Metal Reviews

This poll, first of all, does NOT include the three part Something Wicked trilogy from SWTWC. I'm talking about Something Wicked Parts 1 and 2. What's the overall consensus on them?

Right now, I have to vote "Miss." The albums were too pretentious for their own good, and none of the songs really held much weight on their own because of how tied they were to Schaffer's (somewhat far-fetched) storyline. What made other concept albums like The Dark Saga and Horror Show great was that their songs could individually hold their own, even when not tied into their respective plots. But, musically, the SW Saga just isn't strong enough to really avoid the trap of being overly dependent on its storyline. The way Schaffer switched vocalists between the two albums didn't help matters either, since it detracted from the consistency the two albums were supposed to have. May be, if I listen to these albums more (the only one I own is Framing Armageddon), I'll change my mind about them. But right now, I have to give them "thumbs down."

Here's to hoping, on the next Iced Earth record, Schaffer will return to the classic heavy/power metal style that made the original Something Wicked This Way Comes and Burnt Offerings great. Rather than trying so hard to be epic and heady.

The only problem I have with the series is that Scheffer should have stuck with Owens with part 2. It doesn't have much consistency when you go from 1 to 2 with Owens on 1 and Barlow on 2.

Other than that I think both are solid albums.

I loved both, with time. Hit all the way.

I've only really been sinking my teeth into Framing Armageddon. And I had that one over a year before I finally started to like some of it. But now that I do, it's really a solid album. The only negative things I have to point out are the interludes. Perhaps they help the storyline but they don't really add anything to the overall enjoyment of the album. Still, this is a hit.

I think both albums are completely average; kind of right in between hit and miss. But they do have a few excellent songs that I still listen to, such as Framing Armageddon, Come What May, Divide and Devour, and The Clouding. Those songs make the albums a hit, barely. But as concept albums, they pretty much completely fail; I never got interested in the concept (which is pretty stupid), and the concept was never expressed interestingly enough through the music. And the singer changeover does completely disrupt the story.

I can't believe how mediocre and average Part 2 was. Part 1 was a solid album with more good than bad and some excellent tracks. If 2 was on the same level as 1 it would be a straight up hit, as it is, it's barely a hit, just barely.

I'm a huge Iced Earth fan but Something Wicked Part 1 and 2 are incredibly average. At best one or two memorable songs on each album. I don't mind listening to them but they are just so bland in comparison with the rest of the IE catalogue. My two least favorite IE albums. Miss!

Miss. Since the Horrorshow, Schaffers riffing is just boring. Only in the calm melodic moments his true class shines through.

I've grown tired of these guys after the years, but Something Wicked is a good CD. I didn't know there was a Saga... Probably not ever going to bother checking it out.

I think I'm actually starting to like Iced Earth. I'll vote once I've listened to more of their discography.

I like a few songs off Part 1, Part 2 I really dig most of it. A single to left field let's say.

I found both CD's to be absolutely boring. My favorite Iced Earth albums are:
Something Wicked
The Dark Saga
Horrorshow
The Glorious Burden

Dude, I liked TGB as well, but better than SWI & II? No way. Nowhere near as epic and absurdly fun. Plus, Power Metal fans calling an album pretentious is too ridiculous for words.

I really like the last three songs on The Glorious Burden. That 'suite' of The Devil To Pay, Hold At All Costs, and High Water Mark is better than anything on SW 1&2. Of course that's just my opinion. I can't get through SW 1 or 2 without switching to something else.

If Schaeffer had taken the 6 best songs from both albums putting them together in one piece, the result could have been truly amazing... with one vocalist of course.

It's just like Judas Priest with Nostradamus. Concept albums are not made for heavy metal bands.

It took me a LONG time to get into part 1 (and even then I thought it was just "Good"), and after listening to part 2 on the internet I decided I wasn't even going to bother.
And I agree with MetalStorm, they should've stuck with Owens for pt. 2. It all but ruins the concept album feel.

This be not true, as W.A.S.P., Virgin Steele, Blind Guardian, Queensryche and Savatage have shown. The problem with Nostradamus and Something Wicked (though I think Nostradamus is actually a good album that I would rate somewhere in the low 70s) is that they overloaded them with cheese and pretension, and decided they needed two albums even though they only had enough interesting material for one. IMO, Nostradamus and Something Wicked would have been so much better if they both only had one disc, filled with the best songs.

Their problem is that they also don't work well musically as concept albums. You need more than a story and stupid segue tracks to make a concept album; W.A.S.P. did it best on The Crimson Idol by basing their whole album on four or five musical themes and branching out from there.

That.

And if the two abums have different singers, everything goes more wrong than in Nostradamus. (Imagine Nostradamus with Tim on disk 1 and Rob on disk 2, or viceversa)

Hit.

They're not bad albums at all, but not crazy good. There is one killer album there between the two, though. I'm still looking forward to Barlow doing part 1.