Why would I? Empire is a top 5 pop metal album. I don't particularly care about much of the rest of their discography, but Iced Earth is clearly superior.

Why the comparison though? Just the general theatricality?

Actually, that’s a great way to put it. So yes, “the general theatricality”.

Honestly I'd still compare Iced Earth to ICP for the theatricality. ICP had a unified vision that was ultimately nonsense but still provided for a framework that somehow made a modicum of sense. Iced Earth had no unified vision, but ultimately had a similar aesthetic that... ultimately makes their aesthetic feel like a failed or at least less interesting version of ICP's supposedly unified vision. I mean I love Iced Earth, but yeah ICP's success at creating their own nonsense mythos actually colors my vision of Iced Earth's lesser attempts at creating lesser mythos.

So what I'm basically saying is no matter how good a band you are, go hard or go home, ***got. But those 90s Iced Earth albums are still the ****.

Oh and two examples of straight up savage Iced Earth tracks.

I get what you’re saying pretty much but I’m trying wrap my head around what a band’s “mythos” is. I’m thinking reoccurring themes that take on a life of their own. With ICP I’m thinking magnets, faygo, hatchets, the gathering, the fbi gang watch list thing, fans pledged for life,

am I on track?

I'm pretty drunk, so don't try too hard. ICP have their own thing that they've been doing since almost day one. Iced Earth have concepts that in the 90s were album specific, but when they creatively stalled they started trying to connect albums with a phony mythos. I gave the concept way too much credit by saying anything other than that it was stupid. I don't know why I even compared the two groups other than a vague similarity in their approach.

You’re a treasure

I'm drunk explaining drunk nonsense. What's not to love?

Do you dig him?


Batty, those Iced Earth tracks were pretty bitchin' (except for Dante cos **** that ****: Maiden did that once and nobody's ever going to copy it and not make a mess of it. They made a mess of it) - I have all their albums but have never listened to any. Gonna correct that oversight real soon. Thanks.

Night of the Stormrider, Burnt Offerings, The Dark Saga, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and Horror Show are all amazing. The first Framing Armageddon album album is alright, but after Horror Show it's like a better version of Iron Maiden after Bruce.

Just start with Burnt Offerings. It's where I started and it was the best place.