The Crucible Of Man (Something Wicked Part II)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
While the 1998 album provided a general overview of the story, Jon Schaffer has been conceptualizing for well over a decade. The saga is being fully brought to life with the release of the back-to-back conceptual albums "Framing Armageddon" and "The Crucible Of Man." While both albums provide answers to mysteries the previous releases would create, the timeliness of the story in today s world is guaranteed to keep people thinking and guessing. Schaffer s ability to convey the central themes and events of the story without always revealing exactly why characters decisions are made and how events come to pass, will keep fans of the saga coming back as future mediums for the "Something Wicked" storyline are revealed.

The Crucible Of Man is the culmination of the storyline. The absolute pinnacle of the American Metal Powerhouse s career, and happily the full-length return of singer Matt Barlow.

Album Description
While the 1998 album provided a general overview of the story, Schaffer has been conceptualizing for well over a decade. The saga is being fully brought to life with the release of the back-to-back conceptual albums "Framing Armageddon" and "The Crucible of Man." While both albums provide answers to mysteries the previous releases would create, the timeliness of the story in today's world is guaranteed to keep people thinking and guessing. Schaffer's ability to convey the central themes and events of the story without always revealing exactly "why" characters' decisions are made and "how" events come to pass, will keep fans of the saga coming back as future mediums for the "Something Wicked" storyline are revealed. "The Crucible of Man" is the culmination of the storyline. The absolute pinnacle of the American Metal Powerhouse's career, and happily - the full-length return of singer Matt Barlow.

Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A Band Thats Back From The Dead September 10, 2008
16 out of 20 found this review helpful

Iced Earth is a band I've followed since "Something Wicked" was released in 1998. I became a fan almost immediately, hooked on the songwriting, riffs and rhythm guitar playing of Jon Schaffer. But more importantly, I was hooked on the emotional, powerful vocals from frontman Matt Barlow.

After Barlow left the band, my interest just began to wane. "Glorious Burden was decent (check my review of it, 3 stars) but 2007's "Framing Armageddon" just completely underwhelmed me. To use an old line, there just wasn't a lot of wind blowing through that CD. Or the band for that matter.

So hearing of Matt Barlow's return to Iced Earth was some of the best music news I heard this year. The storyline and songs he began in the "Something Wicked" trilogy could be completed by the same voice.

And listening to "Crucible Of Man", it feels like there's a new current of energy running throughout the music. The songs feel more focused than in Part 1, the riffs and song structure seem tighter and more high-energy. I came away (once again) impressed by Jon Schaffer's guitar playing, probably the best rhythm guitar player out there right now. The rest of the band performs admirably, with Matt Barlow's vocals being the expected spotlight. His voice just adds a dimension of emotion and weight to the lyrics that propel the songs.

Highlights of the CD are many, there aren't a lot of weak points. Songs like "Sacrificial Kingdoms", "Crown Of The Fallen", and "The Revealing" all deliver satisfying guitar riffs. The high point is the penultimate track, "Come What May", which has a great vocal melody and chorus that sticks in your head as the album closes. A great mid-tempo rock song.

A strong 4.5 stars for a very good album and a renewed excitement coming from Iced Earth's corner of the metal world.

4 out of 5 stars

An opus concluded September 12, 2008
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Well, after years and years of anticipation, we have the completion of the Something Wicked Saga. My feelings on Crucible of Man are more mixed than they were about Framing Armageddon. With Framing Armageddon, my only reservation was with Owens at the helm as vocalist, but I quickly got past that and loved the album, realizing that it was written with his vocal styling in mind. Framing hit hard musically and gripped me right away. Crucible isn't the same album at all. Whereas Framing felt like it was more about being a straightforward, high tempo metal album, Crucible slows the pace a tad and seems to focus more on telling the story. For me this comes as a mixed bag.

Let's get this out of the way first... I f***ing love Matt Barlow. Along with Chuck Billy from Testament, he is my favorite metal vocalist and I am so glad to hear him back on this album. I'm not sure how much of Crucible was written with Ripper in mind, but I can't see his vocals delivering the emotion or mood that Barlow brings to this half of the saga. Ripper's vocals were great for the up tempo Iced-Earth anthems like 10,000 Strong, but I believe Barlow was truly meant to helm this band and this saga. And Barlow hasn't lost his touch either; he still has all of the great range, from low singing to high tempo growling. He sounds better now than ever.

