Opening act and local Auckland Power Metallers STORMFORGE broken open the night with their incredibly tight and technical set, performing greats off their EP such as "Sea of Stone" and "Immolation to Infinity". Being at the foot (almost literally) of Miro's superhuman soloing skills (excuse the alliteration) was something breathtaking; little did I know ICED EARTH's lead guitarist Troy Seele would be blazing away at the same spot.

It is not often that a band like ICED EARTH graces the shores of out-of-the-way New Zealand, with a comparitively small metal following that is known for its love of the mainstream and the extreme. However, for the third time in a row, dedicated promoters at Chaos NZ managed to grab the attention of one of my favorite bands, who were all too happy to play in a relatively intimate nightclub venue. Having met the band beforehand, I could tell they were keen for an extremely killer show.
 

Being one of the first into the venue, I was super lucky to get a spot directly in front of the stage, nearly an arm's reach away, and the band opened with the explosive "Plagues of Babylon" and Democide from the new album. Still fresh in everyone's minds, it was the best opening sequence I could have asked for, the latter being one of my favorited ICED EARTH tracks of all time.

Stu Block proved his voice was back in full swing, showcasing his intense, emotive displays of raw power. New bassist Luke Appleton exhuded a brilliant stage presence, and along with the great Jon Dette fleshed out the band's new rhythm section, doing well to fill the shoes of Brent Smedley. The mask placed in front of his drum set could only mean the presence of "V" in the setlist, and along with "Burning Times" and "Vengeance is Mine", were belted out and truly loved by their hardcore fans. Their beefy setlist spanned their career from the 90's through to today, and even included my favorite Ripper-era track, "Red Baron/Blue Max".
 

Stu's soulful and apt delivery of "If I Could See You" was one of the best performed that night, the balladic soundscape reverberating throughout the excellent acoustics of the venue, and arm-waving quickly turned into horn-throwing with their early classic, "Iced Earth"; a common, and well-known encore track to be performed by them at nearly every show. I've been to shows with a far greater number of bands; but never have I left feeling quite as euphoric and drained.