-written by Xyrth of metal-archives.com
DO NOT ABANDON ALL HOPE: STU'S THE MAN!
"Dante's Inferno" is one my most cherised epics in the whole metal realm, second only to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (of course!). As a Dante Alighieri and metal enthusiast I find both its subject matter and the music itself highly appealing. The first time I listened to its original version I was utterly blown away, and that prompted me to immediately buy Iced Earth's third long-play, Burnt Offerings, the first one with Matt Barlow. I ended up slightly disappointed by said album, but the magnificent closer has remained one of my favourite songs from Jon Schaffer and co. That said, it's been a while since I listened to anything interesting from the once mighty kings of the power/thrash fusion. And it has not been a matter of who's fronting this band, for Iced Earth has managed to boast excellent vocalists almost since their inception, yet I started to hear a decline in quality Horror Show, (I'm actually a fan of all of their work previous to that album).
Enter Stu Block, frontman of Canadian progressive death metallers Into Eternity, and now, also of this band. Again, Iced Earth couldn’t have found a better suitor. No easy boots to fill, those of Matt Barlow, who is seen as many fans, myself included, as the best Iced Earth vocalist so far. Yet Stu founds himself like a fish in the water here and he proves his worth with his performance of this monstrous track. His vocal capabilities are out of question; anybody who has listened to his other band can testify that. He has the talent to powerfully sing in both masculine clean and harsh, black metal vocals, though he won’t use the latter much in Iced Earth. He doesn’t needs to, either. In fact this version of “Dante’s Inferno” is not as good as its former incarnation despite Stu’s superb singing, which I’d say is pretty much on par with Barlow’s. But there are other things to account for in “Dante’s Inferno 2011”.
First thing to notice is that this version is longer by a minute. That seemingly unnecessary and lost extra minute consists in a few extensions of several sections. The solo is longer, but not better. The ending is too long for its own good, dragging a bit with no real surprises to be found. Perhaps they could have tried something different to it. Anyway, second thing to notice: the production. It’s clearer yet somehow has lost much of the appeal of the original, which was darker and muddier, and suited the overall atmosphere better. This is Dante’s Inferno we are talking about lads! No nice place to spend your holidays. The guitar tone is sharper, but flawed, especially during the solos and melodic parts. The tapped solo section has lost the hellish high-pitched sound of the ’95 version. Also, as someone has already pointed out, the amazing Gregorian choruses at the center of the song are totally gone. Finally, some vocal melodies have been changed to no good effect.
It seems that I am complaining a lot, but truth is, “Dante’s Inferno 2011” is not a bad song by any means. You can notice by my rating (I’d give the original 100 without a doubt). It’s just not as dark and evil as its previous form. But hey, reimagining a classic track is no easy task by any band, and most second versions end up being disappointing. The only case of a success I can think of right now is Master’s “Funeral Bitch” in Speckmann’s Project album. It’s not exactly the same band, but almost. At least Iced Earth didn’t attempt to re-record an entire classic album like Exodus, Manowar or now, even Gorgoroth did, to disastrous consequences. No, this is not disappointing, nor triumphant, it’s pretty solid and valid. I’ll always prefer the Burnt Offerings’ version though. Good thing is fans can relax knowing that Iced Earth has gained an excellent frontman and the future looks bright for the band and Stu. My only concern would be that he leaves Into Eternity, but I hope both bands can share like the good boys they seem to be.
85/10
No comments:
Post a Comment