"If you are an Iced Earth fan and you have not got this album yet, GO get it!"

Follow up:

9/10

1. "In Sacred Flames"
2. "Behold the Wicked Child"
3. "Minions of the Watch"
4. "The Revealing"
5. "A Gift or a Curse?"
6. "Crown of the Fallen"
7. "The Dimension Gauntlet"
8. "I Walk Alone"
9. "Harbinger of Fate"
10. "Crucify the King"
11. "Sacrificial Kingdoms"
12. "Something Wicked (Part 3)"
13. "Divide and Devour"
14. "Come What May" Hear the song!
15. "Epilogue"

To be honest at first I did not want to do this album. It is no secret that Iced Earth is one of, if not my favorite band. I thought that my feeling toward the band would make it hard to review the album. Well after reading some forums on the album and talking to fellow review David, I decided that I would do the album. I mean I was going to buy it and listen to it none stop anyway.

The Crucible of Man is the second part of the Something Wicked story line. The story started in the last three tracks on the Something Wicked This Way Comes cd. Framing Armageddon was the part one of the Something Wicked story.

From what I can understand about the story (I am sure there is a wiki article on it if you want to know more) is that a long time ago the earth was populated by a race called the Setain. Earth was then invaded by Man, a race of advanced and evil beings set on conquering the universe. They massacred all but 10,000 Setains who were able to Cloud the minds of the humans and erase their memories. The Setains then have to live among man until their savior is born, an anti-Christ who will manipulate man into their own destruction.

It took me about four listens to get to where I could review this album. It is not really what I was expected it to be, and think that many other fans felt the same way, that is why it is getting bad review on many forums. The first time I listened to it, I couldn't really think about if it was good or not, because the only thing going through my head was "OMG!!! That is MATT BARLOW SINGING FOR ICED EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. (Oh did I mention that Matt Barlow returned to the post of lead vocals on this album). Many people liked Tim "The Ripper" Owens as the lead vocalist of Iced Earth and I have to admit it was nice to him "rip" on songs, he is one of the best, but it was also almost painful listening to him "sing" on songs. Hearing tracks like "The Clouding" really made me miss Barlow. So best of luck to Ripper, and welcome back Matt, we have missed you. The next two times I listened to the album it came off a little lackluster, which is not a word used to describe Iced Earth, but then on the Fourth listen everything clicked (it was also then that I remember it took me about 5 listens to like Part One).

The production level on the album is good, the only bad thing is that it is mixed a little quiet, which is a bad thing, this is an Iced Earth cd I want to blast it loud. So boo to the quiet mix.

The songwriting is top notch, it is Iced Earth! However some lyrics can be repeated which makes it kind of cheesy. Sixth hour, Sixth day, Sixth Month, (666) we get it anti-Christ, got it. The musicianship is also top notch even though I would not liked to see more flashy solos like on the last album.

The songs:

1. "In Sacred Flames"- this is an instrumental intro track that uses a choir. The guitars kick in about half way through. Very Epic
2. "Behold the Wicked Child" - This is the first actual track, and in my opinion a rather weak one. It is a mid-tempo track that just seems to not have much going for it. The choir returns, and the solo is a bit of a bore, Barlow's voice is however a good saving point. "the ancient rage and priest, Fusing the fetus and beast, The Setian redeemer, Man's blood must infect, the weapon, the grand architect"
3. "Minions of the Watch" - this is another mid-tempo song, but with much catchier riffing, add that in with Matt's vocals and you have a very good song. However it is short. "He has seen most of this world, but does not know his way, they will place him on the path, to the end of days"
4. "The Revealing" - the riffing picks it up a notch on this track, and we get to hear Matt's harsh vocals. Great thrashing song, still a little short for an Iced Earth song.
5. "A Gift or a Curse?" - this is a bluesy slow song, similar to the track "Consequences" from the album Something Wicked This Way Comes. Jon does the lead vocals on this track with Matt backing him up; it gives it kind of an Alice in Chains sound. Guitarist Troy Seele does a fine lead part on this song. During the bridge Matt takes over the vocals and the guitars kick in and it becomes a good fist pumping anthem. "Inject the venom into my veins, of the vile beast of earth" "I am a Gift, I am a Curse"
6. "Crown of the Fallen" - Another mid-tempo track. Matt's vocals rock on the verses and the chorus is slow and catchy. Troy Seele delivers another stellar solo on this track. "Crowned is the king of the fallen, Celebrate the subjugation of all man"
7. "The Dimension Gauntlet" - Burnt Offering, that is all I have to say about this track. "I face the gauntlet as my final test"
8. "I Walk Alone" - the single from the album. It is a hard hitting mid-tempo song that Matt rocks on; the chorus, however, is a bit weak. "and lies lead to disgrace, A failure to evolve, The failed human race"
9. "Harbinger of Fate" - This is one of the better songs on the album. It has slow bluesy verses and big choruses, both of which Matt's vocal are great on. It also has another wonderful Troy Seele solo. It is complete with a return of the choirs of earlier and the Eastern drums from the last cd. "I am the wicked, the dealer of fate, Harbinger of Sorrow"
10. "Crucify the King" - this is a real good heavy slow Iced Earth song, with tight drumming in the bridge, that I am sure they are playing at all their shows. "Let all your children pray, I don't come their way"
11. "Sacrificial Kingdoms" - Just a great thrashy Iced Earth song. Great riffing, great drumming, great songwriting, Matt Barlow, nothing else needed. "It does not take much to destroy a man, Give him rope and he will hang"
12. "Something Wicked (Part 3)" - Typical Iced Earth, sounds like some of there stuff off of Horror Show. Good song, catchy, great riffs, drums, and vocals. "I'm the one born of flames, Your hatred has brought me to this place"
13. "Divide and Devour" - This is the song that many Iced Earth fans have been waiting for, Fast and Heavy. Its chorus is very catchy and sing songy. Probably the second best song on the album. " I am the god of hellfire, Inside every man there lives a liar, Before their gods they cower, I will divide, I will Devour"
14. "Come What May" - it has been rumored on the internet that this might be the final Iced Earth cd, as much as I hope it is not, if it is, they could not end on a better song than "Come What May", this is the epic song that has come to define Iced Earth. This is not just the best song on this album, but it could be there best song ever. The Musicianship is all but perfect. The Songwriting is incredible and it is only made better by Matt Barlow's vocals. It starts out strong catches you immediately, the chorus is HUGE, and then it goes into a beautiful musical interlude. Which leads to the bridge…… If there was every any doubt about whom the best Iced Earth vocalist is, Matt Barlow answers them in this bridge. He starts out just beautiful and then hits the high notes, proving that he can do what "Ripper" can do, but no one can do what he can. This song is definitely a 10/10, no doubt in my mind. "How have they come so far, Yet have so far to go, It seems evolution stalled, On the nature of a man"
15. "Epilogue" - A great musical outro track that gives you a chance to reflex upon what you have just heard.

There have been many bad reviews of this album on the internet already and I can tell you why; because so many people have this idea of have what they believe Iced Earth should sound like. Some people think they should sound like they did on Night of the Storm Riders, Other think they should sound like they did on The Glorious Burden, still others think that they should sound how they did on there first cd. I was reading a forum in which everybody was ripping this album a new one, and then someone said this very true statement. "That if some other band, not Iced Earth, Some band no one had heard of, had put out this album, everyone would be talking about how great it was".

So if you are an Iced Earth fan and you have not got this album yet, GO get it!
If you have never heard of Iced Earth, now is a good time to check them out.

ROCK ON!!!!

Links

Iced Earth on Myspace
Iced Earth's official website
Buy the album

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