Plagues of Babylon

Plagues of Babylon
Studio album by
Iced Earth
ReleasedJanuary 6, 2014
RecordedJuly 15 – August 8, 2013
StudioPrincipal Studios, Senden, Germany
Genre
Length62:03
LabelCentury Media
ProducerJon Schaffer
Iced Earth chronology
Live in Ancient Kourion
(2013) 		Plagues of Babylon
(2014) 		Incorruptible
(2017)

Plagues of Babylon is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassist Luke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a guest on the album.[1] According to rhythm guitarist and band leader Jon Schaffer, half of the album is focused on his "Something Wicked" concept, while the other half are stand-alone songs.[1]

Overview

The album was originally set to be released in October 2013, but was pushed back due to Iced Earth's tour commitments in the fall.[1] The band began recording in Germany on July 15, 2013, at Principal Studios.[1][2] On August 8, 2013, it was announced that the band had completed tracking the album.[3] On September 3, the band announced they had completed mixing and mastering Plagues of Babylon.[4] On September 25, the official track listing and album cover were released.[5]

On October 7, Iced Earth announced that would be releasing a limited edition vinyl EP entitled The Plagues.[6] The EP will contain three songs from Plagues of Babylon, and will be made available on Iced Earth's European tour with Volbeat.[6] On October 11, the lyric video for the album's title track was released.[7]

The December 2013 issue of Germany's Metal Hammer magazine featured the song "Peacemaker" on the attached CD[8] and the December 2013 issue of Germany's RockHard magazine featured the song "Among the Living Dead" on the attached CD.[9] A song titled "Spirit of the Times" was originally released by Schaffer's side project Sons of Liberty, and was re-recorded for this album's release. The song "Highwayman" is a cover originally written by Jimmy Webb.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal-Temple.com[10]
Loudwire[11]
metal.de[12]
Metal-Hammer(5/7)[13]
Stormbringer[14]
Revolver Magazine[15]
Allmusic[16]
Metal Storm(7.4/10)[17]
About.com[18]
Blabbermouth.net(7.5/10)[19]
Powermetal.de[20]

Plagues of Babylon received mostly positive reviews overall from music critics. In January 2014, the album reached position No. 5 on the German Media Control Charts. This is the band's highest chart position in their entire career.[21][22] The band also reached No. 34 on the Ultratop Charts in Belgium.[23] Meanwhile, in the US, the album sold approximately 6,300 copies in its first week to debut at No. 49 on the Billboard 200.[24]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Plagues of Babylon"Jon Schaffer7:47
2."Democide"
5:22
3."The Culling"
4:26
4."Among the Living Dead"
  • Schaffer
  • Seele
  • Block
5:14
5."Resistance"
4:59
6."The End?"
  • Schaffer
  • Appleton
  • Block
7:13
7."If I Could See You"Schaffer3:55
8."Cthulhu"
  • Schaffer
  • Block
6:04
9."Peacemaker"
  • Schaffer
  • Block
5:02
10."Parasite"
  • Schaffer
  • Seele
  • Block
3:30
11."Spirit of the Times" (Sons of Liberty cover)Schaffer5:05
12."Highwayman" (Jimmy Webb cover)Jimmy Webb3:12
13."Outro" (unlisted) 0:24
Total length:1:02:13

Personnel

Iced Earth

Additional musicians

  • Raphael Saini – drums
  • Michael Poulsen – lead and backing vocals on "Highwayman"
  • Russell Allen – lead and backing vocals on "Highwayman"
  • Hansi Kürsch – lead vocals on "Among the Living Dead", backing vocals
  • Thomas Hackmann – backing vocals
  • Andrew Peters – backing vocals
  • Matt O'Rourke – backing vocals
  • Bonna Ross Bernal – backing vocals
  • Daniel Schmitz – marching drums
  • David Hambach – marching drums
  • Christopher Jobi – marching drums

Production and design

  • Eliran Kantor – cover art
  • Kevin Paul and Jon Schaffer – mixing
  • Sascha Buhren – mastering

References

  1. ^ a b c d "ICED EARTH To Enter Studio on Monday". Blabbermouth.net. July 13, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "ICED EARTH To Record New Album in Germany". Blabbermouth.net. May 27, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "ICED EARTH Completes Recording New Album". Blabbermouth.net. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "ICED EARTH Completes Mixing And Mastering New Album". Blabbermouth.net. September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  5. ^ "'Plagues of Babylon' Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "ICED EARTH To Release Limited-Edition 'The Plagues' Vinyl EP". Blabbermouth.net. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  7. ^ "ICED EARTH: Lyric Video For 'Plagues Of Babylon' Title Track". Blabbermouth.net. October 11, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  8. ^ "Dezember Heft 2013". Metal Hammer. December 1, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  9. ^ "RH No. 319". RockHard. December 1, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  10. ^ "Iced Earth – Plagues of Babylon". metal-temple.com.
  11. ^ "Iced Earth, 'Plagues of Babylon' – Album Review". Loudwire. January 28, 2014.
  12. ^ Michael Stalling. "Iced Earth". Metal.de.
  13. ^ "Iced Earth :: Plagues of Babylon". Metal Hammer. December 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Dragonslayer. "ICED EARTH – Plagues of Babylon – Review bei Stormbringer.at". stormbringer.at.
  15. ^ "Review: Iced Earth — Plagues of Babylon". Revolver.
  16. ^ Gregory Heaney. "Plagues of Babylon". AllMusic.
  17. ^ "Iced Earth – Plagues of Babylon review – Metal Storm". metalstorm.net.
  18. ^ "Iced Earth – Plagues of Babylon Review". About.com Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  19. ^ Horn, Jr., Ray Van (March 3, 2014). "CD Reviews – Plagues of Babylon Iced Earth – Blabbermouth.net". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  20. ^ "Iced Earth | Plagues of Babylon Review – Powermetal.de". Powermetal.de. January 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  21. ^ Fayyazi, Mohsen (January 14, 2014). "ICED EARTH: Highest Chart Entry Of Band's Entire Career: #5 On German Media Control Charts". metalshockfinland.com. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  22. ^ "Iced Earth, Plagues of Babylon". German Media Control Charts. Retrieved January 18, 2014.[dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Iced Earth – Plagues of Babylon". Ultratop.be. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  24. ^ "ICED EARTH's 'Plagues of Babylon' Cracks U.S. Top 50". January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.