ICED EARTH Dystopia CD (2011)

Jon Schaffer built Iced Earth across two decades of relentless output, and Dystopia, their 2011 full-length, marked a turning point: new vocalist Stu Block stepping into the role vacated by Matt Barlow, and doing it without flinching.

The album opens with a statement and doesn't let up. Block's range is genuinely unsettling in the best way, and Schaffer's riff architecture, something between thrash precision and traditional heavy metal theatrics, is in top form throughout. The title track alone justifies the purchase. This sits in that sweet spot of American power/thrash that takes its concept seriously, no irony, no apology, just enormous songs about enormous ideas. If you came in through Iron Maiden and kept going darker, this is exactly where you end up.

2011 full-length CD. US pressing. Genre: Power/Thrash Metal.

Fans of: Blind Guardian, Demons and Wizards, Symphony X, Iron Maiden, Powerwolf, HammerFall.