Review by Adam M on June 27, 2017.

This new Iced Earth has all of the heroic trappings one would expect.  The riffing is glorious and makes one become very positively motivated.  In fact, there is a very upbeat tone to the music here.  The riffs are still utilized in a staccato fashion a lot of the time.  This makes for a thrashy sound that is very epic in nature.  The riffs are larger than life and push forward the band’s vision. 

Right from the first track Great Heathen Army things are built up and the largely heroic nature of the songs comes forth.  This is built upon in other tracks like Raven Wing, which is a very subtle and addictive track.  The entirety of the album is very pleasant to listen to and this comes forth with the riffs that have a nice sheen to them.  It comes as no surprise that this album is influenced by the classic heyday of thrash with older Metallica and the like having a huge influence.  There is a very classical heritage to the songs and they take with them that spark that was built up in the past.  Still, Iced Earth is able to put their own flair into the songs and there is a distinctive touch to the songs that is very nice to behold.  The songs are certainly epic in a way that only Iced Earth is capable of portraying.  This viewpoint is a very good reason to rush out and pick up this disc.  The reasons against it are pretty light.  The music here has a tone that is still similar to their early albums which are slightly superior to Incorruptible.  So, while the music harkens back to their past, it doesn’t completely overtake it either. 

Still, the very grand nature of these tracks is hard to ignore and worth of your inspection. 

Rating: 7.7 out of 10