Iced Earth's Reviews

The Dark Saga

Great story, TONS of emotion...but lacking something.

Anyone who knows Spawn knows the plotline that goes with this; however, I'll explain it in layman terms, for the uninitiated. After all, it's the FEELING that counts here, people!

NOTE: IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPAWN/DARK SAGA PLOT RUINED FOR YOU, DO NOT READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!

This album tells the tale of a man who, betrayed by someone he trusted, was tricked into an early death ("Dark Saga"). As he mourns in hell, he is offered a chance at seeing his lover again, if he follows the command of the Dark Lord himself. However, upon returning to life, he finds that his lover was "...happy and in love/ in love with (his) best friend" ("I Died for You"). As he mourns and grumbles in fury over this new tragedy, two beings are sent out to him: a being of immortal fire and pain that can - and would - strike anyone and anything down in a most violent and evil way...and it is here to teach the man to use his hate to his advantage ("Violate"). The other being is a hunter from heaven, sent down to destroy this unholy hell spawn ("The Hunter"). As the man struggles to figure out whether he really wants to serve hell or simply die and not suffer the pain of being ultimately alone, the Dark Lord tries to convince him to follow the former path ("The Last Laugh" and "Depths of Hell"). Instead of doing either, the man kills one of the most vile of people out there: a child murderer ("Vengeance is Mine"), in an attempt to both commit evil and good. However, no matter what he does, he sees no chance of escaping his fate, and is doomed to be this undead, unrestful being for all eternity (The Suffering trilogy, "Scarred," "Slave to the Dark," "A Question of Heaven").

Now that I've explained the album lyrically, it's time for the music. Jon Schaffer is, as usual, top-notch as a rhythm guitarist, pounding out furious blocks and riffs of metal (especially in the chorus to "Dark Saga," all of "Violate," "The Hunter," "The Last Laugh," and "Vengeance is Mine"), and amazing, melodic notes and acoustic guitar ("I Died for You," "The Hunter" again, and The Suffering trilogy). Studio drummer Mark Prator (also a guest on SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1998) and THE MELANCHOLY E.P. (2000) provides a great range of percussions. This, also the last album to feature longtime lead guitarist Randy Shawver, also sports a few great solos (my favorites are on "I Died for You" and "Depths of Hell," and of course in "Scarred"). Finally, bassist Keith Menser (who would only record with the band, but since he didn't have enough time to rehearse for the tour, was let go) makes simple yet steady bass to back the great sound.

And there's Matthew Barlow. As usual, his vocals are pristine. He has such enormous range and emotion - that's a very cliché statement, but it's TRUE - and here is one of his best performances yet. In fact, I'd say this probably IS his best performance with Iced Earth. Just listen to how emotional he can be - my favorite example of this is on "Dark Saga," where in the chorus he switches from rage ("I cheated myself for LOVE/ LOVE unconDITIONAL! NOW!") to sorrow ("just to see her face..."), to ultimate agony ("I've lost it all!"), he gives such life into the singing like few can. A stellar performance here.

Now...I said at the end of my beginning paragraph that this is my least favorite Iced Earth album. I'm pretty secure in saying that; having owned this album for about a year and listening to it heavily, I realize that I haven't listened to it nearly as heavily as others. Questioning why, I tried to cross-examine it, and I have uncovered only a few answers why. For one thing, all the songs are FAR too short for Iced Earth's standards - all but the final four are less than 4 minutes long! They are far more basic in structure, with the intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus kind of songwriting that, although used before (and very well!) by Iced Earth, just seems too...well, I wouldn't say commercial (and I'd never, NEVER call my favorite metal band sell-outs!), but just too...simple. Maybe I'm biased, but I know this album could have been done better.

But no matter what, this album is incredible. If I could take only this and a CD player to a deserted island, I'd do it; this is still Iced Earth, and Iced Earth is always perfect. No matter what they do, I'll like it; maybe more or less in certain instances, but regardless, Iced Earth is the best heavy metal band out there today. METAL! \m/ <--(devil horns)

Buy this album on Amazon at $13.99