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A Solid Return to Form - 90%
Ah yes, the highly anticipated return of Iced Earth’s “voice”, Mathew Barlow, is finally among us. “The Crucible Of Man”, the supposed conclusion of Jon Schaffer’s massive “Something Wicked” story, is a solid return to form for the band, and shall put a smile onto the all faces of veteran Iced Earth fans.
So how does this disc compare with “Framing Armageddon”, one might ask? Well, in my opinion at least, it absolutely destroys that album, and here’s why:
- First off, the production is MUCH better. The guitars and drums are much louder, heavier, and punchier than those heard on Framing Armageddon’s somewhat thin production. I believe Shaeffer himself said in an interview that they will eventually remaster "FA" with Barlow’s vocals (part of a box set I believe) and this punchier production of "The Crucible of Man"
- Secondly, the return of Barlow helps the band rekindle their former glory, even if the material itself may not be quite as outstanding as the band’s classic discs. It’s amazing how this man’s vocal talents haven’t diminished even the slightest amount, considering he’s been absent from the metal scene for a good 7 years (2001's “Horrow Show” to 2008's “Immortal” by Pyramaze, and this album.) Bottom line, Iced Earth finally sounds much more like, well, Iced Earth!
- And finally, the inclusion of more actual songs instead of interludes, gives the fans more meat for their dollar. With the exception of an epic Intro and Outro, we have 13 brand new songs to dive into, so let’s discuss the songs themselves.
The opener, “Behold the Wicked Child”, full-filled my expectations of how this album should sound. It’s very epic, and loaded with all the choirs and chanting that we’ve heard in Iced Earth before, in classics such as “Angel’s Holocaust”. After a couple shorter tracks, we get a semi-ballad by the name of “A Gift Or a Curse”, which reminded me of some of the excellent ballads on “The Dark Saga” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes”.
The single, “I Walk Alone”, is also a good slab of catchy Iced Earth power metal, while “Harbinger of Fate” and “Come What May” showcase the band’s more melodic side. Another notable track the comes to mind is “Crucify The King”. This track has some sinister sounding guitar riffs throughout the verses, and is one of the darkest songs on the album. All of the unmentioned songs are also just as awesome, there’s just too many of them to make note of all at once.
I guess my only negative comments towards "The Crucible of Man" is that the song lengths are at times, simply too short. For a concept album, and a conclusion to an Epic fantasy story, I would’ve loved too see more 5, 6+ minute songs that engage me in the story, and tell me the story though musical development (not just what I'm told from the lyrics) and different moods/textures within one song. An approach such as this could've worked better than all the 2, 3 minute songs that just whizz by you if your not paying enough attention.
I also felt the conclusion of "The Crucible of Man" and the “Something Wicked” story presented itself the PERFECT opportunity for Schaeffer to break-out a huge 10+ minute EPIC song! You know, something that can stand atop the ladder with Iced Earth’s best "Epics", such as "Dantes' Inferno", "The Coming Curse", or the 3 songs from the "Gettysburg Trilogy", or even surpass them!
The other reviewer hit the nail on the head when he claimed the album can be rather un-climatic at times, considering the magnitude and scale of the over-the-top storyline. Common Jon! Set Abominae (or "The Antichrist") is raining down revenge on mankind, which to me at least, is the most impactful/intriguing moment of the entire story, a catastrophic event that seems worthy of a majestic, symphonic, chaotic, choir-filled song to blow the listeners ears away and envelop them deep within the storyline.
Despite these minor qualms, “The Crucible of Man” still remains an excellent Iced Earth album, and one of 2008's top metal releases. I don’t think it’s quite as strong as Pyramaze’s masterpiece “Immortal”, but it’s definitely one of the better Iced Earth albums of recent years. Even though The Ripper dished out some fantastic performances on “The Glorious Burden” and “Framing Armageddon”, Matt Barlow’s presence alone has rejuvenated this band and has given us long time Iced Earth maniacs the album we’ve been waiting to hear from them for many years now.
