Without wasting any time, Iced Earth released "Night Of The Stormrider" at the end of 1991. Ambitious, he proposes a concept around the Stormrider, a human who leads humanity to its loss. For this record Jon Schaffer, the leader of the band, chooses to change the singer, Gene Adam being replaced by John Greely.
The disc proposes an aggressive melodic Thrash. The sound is powerful and the compositions are homogeneous. Greely already brings his knowledge with a belligenrent attitude while Jon Schaffer asserts himself as an outstanding guitarist in the right line of a James Hetfield.
All this is illustrated by the formidable beginning of the disc which offers three immense tracks, all of which became classics of the American formation. Thus 'Angels Holocaust', 'Stormrider' and 'The Path I Choose' stick to the seat by their power. Schaffer multiplies riffs and heavy soli and their dark melodies create a gripping, icy atmosphere. We can also note the care given to the unstoppable choruses and the fact that they are made for the stage.
The continuation of the album reserves its batch of very good titles like 'Desert Rain' all in nuances or 'Pure Evil', piece of a rare power and endowed with a raging refrain. The final track and its almost 10 minutes, 'Travel In Stygian' is a splendid piece of epic and melodic thrash worthy of Iron Maiden's tracks.
Iced Earth signs with "Night Of The Stormrider" a practically perfect record that will be a hit everywhere.