Pros: Spot-on classic heavy metal with crisp production and epic songwriting
Cons: Fast-slow-fast song order hurts the flow slightly
The Bottom Line: Imagine Judas Priest, Metallica, and Iron Maiden putting their heads together to make a heavy metal album. Cream of the crop heavy metal.
metalking's Full Review: Something Wicked This... by Iced Earth
Iced Earth is a classic-sounding heavy metal band, standing firmly on their ground of producing non-commercial heavy metal, inflexible to pressure from record companies to be “radio-friendly.” They are a power metal/thrash band. As Terrorizer magazine describes their sound, "Take the best bits off [Metallica's] Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets, combine them with equally classic Priest and a healthy shot of vintage Maiden and you're about halfway there."
Here is a track-for-track review, as I think CD reviews should be:
1. Burning Times- YES! The album starts off on the right foot with a proper kick to the face. Very good, crunchy guitar sound, and singer Matt Barlow’s voice compliments the style perfectly in this song about the Spanish Inquisition. Metallica should hang their heads in shame.
2. Melancholy- First ballad of the album. Dark acoustic work, big drums, and plenty of harmony make this work. Very melancholy-like sound, and very touching lyrics. Matt Barlow’s rich voice is oozing with emotion on this one.
3. Disciples of the Lie- No time is wasted here. Awesome thrashy intro with pounding drums kicks this off. Barlow rips up the microphone with his theatrical, grunty singing, and the lyrics are pretty hostile. Some metal bands really fail when they try to do a purely angry song, whether it be bad vocals or sloppy guitar work, but Iced Earth keeps everything in high standards.
4. Watching Over Me- EXCELLENT ballad. The one “watching over me” refers to the band guitarist Jon Schaffer’s best friend Bill Blackmon being killed in an accident in the 1980s. From Matt Barlow’s intensely rich voice, to the effective, heart-ripping lyrics and soaring melody, this is one of the best metal ballads I have ever heard. Very touching.
5. Stand Alone- Another thrasher. Actually, this one is very similar to Disciples of the Lie, which follows Melancholy, which sounds a bit like Watching Over Me. See a pattern yet? Give up? Well, here’s the only real gripe I have about this album—it follows a very strict “fast, slow, fast” pattern. Nonetheless a very good album, and Stand Alone stands alone as a good song.
6. Consequences- Mid-tempo ballad with a hard-driving beat. Mid-tempo songs are hard to pull off in heavy metal without plodding along, but Iced Earth balances heaviness and melody perfectly. Lyrics involving the human race fit very nicely.
7. My Own Savior- Metallica-esque thrasher. Straight “balls to the wall” heavy metal with some insane double-bassing. The anti-religious lyrics here hit the nail right on the head.
8. The Reaping Stone- This one’s a bit odd—weird bass lines and weak lyrics don’t help this song very much, and it just sort of plods along. It doesn’t even sound like an Iced Earth song. A skipper on the CD player.
9. 1776- This is the album’s instrumental song. At 3 minutes and 33 seconds, it’s a bit short, but it holds up nicely. There are quite a few musical nods to Iron Maiden here.
10. Blessed Are You- Cheesy song dedicated to the fans, with lyrics such as “You are the ones for which I’ll die……We’re the children of the night.” Personal lyrics shouldn’t have analogies to beasts and “children of the night.” Perhaps Iced Earth should have taken a page out of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” to see just how a dedication song is done. Blessed Are You is a pretty sappy, weak track.
Something Wicked Trilogy:
This is the real treat: Iced Earth has ended three albums with an epic trilogy. This one is simply great—it’s a concept trilogy about a character named Set Abominae that will bring about Armageddon to mankind (if that sounds too cheesy to be cool, then power/thrash metal isn’t your cup of tea.) Here it is:
11. Prophecy- A very Maiden-like bass line starts out. Barlow sings in a whisper: “I can see clearly now, a painful vision indeed…..an attack, on hallowed ground, from high above…” which sets up the prophecy of worldwide destruction. VERY cool. Halfway through, the song picks up speed and aggressiveness as a metaphor to the threat of annihilation. The song ends with the sound of a grandfather clock, as if to say time is running out. Very effective.
12. Birth of the Wicked- Bam! This one wastes no time and kicks right in. Menacing riffs work great with lyrics such as “He'll rise from the ashes of our dying race
Manipulate history, time and space…” This one never lets up the drive of the beat made by the awesome drummer Richard Christy.
13. The Coming Curse- Possibly the peak of the album. It begins with a calm piano intro, then the heavy metal guitars crash in as if to say “you’re going to die!” Barlow belts out one of the best heavy metal shouts ever to grace a compact disc. The 21+ minute trilogy fades into medieval Gregorian chanting, which stops abruptly, signaling the end of existence.
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