(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
savatagedsoul@aol.com
from SCRAGGY'S TOMB, USA.
This is considered the LP that opened the band up to a wider audience in the USA. How anyone could have passed up The Dark Saga, is beyond me?! Along with the killer Iced earth artwork that all fans have come to love, you get the most important thing of all: the band! If you look up power/melodic metal in the dictionary, I think there should be a pic of Iced Earth there as an explanation. Their 1st two LP's were good, but thank the God Of power metal (and Jon of Iced Earth!) for finding Matt Barlow. This guy is Bruce Dickinson with a splash of Rob Halford, added in with his own unique style. A superb voice with a range that stands up there with many other power metal acts: Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden, Rhapsody, Helloween, you name it, he can wail with the best of them, and still sing melodic power ballads to boot! There's not one song on Something wicked that won't make you run and buy everything else this band has to offer. I would tell you to buy 'Days of Purgatory' after this, to hear Matt sing all the earlier stuff when he wasn't in the band on the 1st two LP's. The sound on that one and all Iced Earth CD's are killer production sound. Enjoy this one and play it LOUD! ***** 5 STAR ICED RATING! Cheers from Scraggy's Tomb!
