Burnt Offerings by Iced Earth

Burnt Offerings is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Iced Earth. Released on April 18, 1995, it was the group's first album since 1991's Night of the Stormrider, after which the band took a three-year layoff. During this time they recruited drummer Rodney Beasley and singer Matthew Barlow, replacing Rick Secchiari and John Greely, respectively. Burnt Offerings has been described as the Iced Earth's heaviest and darkest record. 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. Schaffer's frustration is particularly evident in the title track, which talks about the problems the band had to endure during its downtime.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. 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.