The Glorious Burden

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The Glorious Burden
The Glorious Burden cover
Studio album by Iced Earth
Released January 12, 2004
Recorded Morrisound Studios Tampa, Florida
Genre Power Metal
Length 1:18:44
Label SPV
Producer(s) Jim Morris, Jon Schaffer
Professional reviews
Iced Earth chronology
Dark Genesis
(2001)		 The Glorious Burden
(2004)		 The Blessed and The Damned
(2004)


The Glorious Burden is an album by the American heavy metal band Iced Earth. The album explores various moments in world military history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, and the American Civil War.

The albums centerpiece is the last three songs which together form a trilogy entitled Gettysburg (1863). Each song represents one day in the Battle of Gettysburg, which is the largest battle ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere and considered the turning point in the American Civil War.

This album features the debut of new lead singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens, formerly of Judas Priest. He replaced previous singer Matt Barlow. However, the album was first recorded with Matt Barlow on vocals, but bandleader Jon Schaffer was not satisfied with his performance as the events of 9/11 had recently happened, and Matt was becoming more interested in law enforcement than the music business. According to Jon, Matt's vocals lacked the emotion they always had. As a result, Matt left the band and the album was shelved until a new vocalist could be found. Enter Tim Owens, who was at that time still in Judas Priest. He was asked to do the vocals as a project, and only joined the band after Judas Priest reunited with Rob Halford.

The Glorious Burden was met with mixed feelings by fans, but Owens' outstanding performance won over many of the grumblers, and was seen as a promising start to his tenure with the band. Others have criticized Schaffer for what they see as the introduction of politics within Iced Earth music.

The album was released in 3 different formats: a limited edition 2-CD version in digipak format, an American version and a European version. See the tracklist for the differences.

"The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)", "Declaration Day", and "When the Eagle Cries" were the singles off the album, and all had music videos put into rotation.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Star Spangled Banner" (Only on the limited edition 2-CD and regular U.S. versions) – 1:13
  2. "Declaration Day" – 4:59
  3. "When the Eagle Cries" – 4:06
  4. "The Reckoning" (Don't Tread on Me) – 4:56
  5. "Greenface" (Only on the limited edition 2-CD and regular U.S. versions) – 3:02
  6. "Attila" – 5:36
  7. "Red Baron/Blue Max" – 4:05
  8. "Hollow Man" – 4:25
  9. "Valley Forge" – 4:46
  10. "Waterloo" (Only on the limited edition 2-CD and regular European versions) – 5:48
  11. "When The Eagle Cries" (Unplugged) (Only on the limited edition 2-CD version) – 3:34
  12. "Gettysburg" (1863): I. The Devil to Pay – 12:13
  13. "Gettysburg" (1863): II. Hold at All Costs – 7:05
  14. "Gettysburg" (1863): III. High Water Mark – 12:35

[edit] Personnel

with:

  • Jim Morris - Lead Guitar (solos in When The Eagle Cries and When The Eagle Cries {Unplugged})
  • Matt Barlow - Backing Vocals
  • Sam King - Backing Vocals
  • Jeff Day - Backing Vocals
  • Howard Helm - Piano
  • Susan McQuinn - Flute & Piccolo
  • Michael LoBue - Bagpipe
  • Prague Philharmonic Orchestra - Gettysburg (1863) Trilogy
Iced Earth
Jon Schaffer | Tim 'Ripper' Owens | Brent Smedley | Tim Mills
Former members: Matthew Barlow | Ralph Santolla | Steve DiGiorgio | James MacDonough | Mark Prator | Richard Christy
Discography
Albums: Iced Earth | Night of the Stormrider | Burnt Offerings | The Dark Saga | Something Wicked This Way Comes | Horror Show | The Glorious Burden
E.P.'s and demos: Enter the Realm | The Melancholy E.P. | The Reckoning
Live albums: Alive in Athens
DVDs: Gettysburg (1863) | Alive in Athens
Other releases: Days of Purgatory | Dark Genesis | Tribute to the Gods | The Blessed and The Damned
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