circle, Limbo, where the epic journey is only just getting started. Here comes a tempo change into a cataclysmic section, where Barlow shines describing the suffering of the sinful souls in the first circle, where the righteous and the ancient intellectuals who were born before the birth of Christ wander in misery, along with all those who died far too young, the unbaptized little children.
While the literary form of the first part of the ‘Divine Comedy’ is a pretty long and demanding undertaking for any reader, Iced Earth’s take on this epic masterpiece unfolds at a stunning speed, while chilling and bleak visions of eternal damnation play out between the instrumental sections. Among the epic’s more complex moments is the meeting with the infernal judge Minos, who uses his long tail to decide which circle each soul will fall into. This brings a harrowing and brutal instrumental section with a string of furious guitar variations and hellish drum passages. It’s followed by a sudden jump into a symphonic section, where the vocals take on softer shades when describing the suffering of the gluttons in the third circle, watched over by the three-headed hellhound Cerberus. That means Barlow/Dante tries to sympathize with some of them, just as in the literary version of the epic.
Killer guitar passages, on the other hand, know no mercy, and when Dante/Barlow arrives with Virgil on the banks of the Styx, so that the next infernal ferryman, Phlegyas, a great enemy of the ancient Greek gods (and later of the Christian God), can take him to the walls of the demonic city of Dis, a fresh explosion of brutality and vengeful fury erupts. A sacral section, ruled by verses in Latin, effortlessly conjures up the atmosphere of the damned city of eternal perdition and unbearable suffering. The apparent ease with which unbelievable aggression and melancholy blend at the same time, especially thanks to the phenomenal vocal performance and subtle guitar harmonies, fascinates again and again. The meeting with the Furies and the Gorgon Medusa, who want to keep the travelers from entering the city of Dis, is marked by an epic, orchestral passage that no Hollywood film composer would be ashamed of.
This is followed by a fascinating leap into an aggressive instrumental section with countless raging guitar variations, devastating drum passages and ominous symphonic textures, which crank up the already white-knuckle drama even further. Every journey comes to an end, and so Dante/Barlow, with Virgil at their side, finally arrive at the heart of evil. The Ninth Circle (Cocytus) opens up before them, and in the middle of a frozen lake, surrounded by the souls of those who betrayed their benefactors, sits none other than the ruler of Hell in chains – Lucifer, who since his fall from heaven has undergone a horrifying transformation into a grotesque, three-headed, hairy figure with bat wings. This monstrous image, which the famous French painter Gustave Doré drew for the ‘Divine Comedy’, also appears on the original »Burnt Offerings« cover.
The cry of Lucifer’s name is the epic climax of the whole epic, because at this moment Dante/Barlow is at the heart of evil and farthest from heaven, in other words, in the darkest moment of the entire ‘Divine Comedy’. The king of the fallen angels is described brilliantly through Matt’s singing, and so is the reason he became the ruler of Hell in the first place, which only boosts the epic atmosphere and sets up the climax of the whole super-epic. That’s followed by a melancholic build-up of guitar variations into a gradual way out, while orchestral curtains swirl in the background. So after climbing over Lucifer’s body, Iced Earth can finally descend through the earth’s core and land on the other side, where Mount Purgatory stands near the southern coast of Africa.
‘Many who now think they’re kings up there will wallow down here like swine in the mire of filth, leaving behind them a name of infamy,’ the ferryman Phlegyas warned Dante as they sailed across the Styx. Iced Earth were thinking much the same thing while making »Burnt Offerings«, when they’d have happily thrown most of the music industry into the various circles of Hell. Their anger was the key to making »Burnt Offerings« the most emotionally intense studio album of their career, and it ranks among their very best work. Anyone who loves quality metal and wants to hear Iced Earth at their rawest and most uncompromising has no choice but to spin »Burnt Offerings« right now and descend through all the depths of Hell with Virgil at their side…if they dare, of course.
Lineup
Jon Schaffer – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals, co-producer
Matthew Barlow – vocals
Dave Abell – bass guitar
Randall Shawver – lead guitar
Rodney Beasley drums
GUEST MUSICIAN
Howard Helm – keyboards
Production
Jim Morris and Jon Schaffer
Track List
1. Burnt Offerings
2. Last December
3. Dairy
4. Brainwashed
5. Burning Oasis
6. Creator Failure
7. The Pierced Spirit
8. Dante’s Inferno
i. “Denial, Lust, Greed”
ii. “The Prodigal, The Wrathful, Medusa”
iii. “The False Witness, Angel of Light”
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