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: The return
Hit: 4 Stars
I completely agree with the last 3 reviews. The bottom line is that Barlow is back. His voice for me is the perfect foil for Jon Schaffer's guitar work. Overall the song order and pacing are well thought out. Just a monster cd, enjoy.Free Music Review: Something Wicked 2
Hit: 4 Stars
I liked this.
Really, that's all there is to say.
It's Iced Earth.
Fans will dig it.
Don't like Iced Earth?
Kill yourself.
In a Fire.
Free Music Review: Despite the Return of Barlow, Crucible Is a Step Back From Framing Armageddon
Hit: 3 Stars
For my money, Iced Earth peaked with Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1, their previous album (the last to feature vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens). The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked Part 2 (with returning vocalist Matt Barlow) is good. But something is missing. I don't get the wow factor like I did with Framing Armageddon. Either the songs aren't as strong, or the performances aren't. Listening to them back to back puts Crucible to shame.
First the aesthetics: The cover art is fantastic, as always. If there'sone thing founding member/guitarist/songwriter Jon Schaffer does well, it's choose killer art for his band.
That said, however, I have to warn you regarding the design of the CD booklet and the art for the back cover. Someone should have known that italic type, reversed out of a busy background, is difficult -- if not impossible -- to read. It's Graphic Design 101. So if you think the song titles listed on the back require serious squinting to read, just wait until you open the booklet inside. Song lyrics shouldn't be a chore to discern when they're printed and in one's hands. But these are, especially for the songs "Minions Of The Watch" (can't make out these at all), "A Gift Or A Curse?" and "Crucify The King." The artwork in said booklet is outstanding. But the lyrics shouldn't have been printed at all if they were going to be rendered like this.
Now to the music...
The songs on Crucible, especially compared to Framing Armageddon, lack dynamic range. They're all well recorded. But they aren't dynamic. They're all relatively mid-tempo and feature Matt's distinctive vocal styling, which almost always ends with an "ahh" sound...as in "see-ahh" and "pain-ahh" and "fear-ahh."
Until Framing Armageddon, I would have said Matt Barlow was Iced Earth's singer hands down. His voice was the one I came to know and love. It took two albums with IE before I embraced Tim Owens as their frontman. But, with Framing Armageddon, that embrace got real tight. It clicked. IE was firing on all cylinders with Framing.
I'm not sure IE isn't firing on all cylinders with Crucible. But maybe there are only four cylinders with this one, instead of 12 on Framing.
I've been listening to Crucible all morning. In fact, I've been listening to it repeatedly since I bought it over the weekend. It's not kicking my butt the way Framing did. I can't put my finger on why. The best way I know how to describe the difference is probably not accurate. But I'll try.
With Framing Armageddon, Iced Earth seemed to reach a level of musical diversity and experimentation that I found refreshing and captivating. I don't know if that was partly Tim's doing, or if it was all Jon's. But Framing was the most diverse, in-depth Iced Earth album I've ever heard.
With The Crucible of Man, Iced Earth seems to have settled back into the groove they had with Barlow on lead vocals. In other words, they're not reaching for the stars. They seem content to just...be. They're Iced Earth, alright. But, after the exquisite Framing Armageddon, I expected more.
I read in an interview that Jon will re-record the vocals on Framing using Matt Barlow. I'm not sure what to think about that. I think Tim's performance on Framing was superb.
I don't know. Iced Earth is still one of the best metal bands in America. But I found The Crucible of Man to be dynamically flat.
Your mileage may vary.
Free Music Review: decent
Hit: 3 Stars
Ok so I was excited to hear that Matt would be returning for this one. I'm a huge Iced Earth fan, but it's just not them without him, for me anyway. Overall it's a decent album, but it does have its drawbacks, most if not all of which have been mentioned by other reviewers. There is a lack of faster songs, which makes the album kind of drag a little. Don't get me wrong, if the album was nothing but faster songs I'd be annoyed too. I like things to keep changing. Also there are way too many underdeveloped songs. I guess its a flaw in most concept albums, which is why I'm not really a fan of them, Mindcrime is awsome though. Also I don't really hear a song that feels like a hit for me. By hit I don't mean radio hit, I mean a song that'll become a favorite of mine. This could change as I haven't had the album long enough. I've also noticed the lack of guitar solos. Without them, it just feels as though something is missing from the music. Some songs I like include:
In Sacred Flames/Behold The Wicked Child - 8/10 I have a program which allowed me to combine these tracks into one. It starts with some acoustic guitars and goes builds into one of the heavier and faster songs on the album.
A Gift Or A Curse - 8/10 This one's a ballad, that picks up a bit towards the end. For some reason I think of the Horror show album when I hear this.
I Walk Alone - 7/10 I was kind of concerned when I heard this one, not that it wasn't a good song, but it just didn't do it for me like several of their classics did. I first heard it on the single that came out a couple of months earlier. It's a heavier mid-tempo song. Still it's a good song, but luckily there are some better ones.
Sacrificial Kingdoms - 7/10 This one is mercifully faster than the previous two songs, but it's still relatively mid-tempo. I like the vocals on this one, and there are some good riffs. There could've been more of a guitar solo, which I think would've given the song more depth.
Divide And Devour - 8/10 I may end up changing my rating for this one. So far it's probably my favorite song. I like the vocals, especially in the chorus. It's faster than most of the album.
Come What May - 8/10, also subject to change. This is another mid-tempo, maybe a little faster song. It has a nice flow to it. Again I like the vocal melody. I also like the instrumental break. It sounds different.
One last song I thought I'd coment on is Something wicked part 3. This one kind of bugged me a little. It's a slower one, but it uses a lot of lyrics from either Birth of the wicked or Coming curse, I can't remember which. I know they're based on the same theme, but I've already heard lines like "baptized in fire."
Overall it's a decent album, just a little too slow, and a little heavy on filler. If you like Iced Earth, especially Barlow Iced Earth, then this is a good buy.
Free Music Review: All the hype for this?
Hit: 3 Stars
I know people will think I'm crazy by giving this three stars because I must say I've heard better Iced Earth. I find this to be one of the poorest Iced Earth albums. Not due to the vocals but I feel that the instrumentation is fairly generic for them and that each song for the most part sounds like the next. Another thing is, I find this album lacks guts. Some people complain that Iced Earth is cheesy but I never thought so. I always thought they were pretty heavy. This on the other hand, not so much. I really was thinking this would be a solid album with Barlow back but honestly, part 1 is head and shoulders above this one.
Yes, I'll admit I do think Owens is a better singer, but I do love the Barlow albums as well. My other gripe here as I thought when I first heard the news on Barlow's return is to why this would happen halfway through a double concept album. It should have one voice, not two separate ones. I don't know what Jon was thinking by doing that. I just find this to be poor and while yes they still are a great live band, this really has me worried about their future.