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Certainly Better Than Part 1 - 78%
I, like many other metalheads, was incensed at how, around Christmas time 2007, Ripper Owens found out through the internet that he had been kicked out of Iced Earth and replaced by Matt Barlow. Granted, Ripper didn't sound so great on "Framing Armageddon," but he sang his balls off on "The Glorious Burden" and I find it difficult to hold him accountable for the patchiness of either album. The music that was written for him was some of the most monotonous and flaccid music of the band's career. Anyone that saw Ripper live and heard him perform the band's earlier speed and thrash songs knows that if given solid material, he can truly shine ("PUUUUURE EVIL!!!"). In dumping Ripper in such an inconsiderate manner, Jon Schaffer, who was already ill-favored because of the direction he is steering the band as well as some cheap-shots he had taken at former members during interviews, pretty much lost the majority of the respect that the metal community had for him, despite his considerable talent on rhythm guitar.
This "Something Wicked This Way Comes" continuation prolongs the story of Set and aliens and killing and all this other stuff I couldn't care less about. The pretentiousness of the whole thing is a big enough turn-off in and of itself; the fact that the story is confusing and boring only makes things worse. In these two albums, Schaffer has failed to come up with as much quality material as there was on the original three-song epic.
The only reason I even listened to this is because no one else at the radio station liked heavy music. I certainly had low expectations, to say the least. Surprisingly, some of the material found here is really good. Matthew Barlow does a fantastic job throughout the album, singing with passion and attempting to inject some life into a totally comatose storyline. "A Gift or a Curse" is a unexpectingly well-done ballad. The guitar solo is absolutely killer. Troy Steele (what a totally metal name) actually does a fine job on all of his solos on this album; unfortunately Schaffer only lets him do three solos, and the album suffers as a result. The entire second half of the album could use some solos to add some urgency to a bunch of songs that plod and plod and go nowhere; this is especially true with the title track and the epic "Come What May."
However, I must give credit where it is due. "Harbringer of Fate" is another good ballad-type song. "Minions of the Watch/The Revealing" have some decent riffing and "Crown of the Fallen/The Dimensional Gauntlet" is solid, helped out by a Troy Steele solo. "I Walk Alone" and "Crucify the King" are decent, if unspectacular songs; the former serving well as the single. However, the riffs on this album aren't just bad, they're lazy. Someone with as much talent as Schaffer has should not be writing riffs that are so stock, simplistic and mediocre. Barlow certainly does his best to save many of the songs, but how could they possibly succeed without a solid riff-base for the song to be built on? The second half of the album is excruciating to listen to, although it's a positive that there are no more trite interludes like there were on the last album.
I really hate giving this album a decent grade, because it would almost indicate that I actually approve of the direction that this band is headed. However, this is merely a case of Jon Schaffer getting lucky and actually writing a few decent songs. This is in no way a return to form and hardly essential; although the first half of the album is a decent-time waster and a couple of songs are actually really good. A return to the excellent thrash/speed metal days of yore is unlikely. As the title says, this is certainly better than part 1, but holding out hope for this band will only breed disappointment later.
