The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked - Part 2)

--Much too early for my taste.

The long awaited conclusion (?) to the Something Wicked story has arrived, albeit 6 months later than initially promised, but given the circumstances (return of former front man Matt Barlow), ‘tis an acceptable compromise.

Let me start by saying I enjoy this album; it’s good. Not amazing. Not mind-blowing. Not even great – but good. The previous album was definitely better.

I have several big beefs with this album. First, Barlow was not used to his full potential. In fact, I’d even go as far as saying Owens’ performance on the previous album was better than Barlow’s on this one, but I firmly believe that fault falls firmly on Schaffer’s shoulders, not Matt’s. He sounded great on every song, but he can do so much more, it’s not even funny. I expected way more shrieks, more growls, more intensity overall. It is highly suspect, however, that Barlow is not to blame for this. This isn’t another case of an under-performing singer trying to find his bearings (not to mention on top of music that wasn’t tailored to his voice; see: Tim Owens on The Glorious Burden), this is music not being written as interesting as it could/should have been. I think the only song on here that where Barlow really rips is the final real song, “Come What May.”

Next: Schaffer didn’t deliver as promised. He insisted this album would be darker and heavier than the last. It isn’t. I wouldn’t say it’s less dark/heavy, but it certainly isn’t more so, and if it is, certainly not to any significant degree like he emphasized. Now, I’m not sure what everyone else expected by his statements (providing you kept up on the interviews/updates), but I expected at least one or two songs more like “Framing Armageddon.” Of course NotS/BO would be MUCH darker/heavier, but I think we all know those days are gone. Luckily, I didn’t go expecting Dante’s Inferno: The Return, but I at least expected more than ONE song to come close to the darkness/heaviness that was the title track of the last album. Sadly, none do. “Framing Armageddon” may well be the last significant amount of whatever dark/heavy juice Schaffer had left over from the old years. Every time the current track ended, I prayed the next was going to be what Schaffer said it would, but… it never happened. “Divide and Devour” sounded promising initially, but even that fell way short of the glory that is “Framing Armageddon.”

Another fairly large disappointment is that there aren’t many particularly memorable tracks. Yes, there are a few standout tracks, but I can’t honestly say that any song on here grabs you from the get-go and thrashes you senseless without loosening its grip. I didn’t find anything on here extremely immediately engaging that actually held all of its initial allure through the end, much less follow through to something significantly greater, like with “Framing Armageddon.” And in case you’re wondering: yes, I will keep using that as the comparison for what virtually every song on this album should have been, because in my opinion, its damn close to if not the best thing Schaffer has ever written.

Finally, fanboy that I am, I hate to keep ripping on this album, but this is one of the most absurdly anti-climactic concept albums I’ve ever heard. I mean, if it was a concept album about painting a house, I could understand, but it isn’t; this is about some crazy alien fuck being summoned for thousands of years to rain a whole boatload of fuckshitup on earth. Being that this album is, allegedly, the ultra-climactic-apocalyptic-masterpiece-brainchild ten years in the making, it really has no climax whatsoever. Remember “Framing Armageddon”? That was a fucking climax. That was like your first orgasm with those Ukrainian hookers you met in a brothel during your month-long backpacking trip through Europe who gave you four tabs of ecstasy while taking turns blowing you and fingering your prostate for three days straight. This, on the other hand, is like wanking to a porno you’ve seen so many times you’ve gotten every moan and hump memorized down to the second to the point where masturbation becomes a routine chore rather than a euphoric experience: as soon as it’s done, you just turn it off and make yourself a tuna fish sandwich as if nothing happened, then cry. Half-way through “Divide and Devour” there’s this badass choir chanting over solid riffage and the epic of the song immediately shoots through the roof, but then it just goes back to exactly the way it was before. I can’t say I know of a single greater case of musical blue balls; it’s really fucked up. “Framing Armageddon” actually slowed down, then came back and bukkaked all over the fucking place. This one tries to, but it just sort of leaks out, just short of your face.

In spite of all that though, providing you liked the last album (if you didn’t, then you will probably be satisfied with my review up to the last paragraph), this album is still a decent listen. While the songs may not all be of hyper-memorable, stand-out quality, they all plod along at about the same level of quality with little fluctuation, for better and worse. I haven’t found any of these songs boring or bad. In fact, I enjoy every song, some a little more than others, to some degree. A few of the songs have some pretty interesting riffage and atmosphere. Even from early on, the solos are better and more memorable than on Framing Armageddon.

This album has fewer interludes, so I guess that’s a plus for most people; I was one of the few people that didn’t mind, and even enjoyed them, but most people seem to be of opposing mindset. Whatever.

Continuing on the lack of climax: listening to this album, I strongly disbelieve this will be the end for Set Abominae. I don’t have the lyrics, and I generally suck at figuring them out by ear (even when clean sung), so I can’t say for sure, but it just really didn’t feel like there was much resolution here… I could just be imagining it out of crazy fanboy hope, but who knows? Listen for yourself; perhaps your conclusion will be different.

Basically, what it comes down to is if you enjoyed Framing Armageddon, you’re more than likely going to enjoy this, but I have a hard time believing anyone will like this more. The songs are all good, but overall the quality is just a notch or two below its predecessor.

I spent a lot more time expounding on the undesirables because the people that are going to like this album are going to like it for the same reasons they liked the last one, so I really didn’t see much to say in that regard. What was good before was reapplied, unchanged for the most part, save Barlow. The bad however has changed and grown, so that required greater explanation.

So… take that as you will. If you didn’t like the last one, don’t think Barlow will change your mind, ‘cause he won’t. And if you liked the last one, this is definitely worth a listen. Lack of a major climax is a bit disappointing and leaves a bit to desire, but overall, I still find it to be a fairly solid album; it’s worth my time and money. Yours may well be a different story.

Standout tracks: In Sacred Flames (it’s just an intro, but it really is a fantastic one), Behold the Wicked Child, The Dimension Gauntlet, Harbinger of Fate, Divide and Devour, and Come What May.