That Iced Earth’s newest album Dystopia is nearly identical to its predecessors does not necessarily condemn it to mediocrity. The band’s leader (and sole fixture), rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, has been cutting songs from the same cloth for a long time, but has managed to produce a number of very enjoyable albums despite this.

Although it’s equal parts remarkable and disappointing that Dystopia, Iced Earth’s third consecutive album with a new lead singer, is interchangeable with the other two albums, there are things to be enjoyed here. To those who’ve heard them, Iced Earth presents the same familiar elements as other thrash/power metal groups: thundering double bass drums, palm-muted riffs, and an overwrought vocal delivery.

New vocalist Stu Block (formerly of Canadian group Into Eternity) gamely gives it his all, although his voice, often sounding like a mix between his two precursors’, doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the overall sound. Block at least sounds like he’s having fun; while his approach isn’t exactly nuanced, it nevertheless livens up the otherwise tepid material he’s provided with. The lyrics are rather middling; Dystopia is a concept album, and one whose subject is as self-evident as it is unoriginal.

The most dispiriting aspect of this album is that it all feels so rote; it reeks of something assembled, with each incorporated element checked off a list of metal clichés. Even though they are executed competently, it doesn’t offset how uninspired the effort is.