Eros's blog: "Favourite Albums"

Original - Re-issue - Burnt Offerings is American heavy metal band Iced Earth's third album, released April 18, 1995, by Century Media Records. This album marked the introduction of vocalist Matt Barlow, who many fans consider to be "the voice" of Iced Earth. It is also the only Iced Earth album featuring drummer Rodney Beasley. The final track of the album, Dante's Inferno, is based on the famous epic poem The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The original album cover is of Lucifer in the Ninth Circle from Gustave Doré's series of engravings based on the work. This album drew both ire and praise at the same time, anger from the European fans who felt betrayed that Iced Earth chose a different path musically, and in contrast, sold much higher in the USA than their previous albums. The arrival of Barlow began bringing influences from power metal, though this album still retained most of the musical identity of thrash metal from the bands previous albums. As with Iced Earth and Night of the Stormrider, the 2001 remastered version has a new cover. Burnt Offerings is said to have been written during a time of turmoil and anger, particularly focusing on a dispute with the band's then record label, Century Media Records. According to interviews with Jon Schaffer, the title track is about the band's struggles with Century Media. (This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (April 2008)) Track listing # Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Burnt Offerings" Jon Schaffer Randall Shawver, Schaffer 7:22 2. "Last December" Schaffer Schaffer 3:23 3. "Diary" Matt Barlow Shawver, Schaffer, Dave Abell 6:14 4. "Brainwashed" Schaffer Shawver, Schaffer 5:22 5. "Burning Oasis" Schaffer Shawver, Schaffer, Abell 6:00 6. "Creator Failure" Schaffer Shawver, Schaffer, Abell 6:02 7. "The Pierced Spirit" Schaffer Shawver, Abell 1:54 8. "Dante's Inferno" Schaffer Schaffer 16:26 Burnt Offerings