''The Glorious Burden'' is the seventh studio album by the American

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 ...

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 ...

. It is a concept album, which explores various moments in military history, such as the signing of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and Waterloo. It also pays tribute to world events such as

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the World Trade Center attacks and the ravages of Attila the Hun. See the track list for links to the historical context of the songs. The album includes a trilogy entitled ''Gettysburg (1863)''. Each of the three songs represents one day in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, the largest battle ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere and considered the turning point in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. This album features the debut of lead singer

Tim "Ripper" Owens Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens (born September 13, 1967) is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest ...

, formerly of Judas Priest.

Owens Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Br ...

, who at that time was still in Judas Priest, was asked to do the vocals as a side project. However, he joined the band full-time after Judas Priest reunited with Rob Halford. The album was first recorded with

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 ...

on vocals, but band leader

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 ...

was not satisfied with his performance. Due to the events of

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

, Barlow became more interested in law enforcement than the music business, and according to Schaffer "Matt's heart was not in it and it showed in his performance."Jon Schaffer explanation of Matt Barlow's departure. As a result, Matt left the band and the album was shelved until a new vocalist could be found. However, some of Barlow's initial recordings remain on the record as backing vocals, and he is credited with co-writing two songs. This record is the only Iced Earth album to feature

Ralph Santolla Ralph Santolla (December 8, 1966 – June 7, 2018) was an Italian-American heavy metal guitarist. He played in many bands, most recently Deicide, but also including Eyewitness, Death (he never recorded any of their albums, but toured with them in ...

on lead guitars. This was the last studio album for bassist

James MacDonough James MacDonough (born April 3, 1970) is an American bass guitarist. He has played with heavy metal bands Iced Earth, Nevermore, and Megadeth. Career MacDonough was part of Iced Earth's line up from 1996–2000 and again from 2001–2004. W ...

and 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 Ster ...

. The album was released in three different formats: a limited edition two-disc version in

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

format, and single-disc American and European versions. See the track list for the differences. "The Reckoning (Don't Tread on Me)", "Declaration Day", and the acoustic version of "When the Eagle Cries (Unplugged)" were all released as music videos.

Track listing

Limited edition digipak version

Disc 1

Disc 2: Gettysburg (1863)

American version

European version

Personnel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glorious Burden, The 2004 albums Iced Earth albums SPV/Steamhammer albums Concept albums Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording Albums with cover art by Travis Smith (artist) Works about the Battle of Waterloo Works about the American Revolution Musical compositions about the American Civil War Works about the Iraq War World War I in popular culture World War II in popular culture Music about the September 11 attacks Cultural depictions of Manfred von Richthofen Cultural depictions of Attila the Hun