Iced Earth | Festivals of the Wicked Limited Box Set
by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer
Five years past the release of their first live DVD, Alive in Athens, Iced Earth release their second audio-visual live offering Festivals of the Wicked. Upon the release of the previous DVD, band leader John Schaffer was quick to point out when interviewed that he was not as enthusiastic about the particular release and was committed to releasing a complete live package in the future.
Festivals of the Wicked certainly fits that profile as it provides no less than six hours of footage of Iced Earth on stage and behind the scenes. As a package, Festivals of the Wicked includes two DVDs capturing three open-air shows of Iced Earth in their entirety completed by documentary, video clips and photo stills, an audio CD featuring handpicked tracks from all three shows; plus a full-size poster flag (same picture as the front cover) and a sticker.
Basically all three live shows featured on Festivals of the Wicked are in support of the two-album saga Framing Armageddon (2007-2008). The Wacken 2007 show is the only one to feature Tim Owens fronting Iced Earth, having sung on the first part of the Saga. The 66-minute show is perfectly captured with surprisingly thick and clear audio, flawless camera angles and meticulous studio editing. Iced Earth made full use of the lighting of Wacken with additional fire effects which adds a lot to the overall performance. Ripper is in pretty good vocal shape on the night though clearly more comfortable on the higher notes than the bass ones. Jon also provides some surprisingly good backing vocals, complementing perfectly Tim’s performance.
The 2008 summer shows at RockHard and Metal Camp are substantially smaller gigs and as a result you can expect less visual effects while the upside is a larger track-list on both occasions in comparison to the Wacken concert. It has to be addressed that Matt Barlow’s performance is close to outstanding on both occasions; not only does he recreate the magic of Iced Earth classics but also convincingly deliver the ‘Owens songs’ (through his own vocal style).
Conclusively Festivals of the Wicked is as complete a live offering as it gets, a bright example of what a musical box-set (priced over $20) should include. As before John Schaffer takes the opportunity to thank the fans for their purchase while clearly expressing how grateful he is for the support of his admirers. If only all live releases were done this way…
Genre: Power Metal
Line-up:
Matt Barlow – vocals
Tim Owens – vocals (Wacken show)
Jon Schaffer – rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals
Troy Seele – guitar
Brent Smedley – drums
Freddie Vidales – bass
Dennis Hayes-bass ( Wacken show)
Track Listing:
DVD Disc I
Live at Metal Camp Open Air 2008
01. Dark Saga
02. Vengeance Is Mine
03. Burning Times
04. Declaration Day
05. Violate
06. Pure Evil
07. Watching Over Me
08. Ten Thousand Strong
09. Dracula
10. The Coming Curse
11. I Died For You
12. Travel In Stygian
13. A Question Of Heaven
14. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
15. My Own Savior
16. Iced Earth
25 Chapters of Documentary
DVD Disc II
Live at Rock Hard Festival 2008
01. Dark Saga
02. Vengeance Is Mine
03. Burning Times
04. Declaration Day
05. Violate
06. Pure Evil
07. Watching Over Me
08. Ten Thousand Strong
09. Dracula
10. The Coming Curse
11. Travel In Stygian
12. A Question Of Heaven
13. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
14. My Own Savior
15. Iced Earth
Live at Wacken Open Air 2007
16. Burning Times
17. Declaration Day
18. Violate
19. Vengeance Is Mine
20. Ten Thousand Strong
21. The Hunter
22. Storm rider
23. A Charge To Keep
24. My Own Savior
25. Prophecy
26. Birth Of The Wicked
27. The Coming Curse
28. Iced Earth
Bonus Video Clips & Pictures:
29. Ten Thousand Strong [Music Video]
30. When The Eagle Cries [Music Video]
31. The Reckoning (Don’t Tread On Me) [Music Video]
32. Declaration Day [Music Video]
33. Framing Armageddon [Electronic Press Kit]
34. Photo Slideshow (By Ross Halfin)
35. Photo Slideshow (By Rudy De Doncker)
CD
1. Dark Saga
2. Vengeance Is Mine
3. Burning Times
4. Declaration Day
5. Prophecy
6. Birth Of The Wicked
7. The Coming Curse
8. Ten Thousand Strong
9. Travel In Stygian
10. Dracula
11. A Question Of Heaven
12. Iced Earth
Hardrock Haven rating: 10/10