Iced Earth's Reviews

The Dark Saga

(Average Rating: 9.32 out of 10)

Good Heavy Metal Release

(Rated this album with 6 out of 10)
Reviewed by Antonio Figl from Fremont, CA USA

As the millennium ends, heavy metal is in my opinion the most exciting genre to follow in the next few years. A decade ago, when Napalm Death unleashed grindcore among the masses, I thought that this kind of music had spent itself. Grindcore pushed the genre to its extreme limits, there was nowhere else to go; or so I thought.

Happily, tried-and-true, crunching heavy metal is back. Other sub-genres have emerged in the meantime, like the bleak black metal and the melodic power metal. In all respects, all modern metal bands are heavily indebted to their famous predecessors. The best among the new bands are able to take the best of what the past had to offer and spice it up with new ideas. But fear not, Iced Earth plays no-holds-barred, shredding metal in the best sense. The Dark Saga, based closely on the Spawn comic book character, is a very good album. Main man Jon Shaffer writes mostly crunching tunes that are carried very distinctly by powerful vocalist Matt Barlow.

I give it 3.5 stars for a few reasons. First of all, this kind of metal has been done many times before. It reminds me a lot of 80's New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (especially Diamond Head). Iced Earth play that style very consistently; last year's Something Wicked This Way Comes uses almost exactly the same sound. Another reason I don't score it higher is because the story of Spawn always failed to move me. This is a personal observation, your opinion may vary. I really like what they did on the last song _A Question Of Heaven_, which utilizes an angelic-sounding choir. The juxtaposition of heavy metal and a choir like that is stunning (other bands, eg Therion, do this all the time).

Buy this album on Amazon at $13.99