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
Heavy Metal
Length Disc 1: 46:45
Disc 2: 31:53
Label SPV
Producer(s) Jim Morris, Jon Schaffer
Professional reviews
Iced Earth chronology

The Reckoning
(2003)
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 American military history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, and the American Civil War. It also pays tribute to worldly events such as World War I and the ravages of Atilla the hun.

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.

This record is the only Iced Earth album to feature Ralph Santolla on lead guitars. As well, this was the last studio album for bassist James MacDonough and drummer Richard Christy. Strangely enough, none of their immediate successors are still with the band currently.

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 the acoustic version of "When the Eagle Cries" were all released as music videos.

[edit] Track listing

Disc 1

  1. "Star Spangled Banner" – 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" – 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" – 5:48
  11. "When The Eagle Cries (Unplugged)" – 3:34

Disc 2

  1. "Gettysburg (1863): I. The Devil to Pay" – 12:13
  2. "Gettysburg (1863): II. Hold at All Costs" – 7:05
  3. "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

Cover art by Leo Hao.

Iced Earth
Jon Schaffer | Tim 'Ripper' Owens | Brent Smedley | Dennis Hayes
Former members: Gene Adam | Randall Shawver | Dave Abell | Mike McGill | John Greely | Rick Secchiari | Matthew Barlow | Rodney Beasley | Mark Prator | James MacDonough | Brent Smedley | Larry Tarnowski | Steve DiGiorgio | Richard Christy | Ralph Santolla | Tim Mills
Discography
Albums: Iced Earth | Night of the Stormrider | Burnt Offerings | The Dark Saga | Something Wicked This Way Comes | Horror Show | The Glorious Burden | Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) | Revelation Abomination (Something Wicked Part 2)
E.P.'s and demos: Enter the Realm | Untitled demo | The Melancholy E.P. | The Reckoning | Overture of the Wicked
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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