Iced Earth - The Blessed and the Damned

When American metal survivors Iced Earth departed their lifelong record label, Century Media, in 2002, they unconsciously (or perhaps consciously) put the finishing touches on an important chapter, not only in their career, but also in the American heavy metal scene's slow but inexorable climb back from shameful early-'90s disgrace to renewed prominence in the new millennium. This challenging climb -- as the band's first "true" greatest-hits set, 2004's The Blessed And The Damned, is adamant to point out -- is clearly reflected in the 23 tracks chosen to represent Iced Earth's hard-fought, 15-year trajectory thus far; and since they've never been ones to do anything half-arsed, the band spared no expense ensuring this pretty much watertight song selection would come backed by a beautifully lavish packaging job -- including extensive liner notes spiced with commentary from band founder and driving force Jon Schaffer and stunning two-way artwork by Russian artist Leo Hao. Read More