So apparently I just got this alert on Spotify that IE did a narrated album of some of their songs.

He should've just called this "The Jon Schaffer Legal Defense Fund".

It still saddens me the whole thing honestly. I think most people knew right from The Glorious Burden that the dude was/is a massive patriot who then turned into a conspiracy theorist (just a fine line heh?) involved with sketchy right wing groups. I get that he was trying to fight for what he believes in, but damn, throwing the whole Iced Earth legacy (and Demons & Wizards) down the drain because "muh america" is sad. Now he's turned into a snitch for the feds, getting death threats from those sketchy groups who used to be his "friends" and get thrown literal shit in his face in prison. I wonder what Matt Barlow thinks of this.

He thinks everyone needs to be a lot less "judgemental": https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ex-ic ... udgmental/

Look at that GOD AWFUL cover art though.

That cover art is atrocious good lord. Even if he hadn't done what he did I'd be skipping this, and I loved Iced Earth.

This whole Schaffer saga has probably been the funniest event in metal history.

That artwork is atrocious and as for Schaffer he is a grown adult. He made his bed and now has to lay in it. I have a modicum of sympathy for him as a misguided human being but that only extends so much. I hope he learns his lesson and learns it well.

And all of this coming from someone who FUCKIN' ADORED the early IE stuff.

Bad taste, ok execution? It's aimed at horny teenagers, but it's not the worst executed cover. "Hey I want succubi, with, like, very large breasts on this cover. The album is devoid of content that really matters, so we gotta get those titties on the cover to sell to horny young men."

Oh, to be in the alternate universe where Schaffer stayed home on January 6th and this is the Iced Earth-related thing to be the most embarrassed about.

Yeah the mind boggles. The last IE album was pretty good and long epic song was a highlight. Stu Block fit that band. Shame.

While that's all true, and the past year has been open season to dunk on Schaffer (and he certainly deserves it), it's not like it's either new or disconnected topically. The cover of Days of Purgatory is similar, and in Dante (Alighieri)'s Inferno (the book) the second circle of hell is lust, the canto of the queens, so it is thematic to it.

Topically? No. But the execution is far from good. This one looks like a fourth-rate 90's Image comic rip-off. I guess it is done fairly well from a technical standpoint but that is about it.

I'm just saying it's in the comic style of previous work they've released. I don't think people really cared back then.

Incredibly charitable of you to assume that any teenagers nowadays are into Iced Earth.

Fuck, this is just such an obvious, desperate cash grab. Who the fuck wants a narrated IE album? As if anyone ever actually cared about the conceptual side of their music, and I'm saying this as someone who actually digs a fair bit of the band's career. Talk about taking a nosedive.

That is the question - does anybody dive into Iced Earth because they cannot get enough of the "Something Wicked..." saga? Really?

Set Abominae has never been much more than an Eddie rip off with a needlessly complicated backstory, so no, I don't think anyone loses sleep over the premise.

Dude actually thinks big tiddy demon girls on cover art will still sell an album in 2022, let alone an Iced Earth album, let alone an Iced Earth spoken word album. What a time to be alive.

I mean he's used the big titty demon girl before so I'm not seeing the issue of the album cover. The product is not needed.

This exactly. If you wanna have third rate drawings of big titty demon girls on your album cover then knock yourself out. I see no issue in that inherently. The problem is that this album is just unnecesarry and screams "cash grab".

The big titty demon girls are clearly part of the cash grab, which is what make the use of them pathetic, really.

Fuck Matt Barlow, too.



He knows his current audience consists of virgins browsing /pol/ who'll lap this shit up.

I swear I've heard this already, like two years ago. Huh.

Whoever buys this deserves how shitty it is.

It’s been on a Kickstarter since 2020, probably released some songs off there.

They needed to do a kickstarter for that???

They got it all wrong, you get the disc company to pay for the album, you get the fans to pay for your spa.

Most of this comes from his book that he wrote regarding his lyrics and stuff.




It’s not that shocking besides the timing of it which is susceptible.

Well, here it is, the most unnecessary release of 2022 - and it got here so early!

Worst thing about the art is the lack of textures and poor contrast, concept is ok.

Is this just an independent thing because I thought Century Media dropped all Schaffer projects.

Just find it ironic and kinda funny when ppl are dissing on an entire, unreleased album and its eventual fanbase solely because of its cover, but then, proceed to listen and praise Ragnarok, Cradle of Filth and Eternal Champion lmao

What is wrong with Eternal Champion? Both albums are awesome!

Seeing as it was funded via Kickstarter it might be released by Schaffer himself

That just looks like a slightly cartoonier version of their old covers honestly.

That said, the band sucks and this sounds like a dumb idea. Like yeah I really need to hear that meathead fuckface opining the mysteries and nuance of the lyrics of an album based around a comic book monster, lol.

You think channers listen to old American power metal?

I'm pretty sure he was referring to the artwork.

Ah! My mistake. In that case I can understand the criticism.

The actual book is kind of cool, like a collective item kind of. Todd Mcfarlane and Greg Carpullo contributed to some of the art along with a bunch of other artists. I dont think people would give a shit about the story or lyrics.

I have never had a problem with boobs.

It's still a shitty cover art - these "bras" are useless!

Seriously - I just clicked at the link provided by the original post...I mean, what the hell? How useless is this?

Don't you worry, Schaffer is also selling a version on their merch store with a naked cover - for a $50 USD upcharge.

Nah, you got me wrong there, I'm questioning their functionality, i mean look at that fabric!