Iced Earth - The Crucible Of Man (Something Wicked Part II)
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Free Music Notes for The Crucible Of Man (Something Wicked Part II)
Free Music Review: A step back-ah as Paul Stanley returns, I mean Matt Barlow-ah
Hit: 4 Stars
I didn't become an Iced Earth fan until THE GLORIOUS BURDEN and FRAMING ARMAGEDDON. Why? I just couldn't stomach Matt Barlow's vocals most of the time, although he's great on BURNT OFFERINGS. I know he has numerous fans and he definitely sings with passion but there was something about his vox that turned me off, at least 50% of the time anyway. I could't put my finger on what it is; he sorta sounds like Paul Stanley if he was more melodramatic and fronted a power metal band. I don't mind Paul Stanley, he's great for KISS, but Barlow's vocals just failed to move me and sorta grated on my nerves. In my opinion he held the band back from being truly great.
Apparently main-man Jon Schaffer realized this as well, which is why he enlisted Tim "Ripper" Owens in 2004 for THE GLORIOUS BURDEN and in 2007 for FRAMING ARMAGEDDON. Schaffer himself has stated that Ripper's voice is the voice he hears in his head when writing songs.
Both of Owen's albums are chalk full of great songs, e.g. the three-part "Gettysburg," "Hollow Man," "Attila," "Green Face," "Execution/Order of the Rose," "The Clouding," "When Stars Collide," "Motivation of Man" and a few others.
Now being a converted Iced Earth fan I was looking forward to CRUCIBLE OF MAN even though I knew Barlow was back on vocals. I figured I'd give the guy a chance. Who knows? I'm open and he might grow on me; besides I admire his all-your-heart ethic.
Please understand that I appreciate a wide variety of metal vocalists and not just the (supposed) high style a la Halford and Ripper. For instance, I love the vocalists of such varied bands as Bathory, Death, Death Angel, Metallica, King Diamond, My Dying Bride, Agalloch, Saviour Machine, Udo, Ultimatum, Queensryche and Mind Over Four.
CRUCIBLE OF MAN simply lacks the initial WOW factor of GLORIOUS BURDEN and FRAMING ARMAGEDDON. Yes, there are some really good or great tracks like "The Dimension Gauntlet," "I Walk Alone," "Sacrificial Kingdom," "A Gift or a Curse," "Crucify the King" and especially the standout "Come What May," but on a whole it's not as great.
What's holding it back -- Schaffer's songwriting or Barlow's vocals? Or both? Well, since Barlow proves himself here on songs like "Come what May" and on past albums like BURNT OFFERINGS I would have to conclude that the songwriting is the problem here. With the two Ripper albums Iced Earth entered into new realms musically. Here they're still really good, just not as exceptional. Of course, I understand why Schaffer got rid of Owens. Ripper is not one to sit idle between albums; he's prolific and has things going on with his own band(s), as well as Malmsteen and others. Shaffer's ego obviously can't handle this. He wants faithful and non-threatening sheepies in his corral, and who can blame him? He's earned the right to pick and choose as he pleases.
ART & LYRICS: Iced Earth has some great album art like GLORIOUS BURDEN and NIGHT OF THE STORMRIDER but the artwork on both FRAMING and CRUCIBLE is too sketchy and cartooney for my tastes. The lyrics are outstanding, however; Schaffer uses the comic-booky sci-fi story to address some of the most important questions/truths/desires of the human soul, e.g. "I Walk Alone" and "Come What May." Needless to say, this ain't no kiddy stuff.
BOTTOM LINE: If you prefer the Ripper era you might be disappointed, at least initially. Even if you're a fan of Barlow it'll likely take you a while to get into CRUCIBLE. The album is quality epic-style metal throughout because Schaffer is a genius, but compared to the Ripper albums and past albums like BURNT OFFERINGS, CRUCIBLE OF MAN is less impressive. With a few exceptions there's hardly any blow-you-away material. Of course, listening to "Come What May" is a veritable religious experience and worth the price of the cd alone. No kidding. Barlow nails that one perfectly. In any event, CRUCIBLE is a definite grower. I originally gave it a mediocre 3 Stars but have since upped it to a solid 4 Stars, that is, as long as one can handle Barlow's highly unique vocals. I believe his style detracts from some of the songs on CRUCIBLE and sounds irritating, or at least on PARTS of these songs, but he makes up for it with truly moving performances on others. It's a strange paradox. Too bad Iced Earth couldn't have BOTH Barlow and Ripper, huh? No matter, at least Iced Earth haven't gone the idiotic Cookie Monster route like the one-dimensional vocals of Arch Enemy (so the singer's a babe, so what? That may be great for live shows, but her vocals are perfunctory, dumb and dull, period).
