"Gettysburg" is fantastic, the rest rather lame!

Evaluate This album is not so easy - as it were, made up of two halves, the qualitatively very different from each other.
For "regular" part of "The Glorious Burden" (ie CD 1 and thus all the songs except "Gettysburg", which already falls due to its length of 30 minutes of each frame) is to say from my side that they do not me certainly have bowled. Certainly played solid and well-produced, a fine vocal performance from Tom Owens, but then no more than average. To my mind, the pieces are too monotonous, too unimaginative ... utterly inconsequential or partly also rather boring. Not really bad, but it also wants to stand out no song as a real firecracker.
Add to this the sometimes already moronic lyrics - and by that I mean not only the totally ridiculous, American jingoism some lyrics, but also the fact that others are just poorly written. A Steve Harris example written for 25 years songs about similar issues such as on this album ... and he can deal truly with words! Especially in traditional metal, it is important to control intonation and choice of words, to be a truly rousing text - and it it suffers in either stupid or unimaginative lyrics of "The Glorious Burden" after all.
If this were the whole album I'd be annoyed about purchasing fairly and only real Iced Earth fans recommend buying.
Aaaaaber: the second CD of "The Glorious Burden", namely the 31-minute epic "Gettysburg" is really a hammer become! On this point, I give the Rock Hard paean absolutely right that herewith a metal milestone has been created which again is so much fun during the intensive listening! Whether this is a second "Ancient Mariner" become time will tell, but the fact is for me that "Gettysburg" is dageboten really exciting and yet faszinierd ... all other runs not counting even the 5 Pass with Booklet study times. In this track the band really runs everything on what you can expect from a top album, and this 30 minutes worth in my opinion, worth every penny! Toll is also, that the booklet takes you through the entire track and also explains the meanings of the individual instrumental parts.
Whether, however, a double album just because of the second CD (and ultimately one, albeit 30 minutes, Song) wants to buy everyone must decide for themselves ... the first CD I will in any case probably not often have in the player. "Gettysburg" on the other hand I will probably continue to hear many times and loved it.
All in all, I would therefore give 3 stars for the first CD and 5 stars for the second - as a conclusion then remain 4 stars. A good album therefore the bottom line, but also an ambivalent affair.