With that said, and speaking of 10,000 Strong, how come there's really not a song like that on this album? Most of the songs here are mid tempo and while they're not bad at all, there's not as much here that has the punch in the gut like Setien Massacre and 10,000. There are a couple of high tempo tracks at the end; Sacrificial Kingdoms and Divide and Devour are fast and the former is especially a fast Iced Earth track like I remember, but still not quite as memorable as 10,000 from Framing or Attila from Glorious Burden. BUT... While Framing may have been a little more rocking, it felt like a bit of a disjointed experience. There was too much filler and a lot of that filler I tended to skip every time I listened to it. Crucible doesn't really have filler. Each song flows seamlessly to the next and I really have no desire to skip any tracks at all, even if some of them are a little repetitive. I came to realize as I listened to it; this is not your typical Iced Earth album. Every track has a purpose and are put in the only order that they can make sense.

As far as the story of the whole saga goes, it is well thought out and pretty interesting. The artwork to accompany the story in the album booklet is awesome. I mean really awesome. If Schaffer really does get around to making a graphic novel of Set, I look forward to reading it.

I'm not going to go over each individual track, as with this album it would be almost pointless, since it almost feels like 1 hour long track. But a few standouts are Minions of the Watch/The Revealing (I put those 2 together because the first time I heard them, I thought they were one song), Sacrificial Kingdoms (fast and awesome), Something Wicked pt 3, Divide and Devour (also fast and awesome, if this album were Dark Saga, this might be Violate), but there's not a bad song in the bunch. The album starts with some killer stuff, seems to taper a tad in the middle with some songs that sound too much like each other, and then really picks up at the end. The instrumental intro and outro and interludes throughout the songs are haunting as well. Overall, it's a pretty consistent listening experience.

In conclusion, I like this album. It's not as kick me in the face amazing as I would have hoped it to be, but it provides a nice contrast to Framing Armageddon, a lighter tempo yet darker album than it's predecessor. Schaffer once again proves his worth as a song writer and guitarist as well. Some people have complained that the two albums having different vocalists makes it inconsistent, but I disagree. I actually think it's cool to have two albums, each with their own singer and their own flavor tell one solid story. Ripper deserves some credit, and I would actually be just fine not hearing Framing rerecorded with Barlow at the helm.

I eagerly await to see what we get next when Shaffer and Barlow are truly working together as a team again. Long live Iced Earth!

3 out of 5 stars

Despite the Return of Barlow, Crucible Is a Step Back From Framing Armageddon September 10, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

For my money, Iced Earth peaked with Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1, their previous album (the last to feature vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens). The Crucible of Man: Something Wicked Part 2 (with returning vocalist Matt Barlow) is good. But something is missing. I don't get the wow factor like I did with Framing Armageddon. Either the songs aren't as strong, or the performances aren't. Listening to them back to back puts Crucible to shame.

First the aesthetics: The cover art is fantastic, as always. If there'sone thing founding member/guitarist/songwriter Jon Schaffer does well, it's choose killer art for his band.

That said, however, I have to warn you regarding the design of the CD booklet and the art for the back cover. Someone should have known that italic type, reversed out of a busy background, is difficult -- if not impossible -- to read. It's Graphic Design 101. So if you think the song titles listed on the back require serious squinting to read, just wait until you open the booklet inside. Song lyrics shouldn't be a chore to discern when they're printed and in one's hands. But these are, especially for the songs "Minions Of The Watch" (can't make out these at all), "A Gift Or A Curse?" and "Crucify The King." The artwork in said booklet is outstanding. But the lyrics shouldn't have been printed at all if they were going to be rendered like this.

Now to the music...

The songs on Crucible, especially compared to Framing Armageddon, lack dynamic range. They're all well recorded. But they aren't dynamic. They're all relatively mid-tempo and feature Matt's distinctive vocal styling, which almost always ends with an "ahh" sound...as in "see-ahh" and "pain-ahh" and "fear-ahh."

Until Framing Armageddon, I would have said Matt Barlow was Iced Earth's singer hands down. His voice was the one I came to know and love. It took two albums with IE before I embraced Tim Owens as their frontman. But, with Framing Armageddon, that embrace got real tight. It clicked. IE was firing on all cylinders with Framing.

I'm not sure IE isn't firing on all cylinders with Crucible. But maybe there are only four cylinders with this one, instead of 12 on Framing.

I've been listening to Crucible all morning. In fact, I've been listening to it repeatedly since I bought it over the weekend. It's not kicking my butt the way Framing did. I can't put my finger on why. The best way I know how to describe the difference is probably not accurate. But I'll try.

With Framing Armageddon, Iced Earth seemed to reach a level of musical diversity and experimentation that I found refreshing and captivating. I don't know if that was partly Tim's doing, or if it was all Jon's. But Framing was the most diverse, in-depth Iced Earth album I've ever heard.

