(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
J
from Seattle
After Dark Saga, I didn't think that I could like an Iced Earth album so much, but then i went out and bought this one and I was blown away. The opening track, "Burning Times", though almost mid tempo compared to a lot of thier songs, is very heavy with a killer riff that pulls you right in. The album follows Dark Saga pretty close through the first 3 tracks. Opens with a great heavy track, follows with a ballad type rocker (Melancholy) and then an all out thrasher for number 3 (Diciples of the Lie.) After that it takes on a whole new feel, mixing their heavy thrash riffs and melodies like they never had before, and bringing us diversity in the song writing and lyrics. The instrumental "1776" is probably the best intrumental I've ever heard, and the way the flute mixes in and then keeps pace with the closing guitar riff toward the end is amazing. The definite highlight of the album is the Something Wicked Trilogy that closes it. The opener for this, "Prophecy", is arguably the best song on this album, and the very last one on the CD, "The Coming Curse," is haunting with the piano into that opens right into the thundering riff. And the story they tell is very imaginitive, bringing the birth of Schaffer's character, Set, which seems to have become the mascot for iced Earth as surely as Iron Maiden's Eddie, being featured on this cover, the "Horror Show" cover and the "Alive in Athens" cover. And Schaffer has even promised an entire album devoted to Set's story about the beings that lived on Earth before man came. This is Iced Earth's essential album, if you had to narrow it down to one. If you are new to the band, I would recommend this and "Dark Saga" to start with. Long live the true metal!
