UMUR
"Enter the Realm" is a demo release by US power metal act Iced Earth. The demo was originally released on cassette tape in April 1989. Iced Earth was formed by guitarist Jon Schaffer under The Rose monicker in 1984. Soon after the band name was changed to Purgatory and the 1985 "Psychotic Dreams" demo was recorded using that name. In 1988 the band name was changed to Iced Earth. "Enter the Realm" is the only demo released before the band was signed by Century Media Records for the release of their 1990 eponymously titled debut full-length studio album.
"Enter the Realm" features 6 tracks and a total playing time of 21:43 minutes. 4 of the 6 tracks would be re-recorded and featured on the band´s debut album. Only the short title track intro and "Nightmares" are exclusive to this demo, although both would appear in re-arranged/re-recorded versions on the 1997 "Days of Purgatory" compilation album.
Stylistically Iced Earth already had a clear vision of how they wanted to sound, and the skills to produce music to equal their vision. US power metal featuring sharp heavy metal riffs and the occasional hard edged thrash tinged riff, intricate lead guitar/harmony guitar sections, a pounding rhythm section (on this release the drums are almost painfully simple and a little tedious though), and a raw sounding, although still melodic lead vocalist in front. The band master both hard rocking sections, hard edged thrashy parts, and the more epic and melodic moments with equal amounts of conviction.
"Enter the Realm" is a very well produced demo release, and it could well have been released as a professional studio recording. It´s not often you´ll hear demo recordings from that time of this quality. It´s no wonder the 1000 copies which were originally produced were sold out quickly. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.