Night of the Stormrider

Night of the Stormrider is American heavy metal band Iced Earth's second full-length album. It is a concept album about a man who is betrayed by religion and turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth. He is commanded to travel to a desert, where he is given visions that reveal the truth of humanity, and warp his mind further to make him the "Stormrider." After the destruction of the world, he is then damned forever into the depths of Hell, also referenced as the River Styx. After being forever damned and taunted by evil spirits, he eventually sees what he has done, and realizes that it is too late to repent. Night of the Stormrider is the only album featuring lead singer John Greely (who was later fired) and drummer Rick Secchiari. Like the album's predecessor, Night of the Stormrider is mostly a thrash metal release, the main reason being that the album is unusually riff-based when compared to other Iced Earth releases, and Greely's vocals, which are slightly more aggressive than the power metal reminiscent vocals of Matt Barlow.