Metal Reviews

Don't worry, if I were going to go prison gay for anyone here it'd be Eyesore

Truth be told I was actually looking forward to this when I d/led it, as I really wanted to hear how the reworked songs would sound with Owens, but as I said before there's just something about his singing here made the whole thing disappointing.

MetalStorm,

Nah, I wasn't trying to jump all over you or be a jerk or anything. I stand behind what I said though. There are inherent issues that come about when you remake something of your own, including that there will be comparisons made. Jon shouldn't feel any need to warn everyone about what's coming. It's a remake of old songs with a different vocalist. People are probably going to have a better grasp on what's coming there than on any album full of all new material. And trying to remove certain people's expectations or bias isn't going to accomplish anything. There will always be someone crying "foul!" ... It's not on some "other plane", but that doesn't mean people shouldn't be able to see it for what it is either. If people like it, okay; if not, okay. If they say it's crap, then that's on them to analyze and explain.

I think your issue seems to be with people who immediately scream, "This sucks! It was so much better with Barlow," and don't even really listen to or consider the music much at all.. I understand that, but most people who do that aren't really that interested in music anyway, I don't think. And it's not really fair or reasonable to lump everyone who says it's not very good or as good into that group simply out of frustration.

And at this point, after talking about it so much, I pretty much feel obligated to go listen to the damn thing.

-Tyrion

Guys, at the end of the day this is just an EP. Jon put most of his time and effort into the double CD, which is to be expected, and this was just some afterthought that the record execs wanted put out. The price of the EP is the cost of a meal at McDonalds (you can interpret that comment in variety ways).

I am slightly disappointed with the release, mostly because my demands and expectations from Iced Earth are so huge. The new song has a good, memorable chorus but it's basically a one riff song and I know Schaffer can do much better! It's pretty much The Reckoning but with a better chorus. And to both start and end the song with a scream somehow annoys me. I hope to see more complex song structures on the full album.

Regarding the re-recorded triology it definitely shows some promise in some areas but disappoints in others. I like how they changed the intro of The Prophecy and did a few other new things, it keeps me interested. The solos are awesome, I am not used to hear shredding in Iced Earth but this is probably the best part of the new triology. Too bad the guitarist is already out of the band.
As for the disappointing parts, Rippers performance in the triology is sub-par. Not comparing him to Barlow or anything, but it just doesn't sound like he's singing with his heart in this one. Plus, his way of emphasizing the "R" in the end of some words annoys me, for example in The Coming Curse when he screams "hour", "fire" or "devour" I just cringe. It stops the flow of the song melody dead. Lastly I miss the intensity of the riffs in the original. A perfect example is in The Prophecy, when the slow first half turns aggressive towards the middle of the song. In the original when the heavy guitars kick in I feel the urge to just fucking thrash my head around and throw the horns in the air. In the remake I just don't feel the guitars in the same way, they are nowhere near as heavy and intense. The same goes for the Coming Curse riff.

Anyway, I am still excited about the new Iced Earth album(s), this EP is, though not bad at all, a slight disappointment and has definitely lowered my expectations of what is to come.

Only listened to the EP once thus far but here are my opinions thus far.

Ten Thousand Strong is an OK song. I cant help thinking that this song sounds familiar (either off The Glorious Burden or the most recent Demons and Wizards). Aside from the recycled riffing, its a good listen, and I like Tim's vocal work on it. I'm still hoping that Jon's got a few more (and better) tricks in the hat to pull out for both upcoming full length releases.

As for the reissuing of the already classic Something Wicked Trilogy. I'v got mixed emotions on this one. I honestly like the sound of the down-tuned guitars and the more middle-eastern atmosphere that is presented on this new version. Also the solos on this release easily surpass those on the original. I dont like what has been done with the slow portion of Prophecy. I liked the entire riff being played continuously throughout instead of the constant use of rests in each measure. Also the transition to the heavy/faster part of the song was disappointing. It seems like Jon is just palm-muting everything nowadays and this costs the transition in this song a lot of the energy it had in the original. I really like what was done with Birth of the Wicked. For one, aside from down-tuned guitars (and the significantly improved solo work), not much else is modified on this song. What modifications have been made make for a much more atmospheric song, a significant improvement over what I once considered the weakest song in the trilogy. Coming Curse has its ups and downs. Once again, I hate the fact that nearly every note in the main riff is palm-muted. While a good portion of the original consisted of palm-muting, what notes were allowed to ring clear made the intro part of this song much more intense, whereas this version just seems to plod on aimlessly. The solos once again are great and the change in the chanting to that middle-eastern sound fits the song better (as well as the storyline for the double release).

Tim's work on the trilogy is down right disappointing. I'm not saying this because of how huge of a fan of Matt Barlow's voice I am (I've been over the whole no Barlow in IE thing for a while, he's with Pyramaze now and will take that band to heights it never has been). Tim sounds absolutely bored. Throughout the entire trilogy, there's very little change in his voice, its almost all sung in monotone. The few times he gets into his more angry (yes Halford-like) voice are weak. The one part towards the end of the coming curse ("I am your anti-christ. I will destroy mankind") I was hoping for as strong of a performance on that one as Tim gave on the end of High Water Mark, but he just misses the mark on this one all together.

Here's hoping that they get it all together on the double-release.

This EP is pretty much what I was expecting. Ten Thousand Strong is a great song. A classic IE shredder similar to Declaration Day from The Glorious Burden. The Rerecorded Trilogy is also pretty solid, but I like the original version better. The production really suffers on this EP (as was also the case with The Reckoning EP), giving it a very thin and unprofessional sound. The drums sound more "clicky" than they did in the original SW Trilogy. And so on.

On the bright side, Tim Owens' vocals are topnotch on this EP. He sounds a lot more confident/comfortable with IE now than he did on The Glorious Burden, and I like how he's not afraid to do those Halford-style screams when appropriate.

Overall, for $4.00, this is a great purchase. But with only four songs, and three of which already being available in slightly better form, I wouldn't buy it for much more personally. Unless may be it becomes a rare collector's item.

I ordered the EP from lala.com about 10 days ago. It arrived with the new Kamelot and Chris Caffery. I for one have never been a Matt Barlow fan. As blasphemous as that may sound...I just never really liked his vocal style.. I do really love Tim Owen's voice so this is a real treat, in my opinion, to get a little taste of what's on the way from IE.

Since Tim Owens' entrance into IE I've read tons of fan views on many metal forums. It always seems to be divided by old fans of IE vs. the newer fans who do like Tim Owens. That's perfectly natural when you've become accustomed to the previous singer in a band. I have some of IE 's older stuff. I really like the music but like I said before, I just could not get into Barlow's singing style and tone. I've always been a fan of the soaring falsetto scream kind of thing, so Tim Owens addition to IE was seemless for me as a fan.

I really love what I'm hearing on this Ep. I'm really looking forward to the big CD set when it's finally released.

I don't fault Schaffer for wanting to give his older material a "facelift" of sorts. It's his stuff so let him do with it what he will.

One of the best sites on the planet.

Just got this! I really liked the new track, better then everything on TGB. But just started with the re do of the trilogy. Not liking it. I hate re mixes, especially of song that are fucking amazing. I'll be pissed off if they play this version of it on the heaven and hell tour.

I like both singers and if I hadn't heard the original years back this would be great but all we have is clearer production so why bother? give me the original.

Ill be looking forward to this, just b/c im a huge iced earth fan, but i will always prefer Barlow over Ripper, even though i have alot of respect for Tim's vocal ability.