ICED EARTH — Night of the Stormrider (review)

ICED EARTH — Night of the Stormrider album cover

Album · 1991 · US Power Metal

5/5 · 2011-01-31
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Night of the Stormrider is the second album by Iced Earth, it was released in 1991, just a year after their debut self-titled album. Some line-ups changes have occurred between the two albums however, the most notable being that singer Gene Adam was kicked from the band and replaced by John Greely. Band main man Jon Schaffer also does a lot more vocals on Night of the Stormrider than he did on the debut, singing most of the lead vocals on the track Stormrider and doing vocal tradeoffs with Greely on Desert Rain. To cut a long story short the vocal department is much improved on all counts on Night of the Stormrider.

Night of the Stormrider is a concept album, the band’s first. The story is “mystical and horrific” and “It traces the path of a man who is betrayed by religion and turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth. Through it all, he feels no remorse for his deeds, and upon reaching the end, numbly accepts his fate of eternity in Hell.” Quotes from the official Iced Earth website.

The first two tracks on the album, Angels Holocaust and Stormrider are pretty much a double act; they flow perfectly with each other without a pause. Angels Holocaust begins with a variation on Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, giving the beginning of the album a haunting sound that fits with the atmosphere of the storyline before bursting out with a style that for this release is mostly Thrash Metal mixed with some US Power Metal, but in this album’s case its mostly thrash. As the first song ends there’s a lighter section that serves almost as an interlude between it and Stormrider, kind of like the later tracks Before the Vision and Reaching the End do, but this one is a part of the Stormrider track. Greely sings this part, and as it comes to a climax the style gets heavier again and Schaffer takes over the vocals. It’s hearing this take makes me really sad again about the vocals on the band’s debut, because Schaffer is definitely a much superior vocalist to the sacked Gene Adam. On Stormrider he’s about on par with Greely and this track is epic.

The quality just keeps on coming with Night of the Stormrider. Even the interlude tracks feature some very interesting guitar work. The vocal work of both Greely and Schaffer fits very well with this release, which is much more riff based than some other works by Iced Earth. Like on the debut the musicianship between the members of the band is very strong. My favourite tracks would have to be Angels Holocaust/Stormrider, Desert Rain, and the epic ending piece Travel in Stygian. But as with any album of this sort of quality, it’s an experience best taken from start to finish without stopping, and is one to be enjoyed time and time again.

Of course, by doing a review for an album so many years after its release I can’t help but mention that most of this album is also available on the compilation Days of Purgatory, with new vocals recorded by long-time frontman Matt Barlow, who replaced Greely after this album. I have to be honest, the versions on Days of Purgatory are vocally superior to those found here on Night of the Stormrider, and that to me Matt Barlow will always be the best Iced Earth vocalist. However at the same time, to me, there is no denying that it is Night of the Stormrider that is the true classic out of Iced Earth’s full-length albums. This is an absolutely essential album for all metal fans, particularly those who are really into Thrash, Power and Traditional Heavy Metal.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)