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Iced Earth: Overture of the wicked

18/06/07 || Euthanatos

So apparently everyone now thinks it’s a good idea to re-record popular songs of the past. Sure, this has been quite common in mainstream music for a while, but in metal, not really. This time around we have Jon Schaffer revamping the Something Wicked Trilogy from the band’s most popular album, “Something Wicked This Way Comes”. And what a shitty idea that was.

It’s one thing to re-record something with a different vocalist; I mean, “Days of Purgatory” was a bold and actually successful endeavor (where the band’s classics were recorded with then vocalist Matt Barlow). But to modify something that in many people’s minds is perfect is entirely different.

To start off this EP, we have a new song, called “Ten Thousand Strong”. It’s kinda lame, to be honest. Not that it’s a total crap-fest, but it could well be left-over material from “The Glorious Burden” and I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Pretty repetitive riffs, Owens screaming and screaming like there’s a horse ramming his ass and yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Then, the trilogy. I don’t like it, I’ll keep it simple for you. The original stuff is absolutely brilliant, probably the coolest moment of Iced Earth history. This time around, it’s overproduced and fancy. Which equals shit, in most cases.

To start off, there are so many vocal tracks here, I can hardly know where to focus. Sure, Owens is one kick-ass-bad-mofo of a singer, but must we really listen to ALL his talents in ONE track? Couldn’t Schaffer have taken a hint from Beyond Fear and see that Owens shines when given the opportunity to keep it basic at most times and only highlight certain parts? Isn’t that kind of metal vocals 101?

Alas, if that were the only problem; Schaffer takes some of the coolest riffs he’s ever written and decides to fuck around with them. He muffles picks, he removes cool notes, I just don’t get what’s going on here.

However, to be fair, this stuff does have some merit, being first and foremost the guitar solos. Tim Mills simply shreds and also, creatively speaking, the solos here are a great improvement on the stuff on the original trilogy, so major props. Damn shame he won’t be staying in the band, as Iced Earth switch lead guitar players as much as porn stars take HIV tests.

Another really cool thing is what Schaffer did on “The Coming Curse”. Arguably the finest moment of the trilogy, here Schaffer manages to capture the eerie atmosphere of the subject at hand with some new middle-eastern style female vocals and trumped up instrumental. That also gets thumbs up.

Overall, re-recording stuff is a stupid idea, period. It gives out the vibe that you’ve ran out of ideas, that you think your better days are behind you and your band just overall sucks, which shouldn’t be true for Iced Earth. While there are some good ideas here and there, Schaffer should have just saved them for the full-length album and just left his fucking masterpiece be.

The Cover: This was done by Felipe Machado and Nathan Perry and it’s pretty good. A darker, more somber tone, which certainly fits the band’s sound. Shame the EP sucks balls.

4 really stupid ideas out of 10.

Information
Released: 2007
Label: SPV
Website: www.icedearth.com
Band
Tim Owens: vocals
Jon Schaffer: guitars, bass, fucking around, throwing out band members
Brent Smedley: drums

Tracklist
01. Ten Thousand Strong
02. Prophecy
03. Birth of the Wicked
04. The Coming Curse

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