ICED EARTH — The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked, Part 2 (review)

ICED EARTH — The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked, Part 2 album cover Album · 2008 · US Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked, Part 2" is the 10th full-length studio album by US power metal act Iced Earth. The album was released in September 2008 by SPV GmbH. "The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked, Part 2" is the 3rd album Iced Earth's concept of the "Something Wicked" Saga which started with "Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)".

Former lead vocalist Matthew Barlow, who was a member of Iced Earth in the period 1995 - 2003 (and who is band founder/guitarist Jon Schaffer´s brother-in-law), has returned to the fold and replaces Tim "Ripper" Owens who sang on the last two studio albums by the band: "The Glorious Burden (2004)" and "Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked, Part 1 (2007)".

Matthew Barlow´s vocals fit like a glove with Iced Earth´s music but his performance here isn´t necessarily the triumphant return many had hoped for. That is in large part due to the quality of the material though but unfortunately also the sound production. Most tracks on the album are around 3 to 4 minutes long and and while the basic mid-paced US power metal sound is beefed up by epic keyboards and lead guitar themes the formula seems a bit tried at this point. It took me several listens before I could pick out some semi-highlights (a track like "Harbinger of Fate" comes to mind) and the material is generally not that catchy even though it´s very melodic. The playing is of course faultless but that´s to be expected from a prolific act like Iced Earth. As mentioned the sound production isn´t very successful to my ears either. Especially the horribly triggered bass drums sound artificial and weak. They bother me. The epic lyrical theme, which could have turned out pretty great, also comes off a bit too pompous.

So while "The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked, Part 2" features excellent musicianship as it´s greatest asset it fails to truly engage me in the songwriting department and bearing the artificial sounding production in mind too, this is a pretty mediocre Iced Earth album. I´d definitely recommend newcomers to start somewhere else in the band´s discography. Still I´d say a 2.5 - 3 star rating is warranted.
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