''Horror Show'' is the sixth studio album from the American heavy metal band

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...

, released June 26, 2001. It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on classic monsters and horror-movie icons, including

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

, and

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...

. It was the first Iced Earth album to feature drummer

Richard Christy Thomas Richard Christy Jr. (born April 1, 1974) is an American drummer and radio personality, best known for being the former drummer for several heavy metal bands since the early 1990s, most notably Death, and his tenure on ''The Howard Stern ...

, and the only album to feature

Steve Di Giorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for working with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of whom he was one of the co-founders), Death (metal band), Death, Testament (band), Testament, Megade ...

on bass, though he did not tour with the band. ''Horror Show'' is usually considered Iced Earth's only straightforward

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

release, as little of the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

influence from the band's earlier works is present. This album also featured more prominent usage of Matt Barlow's multi-layered vocals as a center point for the songs. There was a special limited-edition two-disc set. The second disc included the instrumental track, "Transylvania", an

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

cover, along with an interview with bandleader/rhythm guitarist

Jon Schaffer Jon Ryan Schaffer (born March 15, 1968) is an American heavy metal musician. He is the rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter of the Indiana-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, which he formed in 1985 under the name Purgatory. He is also the ...

. There is also a single-disc version with "Transylvania", but without the interview. The song "Dracula" includes the line "the blood is the life", a quote from

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

12:23. However, it is likely lifted from the 1992 version of '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' which also features the line. As in "Dracula", many of the lyrics are lifted straight from the movies they were inspired by. Unlike other releases, it features much writing from

Matt Barlow Matthew Barlow (born March 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal singer. He is the lead singer for Ashes of Ares and former lead singer of Iced Earth and Pyramaze. He is Jon Schaffer's brother-in-law. History Barlow joined Iced Earth after the ...

. By the end of the song "Damien" there is a section where Jon's reversed voice repeats the message that is also in the middle, silent section of the song. So, if the song is played backwards, the true message can be heard. This kind of reversed voice was also done by

in the beginning of their song "Still Life" of their fourth studio album ''

Piece of Mind ''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...

''.

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by

, except where noted. *Track 6 ("Jekyll & Hyde")'s official title misspells the name of the character as "Jeckyl".

Limited edition

The initial pressing was presented in a standard two-disc jewel case with no reference to the tracks on the bonus disc (nor the disc itself) except for a sticker on the front. Because "Transylvania" is moved out of the track list, "Dragon's Child" has its full ending, increasing its length.

Disc one

Disc two

Personnel

– vocals *

– rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, mandolin, keyboards, vocal * Larry Tarnowski – guitar solos in all songs except "Ghost of Freedom" *

– drums *

– bass guitar (studio recording only)

Additional personnel

* Yunhui Percifield – lead vocal in "The Phantom Opera Ghost" as "Christine", backing vocals * Richie Wilkison – backing vocals * Rafaela Farias – backing vocals * Sam King – backing vocals * Jim Morris – backing vocals, keys, guitar solo in "Ghost of Freedom" * Howard Helm – keys (pipe organ) on "The Phantom Opera Ghost"

Charts

Monthly

References

{{Authority control 2001 albums Albums with cover art by Travis Smith (artist) Century Media Records albums Concept albums Iced Earth albums