GRADE: B
Free Music Review: An opus concluded
Hit: 4 Stars
Well, after years and years of anticipation, we have the completion of the Something Wicked Saga. My feelings on Crucible of Man are more mixed than they were about Framing Armageddon. With Framing Armageddon, my only reservation was with Owens at the helm as vocalist, but I quickly got past that and loved the album, realizing that it was written with his vocal styling in mind. Framing hit hard musically and gripped me right away. Crucible isn't the same album at all. Whereas Framing felt like it was more about being a straightforward, high tempo metal album, Crucible slows the pace a tad and seems to focus more on telling the story. For me this comes as a mixed bag.
Let's get this out of the way first... I f***ing love Matt Barlow. Along with Chuck Billy from Testament, he is my favorite metal vocalist and I am so glad to hear him back on this album. I'm not sure how much of Crucible was written with Ripper in mind, but I can't see his vocals delivering the emotion or mood that Barlow brings to this half of the saga. Ripper's vocals were great for the up tempo Iced-Earth anthems like 10,000 Strong, but I believe Barlow was truly meant to helm this band and this saga. And Barlow hasn't lost his touch either; he still has all of the great range, from low singing to high tempo growling. He sounds better now than ever.
With that said, and speaking of 10,000 Strong, how come there's really not a song like that on this album? Most of the songs here are mid tempo and while they're not bad at all, there's not as much here that has the punch in the gut like Setien Massacre and 10,000. There are a couple of high tempo tracks at the end; Sacrificial Kingdoms and Divide and Devour are fast and the former is especially a fast Iced Earth track like I remember, but still not quite as memorable as 10,000 from Framing or Attila from Glorious Burden. BUT... While Framing may have been a little more rocking, it felt like a bit of a disjointed experience. There was too much filler and a lot of that filler I tended to skip every time I listened to it. Crucible doesn't really have filler. Each song flows seamlessly to the next and I really have no desire to skip any tracks at all, even if some of them are a little repetitive. I came to realize as I listened to it; this is not your typical Iced Earth album. Every track has a purpose and are put in the only order that they can make sense.
As far as the story of the whole saga goes, it is well thought out and pretty interesting. The artwork to accompany the story in the album booklet is awesome. I mean really awesome. If Schaffer really does get around to making a graphic novel of Set, I look forward to reading it.
I'm not going to go over each individual track, as with this album it would be almost pointless, since it almost feels like 1 hour long track. But a few standouts are Minions of the Watch/The Revealing (I put those 2 together because the first time I heard them, I thought they were one song), Sacrificial Kingdoms (fast and awesome), Something Wicked pt 3, Divide and Devour (also fast and awesome, if this album were Dark Saga, this might be Violate), but there's not a bad song in the bunch. The album starts with some killer stuff, seems to taper a tad in the middle with some songs that sound too much like each other, and then really picks up at the end. The instrumental intro and outro and interludes throughout the songs are haunting as well. Overall, it's a pretty consistent listening experience.
In conclusion, I like this album. It's not as kick me in the face amazing as I would have hoped it to be, but it provides a nice contrast to Framing Armageddon, a lighter tempo yet darker album than it's predecessor. Schaffer once again proves his worth as a song writer and guitarist as well. Some people have complained that the two albums having different vocalists makes it inconsistent, but I disagree. I actually think it's cool to have two albums, each with their own singer and their own flavor tell one solid story. Ripper deserves some credit, and I would actually be just fine not hearing Framing rerecorded with Barlow at the helm.
I eagerly await to see what we get next when Shaffer and Barlow are truly working together as a team again. Long live Iced Earth!
Free Music Review: Not bad actually....
Hit: 4 Stars
I don't know, although most of the feedback for this album has been underwhelming, overall I am digging it. Maybe my expectations for Iced Earth are not as high as they used to be?
I liked the last album FA ok and I definately like this one a little more. Sure it's not a complete return to form like the original 'Something Wicked' album was, but this album has it's moments. A few more than part 1 I think.
First off the sound is once again huge! I know both part 1 FA and part 2 COM were recorded at the same time but whomever mixed and mastered the album this time around (possibly the same guy) gave the guitars a much heavier and fuller sound! The drums sound bigger too! You can hear the reverb and sustain. This is how Iced Earth should sound!
