Yeah, it is the only review. Because mine got deleted, and I don't know why!

Grrr...

Ach, Mein Lieber GOTT! - 0%
Written by corviderrant on March 31st, 2004

I thought I had heard bad before, but this CD redefines that concept. Even the lovely Sandra Schleret sounds obnoxious and out of place here. Siegfried are simply awful, and pretentious German language lyrics based on the ever-popular Richard Wagner's "Nibelung" opera are no way to save the fact that this band sucks hard. The production is thin and weak, and the drumming is not only both unsteady and uninspired, but very obviously triggered and powerless, sounding like cardboard boxes. The riffing is generic, and the vocals...ach, Gott, the vocals are awful. At least when Bruder Cle's highly aggravating "aggressive shout" style is in the fore which is, grievously, most of the time. He sounds like a cartoon character, he is so laughably bad. Sandra comes in here and there to save things with her warbling soprano, but she sounds thin and ineffectual, and it's only the occasional clean male vocal that comes in that is worth listening to, hence the 5 rating. Otherwise, this is the dregs of Euro metal, and avoid, avoid, avoid!!! The sad thing is, this band takes themselves so damn seriously, it only makes me laugh harder at them...

Ach mein Gott pt II - 95%
Written by BrainFury on June 20th, 2004

I just can't understand my previous speaker's review! This is one of the best albums I've ever heared. Melodic, disvertified and simply great. The voclas are one of the best things. This is what makes Siegfried special. This makes them differ from the standard. And in addition the lyrics are not based on Richard Wagner's opera but as well as the opera on the old german folk tale of the "Nibelungen"
Ach mein Gott how great this is!

The first one is perfectly fine.

Oh it is not.

This should not be categorized as a METAL album - 70%
Written by peymanmetal on October 26th, 2004


Well, before starting to write this, first I read all other reviews prior to mine.
Quite versatile.

Most of the reviewers praised this album. One, threw it in the garbage can.

In my opinion, first we should realize what we are going to talk about.
This is NOT a METAL album. This may sound crazy to some of you metalheads, but that’s true.
They have done a relatively good job – Nightwish - , but we should realize, and accept, that we are not talking about a METAL album, hence we should criticize it taking this fact into consideration, first.

If I was asked to specify a genre (or a sub-genre) for this album, I might have said, Metallic Orchestrated “X”. You decide what to call “X”, but it is NOT Metal.

The orchestral acts are rather too much in this album, making the Metallic partial evanescent.
Rhythms are changing too much, you easily could lose track of what you were listening to.
Tarja – got pretty famous by now – seems not to be willing to put as much as efforts she used to.

To generalize it, it is a soundtrack! It would be much easier to enjoy this music if accompanied by a properly matched fantasy motion picture.

I still firmly believe that, OCEANBORN remains the best album of this band.

ONCE, is an album to listen to for some short period of time, and to archive it. It won’t stay long in your CD player, nor the melodies will remain on your mind.

I guess you mean this one?

maybe next time guys? - 15%
Written by Gortician on November 2nd, 2003

I dont about this one, I just really don't know. For starters I can't take the song titles or lyrics very seriously. Second , how can anyone take a Black/Thrash band seriously when they have crap like "the force was used on this recording" (referring to "the force" from star wars, so the band informed me), and " fuckin hellrockin black motherfuckin metal" or something to that extent written in the booklet.
And now for the music, well it sounds to me like "play-by numbers" blatant destruction riff rip offs to me 90% of the time. Nothing new or great to be found here.
For this kind of music I would much rather listen to Bewitched (swe) or Deathwitch even.
Sorry lads, this band does not do anything for me at all, except wish I had spent my last 20$ on something else.

Classic album - 96%
Written by Iced_Demon on July 21st, 2002


Night of the Stormrider is highly regarded as Iced Earth's best album, and I believe so too. It shares the top ranking with Burnt Offerings as my favorite, however. It is a concept album about a man who feels betrayed by Christianity and is chosen to bring about Armagedon. In the end, he ends up taking a little journey through Stygian, hehe.

This album features John Greely on lead vocals, the second singer of Iced Earth, and is no longer in the band. He was a great improvement of their first vocalist, Gene Adam. John's vocals range from typical thrash metal to a more melodic singing voice, which isn't often but is very good in my opinion.

All of the songs on this album are killer (there are two interludes which are also good). They are fast-paced and very thrashy with upbeat tempos. It's almost impossible to say one song is better than another, but most feel that the highlight of the album is the last song, "Travel in Stygian." This song kicks some serious ass! It has some killer time changes, and it blows you away halfway through the song with some killer riffing.

This album is a classic. I can't describe it good enough, so just go get it!

What can I say? - 98%
Written by Stormrider2112 on November 8th, 2003


If I could have a band release an album half as good as this, I could die happy. This album pretty much picks up where Metallica left off after ...And Justice For All. Faster, heavier, and extremely well written and arranged, there is not one single weak spot on the album. Filled with enough wrist-numbinly fast riffs sure to make your chiropractor happy after 45 minutes of pure headbanging and is still very melodic. The highlights (on an album with nothing BUT highlights) are the ferocious Pure Evil and the epic Travel In Stygian...and the opener Angels Holocaust...and everything else!
John Greely does a great job vocal-wise, but there really aren't enough leads from Randy Shawver compared to earlier material.

Revenant - Prophecies of Deathrash Uberity - 90%
Written by Myrmidonlord666 on November 1st, 2004

Deathrash; in the vein of earlier Kreator/Death type attack. Likened to Malevolent Creation/Morbid Saint. The raspy vocals and precision guitar attack is also similar to what Pestilence was doing in the late 80's. This release may have not broken any barriers but it is solid and semi technical deathrash, that influenced many underground bands.

Eskewing the standard song structure for what seems to be a bit different, and horrifyingly good lyrics vomited forth from a very good vocalist, not exactly a 100/100, but how many releases deserve a fucking 100%? Few if any...

Leben ist Krieg, Krieg ist Leben - 100%
Written by Erecshyrinol on June 25th, 2004


Years after the musical peak of black metal, this renowned German horde released an epic of dynamic proportions compressed into an EP with a running time of under half an hour. Thrusting their fists in the face of Judeo-Christian values with minimalistic and militant pieces, these musicians use simple verse-chorus structures combined with marching beats and vocals ranging from a harsh growl to clean singing that influences the listener on a subconscious level, evoking a strong emotional reaction. Fusing two musical genres that embrace the ideas of racial seperation and nationalistic pride, ‘Asgardsrei’, combinating black metal aesthetics with oi-inspired riffing/soloing, stands, much like the topic of concept, as an uncompromising expression of these beliefs in opposition to Semitic morality and remains one of the last monuments of worth in this aged genre.

Written by Gortician on December 9th, 2003