(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
Wheelchair Assassin
from The Great Concavity
This album has garnered a great deal of praise from metal fans, and with good reason. Iced Earth keep the banner of old-school metal waving up high, and have been doing so under the radar of popular consciousness for quite some time. This was my first Iced Earth album, and in the six months or so since I got it this band has been getting some pretty good rotation in my collection. The talents of this band are obvious pretty quickly. Matt Barlow is a terrific singer, with a very rich baritone that's rather unique in the metal world. At times he sounds like Bruce Dickinson with a deeper voice, but on songs like "Disciples of the Lie" he spits out his vocals with a vitriolic tone that calls to mind James Hetfield or Dave Mustaine. Jon Schaeffer's riffs pack a punch with the best of 'em, and Larry Tarnowski's solos are sharp, if not especially innovative. The drumming isn't the most technically advanced, but it's downright surgical in its precision. The bass isn't always as much of a presence as I'd like it to be, but in its better moments it thumps along very well. The playing is tight, and perhaps most importantly, the band members play for the song rather than trying to wow you with their technical advancement. Songwise, "Something Wicked" starts off terrifically. "Burning Times" was a good choice for an opener, as it got my attention right away with its aggression and heaviness. "Melancholy" slows things down at the start, but starts to hit harder as it goes on. This tendency to start a song slow before picking up the intensity crops up often, and was definitely a good idea as it keeps the album from becoming monochromatic. My favorite song here, "Disciples of the Lie," however, dispenses with any urge toward slowness; it rocks hard and fast from beginning to end. I don't normally go for ballads, but the mournful and emotive "Watching Over Me" is a cut or two above most and fits the mood of the album very well. "Stand Alone" is another strong heavy tune, made especially effective by its relative brevity at under three minutes. After "Stand Alone," most of the songs are good, not great (hence the four stars). The album gets really interesting again with the last track though, as "The Coming Curse" brings a sense of foreboding that fits its concept of the coming of evil. I've gone on way too long, so I'm gonna wrap up now: this album is good. Get it.
