If you combine thrash metal, patriotism, history and a symphony orchestra you have the new Iced Earth CD in a nutshell. Easily the strongest release to date from Iced Earth, The Glorious Burden is actually two separate albums. "Gettysburg (1863)," a 30+ minute, 3 song epic and the rest of the songs. Heavily laden with themes of history and patriotism, both passions of main songwriter Jon Schaffer, it would seem pre-concieved and uppity if it weren't so damn sincere!

The revolving door that is the lineup of Iced Earth continues to spin, this time replacing long-time singer Matt Barlow with former Judas Priest frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens. I was never particularly impressed with Owens when he fronted Priest, but then, I've never been particularly impressed with Judas Priest as a whole. Mixing Owens' voice with Shaffer's songwriting seems to click particularly well, though. I liked Barlow's voice on previous releases and thought he was the perfect vocalist for this band but Owens improves the sound of the band. His flexibility and range are close enough that they don't take away from the Iced Earth sound and different enough that he doesn't come across as a copycat fill-in.

Songs like "Declaration Day," the 9/11-themed "When The Eagle Cries," and soldier tribute "Green Face" highlight the first half of the CD with strong rythms and great vocal performances. They would benefit from a permenant lead guitarist to add unique style instead of various "guest" guitarists filling the leads but overall they are strong songs.

If this were vinyl, the first 9 songs would be the first side, while one flips the record to listen to the "B-side," the epic masterpiece "Gettysburg (1863)." Actually comprised of three songs, each based on Shaffer's interpretation of a day in the epic Gettysburg battle of the Civil War. At first glance, one would imagine that Shaffer is just following the trend of using a symphony in heavy metal (think Aerosmith, Kiss and Metallica). However, this is what he considers to be his songwriting masterpiece and as he says in the linear notes, it does make the music "more dramatic and atmospheric" without overshadowing the heavy metal aspect. Without a doubt, this is the pinnacle of composition for this band and this writer. One cannot help but be absorbed into Shaffer's interpretation of that epic and monumental time in American history. As I said earlier, it would seem pre-concieved if it weren't so sincere. At times, the background vocals are a bit much but overall the atmosphere and feeling do the theme justice.

I would highly recommend checking out The Glorious Burden. It's heavy metal that's accesible to those who aren't necessarily heavy metal fans. The playing is tight, the vocals are great, the composition flawless and the topics are interesting. It doesn't hurt in the least that the package is good, including artwork for each song, lyrics and a rather detailed explanation of the epic "Gettysburgh (1863)" by Jon Schaffer.