After Stu Block joined Iced Earth, it seemed like he was going to try to handle vocal duties for both bands. But Iced Earth has and always has had a ridiculously busy touring schedule. The release of the singles "Sandstorm" and "Fukushima", Stu Block still a part of the band at this point, raised my hope that more Into Eternity would be released. Now here’s where it gets murky for me because I honestly missed all this news. At some point, in order to continue touring, vocalist Amanda Kiernan took over touring duties for Into Eternity in Stu’s absence. In this past June, she was announced as the official lead vocalist of Into Eternity. And now the first live bootleg of the band’s first single written with Amanda Kiernan has surfaced. The song is titled "Frozen Hell" and definitely sounds like Into Eternity. But I’m not sure what I think
I’m iffy on this song for one reason. Female vocals. I’m getting sick of em. A lot of female metal singers sound so similar and just have the same vibe and style. Being female doesn’t excuse you from being original, even in metal. Not to focus all my anger onto Kiernan, she seems very talented and up to the job, I just hope she brings more to the table than the average female vocalist. Honestly, maybe I just really love Stu Block’s vocals, cause I really do love them. He’s so versatile. I might just be bitter that I won’t get to hear Stu’s harsh vocals and growls mixed with his fantastic singing again. But here’s the song, and the original version of "Sandstorm" with Stu. "Sandstorm" also was recorded in another version with lead guitarist and main songwriter Tim Roth, who before Stu also handled lead vocals, handling vocals. Guess he didn’t want to do that again.
-Trisolino
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