Also having Barlow back is a HUGE asset! Not saying Ripper was bad at all but there is really no comparision of what Barlow brings to the table. His conveying of emotions, overall range, and pure tone are unmatched. Simply one of the best metal vocalist of all time!
Jon's seems to have a lot more interesting idea's and riff's going on this time around. The middle eastern flair that could be heard on part 1 is present on this album as well only this time it's conveyed more through the guitar riffing as opposed to backround instrumentation and choirs. Although a lot of the songs could have been developed further. For example 'The Revealing' and 'The Dimension Gauntlet' have some really cool guitar work and should have developed into full songs rather than instrumental segways. 'Minions of the Watch' is a very cool song yet just stops after 2 minutes?
Another major critisism I have is with the lack of lead guitars once again! Jon please take the reigns off your lead guitar players! The few times Troy does get to solo it sounds great and really adds a lot! Unfortunately however very few times do solos appear.
Highlights of the album include 'Behold the Wicked Child', 'Sacrificial Kingdoms', Divide and Devour', the choruses in 'Crucify the King', 'Harbringer of Fate' and 'Come What May', and the cool but criminally underdeveloped 'Minions of the Watch', 'The Revealing', and 'The Dimension Guantlet'.
Hopefully the next Iced Earth album with Barlow back in the fold will be another 5 star Masterpiece!
Free Music Review: Solid from start to finish
Hit: 4 Stars
I'll start by saying
1. I've never been a big fan of Iced Earth, I've purchased a few CDs in the past, but was never too thrilled with what I heard. So I think this is a fair objective review--not a fanboy review.
2. I would give this album 4.5 stars if possible or a 9/10. I hardly ever give a perfect 5/5, unless the album is indeed perfect---those are few and far between. Some tend to say every album they like is 5/5--not me. For instance Ac/dc's Back in Black is 5/5, Black Sabbath's Heaven & Hell is 5/5, Slayer's Reign in Blood is 5/5.
I picked this CD up on a whim, had a hankering for some new tunes and happened to see it at Wally world (of all places!)for cheap. So I got it, wanting to give Iced Earth yet another chance to impress me, having thus far failed with prior CDs. In their defense, it's possible I got the lemons first.
I like every song on this CD, some better than others, some are definitley harder rockers than others, but they're all needed as this is a concept album. But the main point is that they are all well written, good songs.
The story is pretty cool as well, though not without some holes. Then again it is just a story...right?
Reminds me a lot of Maiden's Seventh Son album, which is a good thing. Laden with atmosphere, lots of layers, melody, hooks, some killer riffs. I for one don't really care who's singing or who the dictator of the group is as long as they come out with solid albums like this I'll be happy, this CD has caused me to re-think Iced Earth--I will now go out and get the rest of this story; Something Wicked This Way Comes & SWTWC pt.1 Framing Armageddon.
Any fan of good old fashioned real metal should appreciate this disc, fans of Maiden, Priest, Kiss (Barlow sounds so much like Paul Stanley sometimes, it's not funny)Metallica, most power & prog metal fans should be happy with this one. Buy it.
Free Music Review: Back on track
Hit: 4 Stars
Music is a matter of opinion and the reviews so far regarding this CD are pretty varied. For me, Iced Earth peaked some years ago when Something Wicked This Way Comes was released. Since then each release (other than Framing Armaggedon which I can't get into) was good but I would rather listen to the Dark Saga or Something Wicked than Horror Show or the Glorious Burden (which did take me a while to get into).
So now we here in 2008 and Iced Earth comes full circle with Matt Barlow back as lead vocalist. Ahead or behind? Looking forward or looking back? Well that is where the opinion is varied but why does it matter - this is who Iced Earth is today and one thing we know from the history of this band is that this may not be who Iced Earth is tomorrow!
For me Crucible of Man is a huge step forward from Framing Armaggedon where other than Ten Thousand Strong I could not really get into the CD. For me it is also welcome return to the voice that hooked me onto Iced Earth in the first place. Crucible of Man is extremely solid from start to finish has a number of really good songs I Walk Alone, Crucify the King, Divide Devour and Come What May just to name a few.
Opinion will vary from mine and I respect that but who cares if some stuff sounds like Blind Guardian (did not see that myself) or whoever you want to compare it to or the songs are too short (hey the CD clocks in at 59 minutes plus so you are not getting ripped off). This is a great metal CD that is getting over analyzed by fans (hey I did it too) that have spent way too much time carrying on the Tim vs Matt thing for 5 years now. Just enjoy and listen and try not to spend time comparing the two singers as they are different.