ICED EARTH
Royal Center - Bogotá, Colombia
March 25 2014

At last, Iced Earth was playing in Colombia!
They were supposed to perform here a few years ago but it got cancelled. So finally, Iced Earth made it to Colombia during their Worldwide Plages Tour.

The concert was scheduled at the theatre Downtown Majestic, but it was moved to the Royal Center a couple of weeks before, which is great because it's a much nicer theatre.

Some 500 fans came to the show, which is not that much, I think, considering this was Iced Earth's first visit to Bogotá.
That's probably due to the huge amount of concerts in Bogotá these days. Or perhaps it's due to the Iced Earth line-up changes, as some old school fans might consider that the band isn't the same without Matt Barlow.

Whatever it is, those who didn't come missed an incredible show!

There was no opening act. Iced Earth came on stage at 9:20 PM, under a really cool light show, with a giant screen on the background displaying the band's logo.

The show started more than an hour later than expected because the soundcheck took quite a long time, but the sound was so good that we quickly forgot about this delay.

Seriously, I have seldom heard such a clear sound, it was perfect and felt like hearing the albums on a really good stereo.
I was particularly happy about that because the last time I saw Iced Earth the sound was not good at all.

On this tour, they’re not wearing the classic Iced Earth blue denim "uniform" anymore. They were all wearing black clothes, and had a back patch with the cover of the Plagues Of Babylon album.

That’s a really cool stage presence that emphasizes the dark side of the latest record.
They look imposing, even if they don’t move much on stage.
Only Luke Appleton and Stu Block went sometimes to the right and the left sides of the stage, but Jon and Troy remained static on their side during most of the show.

I think that Troy should definitely stand in the centre of the stage while he plays some of his impressive solos.
And impressive is a word that fits any Iced Earth band member.

Jon Schaffer has still the fastest right hand around, also being icredibly precise. His style is unique and remains unmatched!
Oh, and he was wearing a Volbeat wristband.

I'd previously seen Luke Appelton on the band's DVD Live in Ancient Kourion, and I now I can confirm what I first thought: such a young and talented guy is a great addition to the band!

And on drums there was no other than the mighty Jon Dette, known for his work with Anthrax, Testament and Slayer among others.
This rhythm machine is not an official permanent member of Iced Earth, but he's doing a great work on the road.

And what about Stu Block? I'e seen DVDs with him, but reviously, I’ve only seen Iced Earth with Barlow, so I discovered the new frontman tonight… and I think he totally kicked ass!
He did a great performance on both, the new and the old songs.

Not only Stu has a great voice, but he also feels the songs, gets into them, and makes them his own.
It was particularly impressive to hear him sing My Own Savior, A Question Of Heaven, and a very emotive version of Watching Over Me.

Stu also very charismatic and made us scream, sing and raise our fists.
He didn’t talk much between the songs but said that it felt great to play Bogotá for the first time, and he had the feeling that it won’t be the last.

The setlist went through most Iced Earth albums, and Plagues Of Babylon was well represented with a total of four songs.
But of course, it’s hard to please every Iced Earth fan around and some classic songs were missing, like Melancholy (Holy Martyr), Ten Thousand Strong, Declaration Day or Travel In Stygian to name a few.

The show ended at 10:50pm, after one and a half hours discharge of pure Metal.
Some might argue that they could have played a little longer, especially because we're talking about the band that released on the best live albums of all times (Alive in Athens) and who's done one of the most splendid Metal tours (The Horrorshow Tour).

But still, there was no reason to complain.
Iced Earth demonstrated again that they’re one of the finest live acts, with a perfect sound, a great light show, a solid setlist and a faultless performance.

Those who attended, will forever remember this show. And those who missed it... should be crying right now.

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Setlist Iced Earth – Royal Center – Bogotá, – March 25 2014

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Iced Earth band Line-up: