Original Portuguese version at Sound(/)Zone.
» “Dystopia” is ICED EARTH‘s latest album, but it might as well be “The Dark Saga” (1996) as they played the same number of songs from both. And that’s just a statement, since listening to “Dark Saga”, “I Died For You”, “A Question Of Heaven” and “The Hunter” (the latter, apparently, something of a last-minute call, as there was still time for one more) could hardly be a complaint. Especially when the “new” singer Stu Block has the same vocal pitch as Matt Barlow, who originally recorded that album. Also, Block has a powerful attitude on stage, establishing a lively empathy with the audience right from the first moment.
After “Anthem”, they left the stage for a few minutes and returned to the sound of the recorded instrumental track “In Sacred Flames”, which opened way to “Boiling Point”. The encore was yet fulfilled by the song that Jon Schaffer wrote many years ago to his late best friend, “Watching Over Me”, and “Iced Earth” should have closed the set, as usual. But as aforementioned, it was “The Hunter” which did the honours.
Block said that this was their last festival, since now they were going to focus on the new album, which should be out early next year. And that they hoped to come back soon – to one of the “most beautiful places on Earth”, according to his own words – , not letting so much time pass like they’ve done until then. The last time ICED EARTH had played in Portugal it had been in a lengendary gig of almost three hours, at the old Hard Club during the “Horror Show” tour, in 2002. Definitely a long time ago. «
Front Row Forever 