Burnt Offerings (album)

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
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 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]