With The Crucible of Man, Iced Earth seems to have settled back into the groove they had with Barlow on lead vocals. In other words, they're not reaching for the stars. They seem content to just...be. They're Iced Earth, alright. But, after the exquisite Framing Armageddon, I expected more.

I read in an interview that Jon will re-record the vocals on Framing using Matt Barlow. I'm not sure what to think about that. I think Tim's performance on Framing was superb.

I don't know. Iced Earth is still one of the best metal bands in America. But I found The Crucible of Man to be dynamically flat.

Your mileage may vary.

5 out of 5 stars

A true statement from John Schaffer. September 10, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

Iced Earth, what can be said about this band. One of the most creative metal bands out there and they are finally being recognized for nearly two decades of amazing storying telling and musical craftsmanship. After a year of waiting Iced Earth finally relased the conclusion of the Something Wicked tale with 'The Crucible of Man'. After listening to it there is much to be said.

First off the biggest treat for me was the fact that two of Iced Earth prime line-up returned. Brent Smedly and of course the true voice of Iced Earth Matt Barrlow! Yes I did feel a little upset that Tim Owens couldn't finish the project after a supurb job on 'Framing Armageddon'. Eventhough I love Matt Barrlow and I love the atmosphere he brought to this band in past releases. I was just a bit scared that the whole story musically was going to change. I loved the passion and emotion that 'Framing Armageddon' had and how the telling of the story allowed Tim Owens to climb new heights in his vocal talent, I was afraid I wouldn't get that with Matt Barrlows return. I did, I had never heard Matts voice used to such scales with amazing new directions, John Schaffer kept the atmosphere alive and when I listen to the story as a whole it kind of made sense to make the switch because in this new album the story is being told by an entirley new character who was not brought into the story until the very last track on the previous record. The second thing I noticed was this album was more musically driven. There are only 15 tracks as opposed to 19 tracks. This chapter of the story is alot less visual because there is alot more happening in the very begining. Now the pieces have been put in place and the whole purpose of the story is now in full force that character is Set and it is about this character knowing his mission and watching his prey as they live out their lives. The songs grip you with much detail and emotions of this unfortunate creature who had to carry this burden through time and he is willing to throw it all away because he sees redemption in the human race. You don't need breaks in the song with sound effects to shape this part of the story and again another great accomplishment by Iced Earth. Finally this is not the best album Iced Earth has ever released though it is no where near so so or terrible.

I have seen the reviews that some people have posted on this site about the new Iced Earth release. I feel that people always expect too much from any band. John Schaffer finally did what he wanted to do for so long and that was to tell a story that he wrote...HIS WAY! He is such an admerable person because he is driven by his passion projects and doesn't care about money or fame. Being noticed however is something he does want and I don't blame because he is a true artist and those are so hard to come by in music today. I feel this project has brough his band one step closer to his goals because they are now touring more are getting bigger stages. With Barllow back who knows how much further they can go? Perhaps if things keep moving forward more familiar faces will return and that will only give Iced Earth more incentive to do what we fans love most about them... Bring us more heavy metal!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Hypocrisy September 17, 2008
8 out of 13 found this review helpful

Almost every review about this album should be deleted. It's really funny (or sad rather) that everyone is saying, "oh this album isn't very fast like part 1 was" because it is faster than part 1. Go back and read the reviews for part 1. EVERYONE says that it's too slow and not full of enough "fast" songs. SO now all of a sudden it does have fast songs? wtf? did the album go back and re-record itself while it was asleep in your cd wallet?

If you don't like this album, fine. That is your opinion. But it is NOT an opinion that this album IS NOT thrasier than part 1. IS this album full of thrash songs? No but it is not but it still has more than part 1. Since when was iced earth a thrash metal band anyway? Um, never. They have always been a power metal band with thrash metal influences. They have A TON of slow songs and even a TON MORE of mid paced songs, so why is everyone all of a sudden complaining that this album isn't 15 tracks of thrash metal when iced earth have never been about making 15 tracks of thrash metal?

Everyone needs to keep in mind that this is a CONCEPT album. it tells a story! OMG! The music must go with the story/lyrics so it wouldn't really make sense for every song to melt your face. The biggest fact of hypocrisy for these reviews is the subject of matt barlow/ripper owens. Most people said they hate tim and wanted matthew barlow back ever since the second barlow left and ripper replaced him. What? you hate barlow now? you got what you wanted and now you hate it? i swear to god that people just cannot be satisfied.

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