I tend to review things long after their initial release and let the dust settle. Iced Earth is a band that is loved/hated with very few in the middle. This album is in my opinion, aging very well. I have heard Jon Schaffer describe this as the album that fulfilled the Century Media contract and that he wasn't as into the concept as he was for Glorious Burden or the Something Wicked albums that follow. I think he needs to step back and give his Horror Show another spin. He should be very proud of this album. I agree with other reviewers that the idea of Horror Show could destroy a band if it ends up full of Cheese. Thankfully, there is very little Cheese here (Ghosts of Freedom aside). And besides, Horror Imagery and Metal go hand in hand.

Song wise, if I had to pick one song as the best, I think Damien is it. At over 9 minutes, this one never seems to drag. Barlow's delivery just before the solo can make the hair on your neck stand up (I will avenge thy torment).

I rarely skip through this album. It flows well start to finish, which is more than I can say for most metal bands these days. Other than Damien, great songs are Wolf, Jack, Im-ho-tep, Dragon's Child, Dracula and the cover of Maiden's Transylvania. I'm not a fan of bands putting cover songs on their propoer albums, but they put their stamp on it and it really fits in well appearing before Frankenstein and Dracula.

Ghosts of Freedom is in essence inspired by the Patriot (Mel Gibson Movie). It can be thought of as hint of things to come in the Glorious Burden, but Schaffer has always had a thing for historical references and Patriotism (1776 on Something Wicked this Way Comes). It is basically a nice ballad but not as metal as the rest of the album. Still, not as cheesey as When the Eagle Cries on Glorious Burden.

The album closer is Phantom of the Opera Ghost. This is an impressive offering in the epic album closer department. Just beware that it does not sound anything like Maiden's Phantom of the Opera. Schaffer has described this recording as unfinished. He indicated that some day in the future he would like to revisit this one and add more parts to better tell the story. Hopefully he keeps in mind that the fans do not want another Phantom of the Opera Ghost, they want a Barlow sung Something Wicked Box Set.

I have a few bootlegs from the Horror Show tour and the band was in tip top shape at this point. The energy of this band came to a crashing halt when Matt Barlow left the Band in 2002 before the follow up album was recorded(The Glorious Burden). As solid as this one is, somehow it just didn't seem right that Matt's last album was Horror Show. There seemed to be so much more that Iced Earth needed to do with Matt at the mic. Thankfully, in 2007 Matt returned and the band has since released the Crucible of Man. Hopefully the band will get back to that frame of mind and level of energy where they were when touring for this one and finish the Re-Recording of Framing Armageddon.

Muscially and Thematically, this album is great metal, especially compared to its not so metal themed successor the Glorious Burden.

'Horror Show' has been one of my favorite albums of all time since I purchased it. For me, it is the album that all other Iced Earth albums are compared to. On the two new albums (Armageddon and Crucible), Jon Schaffer and co. have mixed more slow/medium tempo songs into the mix than on the earlier albums. Horror Show is the perfect melding of 'Stormrider's speed and 'Crucible's' medium tempos. Every song is amazing, from the opening Wolf to a cover of Iron Maiden's Transylvania to the mini-epic The Phantom Opera Ghost, but the stand-out song is definitely Damien. Damien, which retells the story of the character from 'The Omen' movies, begins with a classic Iced Earth style chant that sets the mood for the religious-tinged song. Acoustic guitars add an eerie feel to the verses and there is plenty of Matt Barlow falsetto to enjoy. If you like Iced Earth at all or power metal in general, Horror Show is a must own.

A quick disclaimer - I'm only giving this 3 stars based on Iced Earth material as a whole.

I'm actually a bit surprised this CD has received such high marks. Since transferring the files over to my MP3 player, I only kept 5 of the songs on my everyday playlist. The rest of the songs just didn't do it for me. I do love me some Damien and Dracula though.

One of the best concepts in metal ever. All of our favorite horror monster characters gets their own song/story drenched in dark lyricism by Jon Shaffer and Matt Barlow. Each song had a spine tingling feeling of horror and mystery behind its heavy attack. The first track "Wolf" starts the album off perfectly with a high pitch werewolf howl by Barlow in the beginning. In "Jeckyl & Hyde", Barlow fights with himself as he is overcome by the power of Mr. Hyde. "Damien" is so dark that it sounds like an ancient summoning. When these guys do an album, they do it all the way! The booklet was another part of the experience of the "Horror Show", giving each song an cool illustration of character with the songs lyrics. Great album!

I have always loved Iced Earth. Especially when Matt Barlow is singing. The highlights of this album are the 8 minute epics Dracula and The Phantom Opera Ghost.

Dracula is a sad, heart-wrenching tale of love and loss. This is one of Iced Earth's heaviest songs of all time. Jon Schaffer's guitar work in this song is insane. And Matt Barlow's brutal screaming really brought out the emotion of the song. You can almost see the tears in his eyes. Dracula is my number one favorite song of all time and a pinnacle achievement in the history of the band.

The Phantom Opera Ghost is a chilling tale of murder, lust, and insanity. The female singer does a fine job singing in contrast to Barlow's darker vocals. Some parts of the song are creepy, some are very subdued, and some rock as hard as any other IE song.

All in all, this album is a must-have for any collection. You may even pick some of the other songs over the two above.