Music Non Stop: Iced Earth

So I have a new tag, but not too new. I think this one will replace the old Spotlight tag. This will do the same thing and highlight some of my favorite bands.

Now I have talked about Iced Earth before. I really highlighted the artwork and some of their music. Now I left off with their Something Wicked part 1 album. A lot has changed since then. Gone is The Ripper Tim Owens and back is Matt Barlow. Now I listened to Something Wicked Part 1, Framing Armageddon and I really wanted to like this album. I mean I waited years to hear the continuation from Something Wicked This Way Comes. It just wasn't working for me. The original trilogy had such a sound. The guitars going from thrash to some acoustic to an eastern feel and then throw in some piano for good measure. This felt like a mid tempo, sludgy, mess. Or on the other songs that had some speed, it felt like The Glorious Burden all over again. Plus there were so many 1 minute songs, for dramatic effect. It didn't work. On top of it Tim Owens killed it for me. I liked the Ripper on The Glorious Burden and still don't think that Matt could do the Gettysburg trilogy, but for this album it needed Matt.

So for whatever reason, after part 2 was done being recorded out goes the Ripper and back comes Barlow. I picked up the EP with one new song and 3 re-recorded songs from part 1, with Matt's vocals over the Ripper's. While the music was still whatever, hearing Matt's vocals made the songs so much better.

They then released Part 2, The Crucible of Man. It didn't make my top 10 that year, but it was better for me that part 1. Matt's vocals are Iced Earth. There were rumors of them re-recording all of part 1 with Matt and releasing a box set, but that was put on hold when the recession hit.

I am excited to hear some new Iced Earth. I doubt it will happen anytime soon though. Matt is a police officer and Jon has a new side project call Sons of Liberty. Which takes his love of the country to new heights. It's good, but it's not Iced Earth.

I will probably talk about some of thier "epic" songs later, like The Phantom of the Opera, Dante's Inferno, or Gettysburg. Some excellent writing.

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Now playing: Iced Earth - Travel In Stygian
via FoxyTunes