Iced Earth
look back on some old ideas on their tenth studio album,
Dystopia
, their first album with new vocalist
Stu Block
(formerly of
Into Eternity
), who joined the band after
Matt Barlow
decided to depart the band a second time to focus on his family. The album finds
Block
pushing his vocals into new territories, moving away from the anguished growl he perfected with
in favor of a more soaring singing style.
handles the change well, easily adapting his style to fill some pretty big shoes in the power metal outfit. While fans might be torn about the new singer, they can find solace in the return of the "Something Wicked" story line, giving them a little taste of something old to ease them into this new period of
's history, which -- regardless of whether you're running hot or cold on their new frontman -- still delivers plenty of the intense power/thrash goodness. ~ Gregory Heaney