Iced Earth "The Glorious Burden"

The Glorious Burden is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Iced Earth. It is a concept album, which explores various moments in military history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, and Waterloo. It also pays tribute to world events such as World War I, the World Trade Center attacks and the ravages of Attila the Hun. See the track list for links to the historical context of the songs.

The album includes a trilogy entitled Gettysburg (1863). Each of the three songs represents one day in the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere and considered the turning point in the American Civil War.

This album features the debut of lead singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Judas Priest. Owens, who at that time was still in Judas Priest, was asked to do the vocals as a side project. However, he joined the band full-time after Judas Priest reunited with Rob Halford. The album was first recorded with Matt Barlow on vocals, but band leader Jon Schaffer was not satisfied with his performance. Due to the events of September 11, Barlow became more interested in law enforcement than the music business, and according to Schaffer "Matt's heart was not in it and it showed in his performance." As a result, Matt left the band and the album was shelved until a new vocalist could be found. However, some of Barlow's initial recordings remain on the record as backing vocals, and he is credited with co-writing two songs.

This record is the only Iced Earth album to feature Ralph Santolla on lead guitars. This was the last studio album for bassist James MacDonough and drummer Richard Christy.

The album was released in three different formats: a limited edition two-disc version in digipak format, an American version and a European version. See the track list for the differences.

"The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)", "Declaration Day", and the acoustic version of "When the Eagle Cries (Unplugged)" were all released as music videos.

Track listing

Limited edition digipak version

Disc 1

1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" (instrumental) John Stafford Smith 1:14
2. "Declaration Day" Jon Schaffer Schaffer 4:59
3. "When the Eagle Cries" Schaffer Schaffer 4:06
4. "The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)" Schaffer Schaffer 4:57
5. "Greenface" Schaffer Schaffer 3:03
6. "Attila" Matt Barlow, Schaffer Barlow, Schaffer 5:36
7. "Red Baron/Blue Max" Tim Owens Schaffer 4:05
8. "Hollow Man" Schaffer Schaffer 4:25
9. "Valley Forge" Schaffer Schaffer 4:46
10. "Waterloo" Barlow, Schaffer Barlow, Schaffer 5:50
11. "When the Eagle Cries (Unplugged)" Schaffer Schaffer 3:35

Disc 2: Gettysburg (1863)

1. "The Devil to Pay (July 1, 1863)" (references "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Dixie") Schaffer Schaffer 12:13
2. "Hold at All Costs (July 2, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 7:06
3. "High Water Mark (July 3, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 12:36

American version

1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" (instrumental) Smith 1:14
2. "Declaration Day" Schaffer Schaffer 4:59
3. "When the Eagle Cries" Schaffer Schaffer 4:06
4. "The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)" Schaffer Schaffer 4:57
5. "Greenface" Schaffer Schaffer 3:03
6. "Valley Forge" Schaffer Schaffer 4:46
7. "Attila" Barlow, Schaffer Barlow, Schaffer 5:36
8. "Hollow Man" Schaffer Schaffer 4:25
9. "Red Baron/Blue Max" Owens Schaffer 4:05
10. "The Devil to Pay (July 1, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 12:13
11. "Hold at All Costs (July 2, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 7:06
12. "High Water Mark (July 3, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 12:36

European version

1. "Declaration Day" Schaffer Schaffer 4:59
2. "When the Eagle Cries" Schaffer Schaffer 4:06
3. "The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)" Schaffer Schaffer 4:57
4. "Attila" Barlow, Schaffer Barlow, Schaffer 5:36
5. "Red Baron/Blue Max" Owens Schaffer 4:05
6. "Hollow Man" Schaffer Schaffer 4:25
7. "Valley Forge" Schaffer Schaffer 4:46
8. "Waterloo" Barlow, Schaffer Barlow, Schaffer 5:50
9. "The Devil to Pay (July 1, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 12:13
10. "Hold at All Costs (July 2, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 7:06
11. "High Water Mark (July 3, 1863)" Schaffer Schaffer 12:36

North American release date: January 13th, 2004

European release date: January 12th, 2004

Tracks 10 to 12 construct the suite "Gettysburg (1863)".

Unlike most Iced Earth albums, "The Glorious Burden" features no fantasy or mythology-based lyrics, and the songs are mostly based on military history. The album was written as a response to the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, which are directly addressed in "When the Eagle Cries". Matt Barlow recorded the original lead vocal tracks, but when he left the band to become a police officer (inspired by the events of 9/11) the album release was delayed until his parts were replaced by Tim Owens. Barlow's original backing vocals can still be heard on the album.

Because of the album's extremely patriotic American themes, some tracks weren't added to versions released in certain countries. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was removed from the German release, and was replaced with "Green Face".

Music videos:

- When the Eagles Cry

Recording information:

Recorded at Schaffer Sound aka "The Dungeon".

Drums recorded at Morrisound.

Mixed at Morrisound in late July, 2003.