On December 6th, 2019, American heavy metal group ICED EARTH will finally release the classic 1999 live opus Alive in Athens as its first proper vinyl edition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this monumental recording.
Originally released as a 2CD, 3CD and picture LP set, Alive in Athens came out slightly flawed two decades ago yet turned into a gigantic success for ICED EARTH and was certified Gold in Greece, where the more than thirty different songs spanning set had been recorded on two nights at Athens’ Rodon Club in January 1999.
The original release lacked the live version of “Colors” and the picture LP was a fairly careless CD to vinyl transfer interrupting Matt Barlow’s stage banter several times and split up tracks that had been performed back to back (for example the Something Wicked (Trilogy)). Together with Jon Schaffer, this anniversary edition was created, offering a partially revised sequencing and fully dynamic vinyl mastering by Patrick W. Engel / Temple Of Disharmony as well as many additional extras, Jon Schaffer states:
‘Alive In Athens has been called one of the greatest heavy metal live albums of all time. For me, it was one of the high points in a long and eventful journey that carries on to this day. I’ve experienced some of the best memories of my musical and personal life in Greece and these two nights in Athens are certainly no exception. I am honored and humbled by the passion of ICED EARTH fans in Greece and all over the world and hope you will all enjoy this ultimate edition of Alive in Athens!’
Alive in Athens (20th Anniversary Edition) includes five 180gram LPs, a 12-page LP-sized booklet with liner notes by Jon Schaffer and Matt Barlow as well as Hakos Pervanidis (Metal Hammer Greece) who also contributed additional visual content, and 60x60cm poster.
You can order your copy here.
