Iced Earth "Days Of Purgatory"

Days of Purgatory is a heavy metal album by Iced Earth. It is a collection of remixes and remakes from previous albums, with the exception of their then-recent record The Dark Saga. Most of the songs from the Enter the Realm EP, Iced Earth, and Night of the Stormrider were re-sung by Matt Barlow, and on some of the songs the drums and bass were redone. The 2-CD version also has rough mixes of several songs from Burnt Offerings with the opening to the title track re-recorded. The album cover features artwork of the Chaos Comics character Purgatori.

The reason for the album was to improve the original songs, create nostalgia for older fans and introduce newer fans to Iced Earth's older work. The 2-CD limited edition was originally produced for European audiences but has since been released in the United States. Days of Purgatory was the last new release from the band featuring longtime guitarist Randall Shawver, and the first to feature bassist James MacDonough and drummer Brent Smedley.

The song "Written on the Walls" from the band's self titled album was given completely new lyrics and renamed "Cast in Stone". The only songs left unrecorded from the band's first albums were "Mystical End", "The Path I Choose", and "Curse the Sky", though the latter two were both performed live with Barlow on vocals. "Winter Nights" was recorded during early sessions for Night of the Stormrider while Gene Adam was still on vocals, but this was the track which prompted Schaffer to ask Adam to get singing lessons, as it was felt he could not handle the high notes. Therefore, the song was not used on the album due to its acrimonious history, though it would have fit in with the storyline of the album. Live performances of this song from that era (such as Wuppertal '91) show him struggling to sing it, probably contributing to his dismissal. Schaffer eventually dug the song out of the vaults to use on this album with Barlow providing vocals, but, as mentioned in the album's booklet, used a 1986 Purgatory demo for the backing track instead.

Track listing

One CD edition

1. "Enter the Realm" (instrumental) Jon Schaffer Enter the Realm 0:54
2. "Colors" Schaffer Randall Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 4:50
3. "Angels Holocaust" Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 4:53
4. "Stormrider" Schaffer Shawver, Night of the Stormrider 4:47
5. "Winter Nights" Schaffer (previously unreleased) 3:55
6. "Nightmares" Schaffer Enter the Realm 3:42
7. "Pure Evil" Schaffer Shawver, Night of the Stormrider 6:33
8. "Solitude" (instrumental) Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 1:44
9. "When the Night Falls" Schaffer Iced Earth 9:01
10. "Desert Rain" Schaffer, Dave Abell Night of the Stormrider 6:56
11. "The Funeral" (instrumental) Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 6:15
12. "Cast in Stone" (rewritten version of "Written on the Walls") Matt Barlow, Shawver, Schaffer, Abell Iced Earth 5:59
13. "Reaching the End" Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 1:11
14. "Travel in Stygian" Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 9:32
15. "Iced Earth" Schaffer Iced Earth 5:22

Two CD edition

Disc one

1. "Enter the Realm" Schaffer Enter the Realm 0:54
2. "Colors" Schaffer Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 4:50
3. "Angels Holocaust" Schaffer Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 4:53
4. "Stormrider" Schaffer Shawver, Night of the Stormrider 4:47
5. "Winter Nights" Schaffer (previously unreleased) 3:55
6. "Nightmares" Schaffer Enter the Realm 3:42
7. "Before the Vision" Schaffer Shawver, Abell Night of the Stormrider 1:35
8. "Pure Evil" Schaffer Shawver, Night of the Stormrider 6:33
9. "Solitude" (instrumental) Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 1:44
10. "The Funeral" (instrumental) Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 6:15
11. "When the Night Falls" Schaffer Iced Earth  9:01

Disc two

1. "Burnt Offerings" Schaffer Shawver, Burnt Offerings 7:22
2. "Cast in Stone" (rewritten version of "Written on the Walls") Barlow, Shawver, Schaffer, Abell Iced Earth 5:59
3. "Desert Rain" Schaffer, Abell Night of the Stormrider 6:56
4. "Brainwashed" Shawver, Schaffer Burnt Offerings 5:22
5. "Life and Death" Shawver, Schaffer Iced Earth 6:07
6. "Creator Failure" Shawver, Schaffer, Abell Burnt Offerings 6:02
7. "Reaching the End" Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 1:11
8. "Travel in Stygian" Schaffer Night of the Stormrider 9:32
9. "Dante's Inferno" Schaffer Burnt Offerings 16:26
10. "Iced Earth" Schaffer Iced Earth 5:22

"Cast in Stone" is "Written on the Walls" from the self-titled album with new lyrics written by Matt Barlow.

Purgatori (the demonic woman on the album cover) is a character from Chaos Comics, who worked out an advertising deal with Century Media.

Recording information:

Tracks 1-5 on disc 1 are reworked versions of the first studio recordings in 1986.

Tracks 1, 2, 6 and 9 on disc 1 and track 10 on disc 2 are reworked versions of the "Enter the Realm" demo.

Track 10 on disc 1 and tracks 2 and 5 on disc 2 are reworked versions of "Iced Earth".

Tracks 3, 4, 7 and 8 on disc 1 and tracks 3, 7 and 8 on disc 2 are reworked versions of "Night of the Stormrider".

Tracks 1, 4, 6 and 9 on disc 2 are reworked versions of "Burnt Offerings".