Burnt Offerings (album)

1995 studio album by Iced Earth

Burnt Offerings

Studio album by

Iced Earth

Released

April 18, 1995

Recorded

Morrisound Studios (Tampa, Florida)^[1]

Genre

Power metal
thrash metal

Length

52:39

Label

Century Media

Producer

Tom Morris
Jon Schaffer^[1]

Iced Earth chronology

Night of the Stormrider
(1991)

Burnt Offerings
(1995)

The Dark Saga
(1996)

Alternative cover

2001 reissue cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Metal Storm	10/10^[3]

Burnt Offerings is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released on April 18, 1995,^[4] it was the group's first album since 1991's Night of the Stormrider, after which the band took a three-year layoff.^[1] During this time they recruited drummer Rodney Beasley and singer Matthew Barlow, replacing Rick Secchiari and John Greely, respectively.

Burnt Offerings has been described as Iced Earth's heaviest and darkest record.^[1]^[3] Rhythm guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer has said that the heaviness of the songs were a result of his frustration with the music industry.^[5] Schaffer's frustration is particularly evident in the title track, which talks about the problems the band had to endure during its downtime.^[1]

The album is also notable for including one of the longest songs Iced Earth has ever recorded; "Dante's Inferno". Clocking in at 16 minutes and 26 seconds, "Dante's Inferno" is based on the Inferno segment of Dante Alighieri's epic poem, the Divine Comedy.^[6] The album starts with a spoken line from Bram Stoker's Dracula. The album's original cover art was also a painting by Gustave Doré, of Lucifer from the Divine Comedy.

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by Jon Schaffer, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Burnt Offerings"		Schaffer Randall Shawver	7:22
2.	"Last December"			3:23
3.	"Diary"	Matt Barlow	Dave Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:14
4.	"Brainwashed"		Schaffer Shawver	5:22
5.	"Burning Oasis"		Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:00
6.	"Creator Failure"		Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:02
7.	"The Pierced Spirit"		Abell Shawver	1:54
8.	"Dante's Inferno" I. "Denial, Lust, Greed" II. "The Prodigal, The Wrathful, Medusa" III. "The False Witness, Angel of Light"			16:26

On the original CD, released in 1995, "Dante's Inferno" was divided into three parts on a single track.^[7] On subsequent re-releases since then, the song has been listed as one track.

2008 Slave to the Dark bonus disc

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Burnt Offerings" (Rough mix)		Schaffer Shawver	7:13
2.	"Last December" (Rough mix)			3:25
3.	"Diary" (Rough mix)	Barlow	Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:17
4.	"Brainwashed" (Rough mix)		Schaffer Shawver	5:26
5.	"Burning Oasis" (Rough mix)		Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:06
6.	"Creator Failure" (Rough mix)		Abell Schaffer Shawver	6:06
7.	"The Pierced Spirit" (Rough mix)		Abell Shawver	1:57
8.	"Dante's Inferno" (Rough mix I. "Denial, Lust, Greed" II. "The Prodigal, The Wrathful, Medusa" III. "The False Witness, Angel of Light)			16:22

Personnel

Iced Earth

Matthew Barlow − lead vocals^[8]
Jon Schaffer − rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocals, co-producer^[8]
Dave Abell − bass^[8]
Randall Shawver − lead guitar^[8]
Rodney Beasley − drums^[8]

Additional musicians

Howard Helm − keyboards^[8]

Other personnel

Tom Morris – co-producer, engineer^[8]
Tim Hubbard – photography^[8]
Axel Hermann – artwork (on 2001 reissue)^[8]
Travis Smith – artwork (on 2001 reissue)^[8]
Jim Morris – mixing, mastering (on 2001 reissue)^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Burnt Offerings". Icedearth.com. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
^ "Burnt Offerings review". Allmusic. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings review". Metal Storm. September 18, 2003. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
^ "Burnt Offerings at Amazon.com". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
^ "Jon Schaffer interview from 1996". December 8, 1996. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
^ "Iced Earth re-record "Dante's Inferno" and give it away for free | The Official Iced Earth Website". Icedearth.com. September 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
^ "Burnt Offerings at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Burnt Offerings album credits. Century Media. 2001.