The Crucible Of Man (Iced Earth)

2008 has a pretty good year to be a Matt Barlow fan; he sang on Pyramaze's "Immortal" in the spring and has returned to Iced Earth to help close out the second half of the band's "Something Wicked" saga. The Ripper may have contributed some enjoyable songs in his four year stay, but it certainly feels good to hear Barlow sing the story that he originally helped start back in 1998.
Musically, the album's style is not too far away from the sounds of 2007's "Framing Armaggedon" with emphases placed on crunchy mid-tempo guitar grooves, uplifting choruses, an epic atmosphere, and a few tempo changes ever now and then. However, this album is made distinct by a fewer number of interludes, a darker sound courtesy of Barlow's majestic bellows, and for being the first to feature new bassist Freddie Vidales.

In Sacred Flames: Like "Framing" before it, this installment starts off with an atmospheric opening interlude. However, this opener is much more powerful and made memorable by angelic Latin chants and some building soft/heavy constrats. A pretty awesome way of starting things off.
9 out of 10

Behold The Wicked Child: Coming off the opener is the album's most hard hitting tracks. The introduction comes in with powerful guitar harmonizing and building chords in the background, the verses continue with borderline falsetto vocals thrown in, the chorus slows the song down and brings in some great vocal layering, and the choir makes brief reprisals between a few of the verses. Probably my favorite song on the album.
9 out of 10

Minions of The Watch: Uplifting guitar riffs open this song in a way that reminds me of Queensryche's "Open" during the introduction, the verses continue with some unusual but exotic vocal lines, and the vocals become more drawn out during the chorus. A good song, but way too short at only two minutes long. . .
8 out of 10

The Revealing: As the previous track fades out, we now enter this 2:40 thrasher. It comes in with powerful riffs, the verses continue with gruff bellows, the chorus brings in some powerful falsettos, and the song closes out with a steady chug. Another great song that I wish had been developed a little more.
8 out of 10

A Gift Or A Curse?: Now we come to the album's first ballad. It comes in with melancholic guitar leads and a slow bass heavy rhythm, the verses feature an interesting duet between Barlow and rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer (Haven't seen one of those in a while. . .), the bridge brings in a heavier riff, and producer Jim Morris provides another one of his sets of shredding guitar solos. Not as emotional as it could be, but a pretty neat track.
8 out of 10

Crown Of The Fallen: This song comes in with an uplifting riff similar to that of "Minions of The Watch", the verses continue at a solid pace, and the chorus provides an equally uplifting refrain. The song itself isn't amazing, but the chorus really sticks inside your head. . .
8 out of 10

The Dimension Gauntlet: Like "Minions" and "Revealing" before it, this song comes in just as the previous song fades away. The first verse features a steady mid-tempo chug with solid vocals and the second verse brings in an interesting spoken segment with choral vocals in the background. A solid song, though one of the album's weaker moments.
7 out of 10

I Walk Alone: Released as a single earlier this summer, this song is one of the strongest on the album. The introduction comes in with roaring guitar chords and solid drum fills, the verses feature Barlow at his most confident with some interesting stop-start chugs in the background, the chorus provides another infectious refrain, and the solo section features a simple but sweet guitar solo.
9 out of 10

Harbinger Of Fate: This song could be described as the typical Iced Earth ballad. The introduction and verses feature a slow rhythm and the chorus brings in heavier riffs and shrieking vocals. However, it is made distinct by the choir's presence and a sliding guitar solo. Unfortunately, it seems to lack the passion of such classics as "I Died For You" and "Watching Over Me".
7 out of 10

Crucify The King: This song comes in with a mid-tempo riff similar to that of "When Stars Collide (Born Is He)" during the introduction, the verses are dominated by the angrily delivered vocals with spacy effects in the background, the chorus provides an aggressive refrain, the bridge brings in some sinister layering and a more energetic chug, and the lyrics provide a nice return to the band's blasphemous ways of old ("Look at you now/You pathetic little man/With spear I pierce your side/Destiny at my hand"). Given that Barlow wrote the song's lyrics, I suppose we can all be glad he hasn't found Jesus during his time in the police force. . .
8 out of 10

Sacrificial Kingdoms: A more dissonant chug opens this song nicely, the verses bring unusually high pitched layered vocals into the mix, the chorus is another epic refrain, and the song features a sweet though brief solo. Another slightly average tune that is made strong by an infectious chorus.
8 out of 10

Something Wicked (Part 3): A more mysterious guitar chug opens this song introduction, the verses continue with more drawn out vocals, the chorus features some interesting vocal trade-offs, the bridge throws in a stronger riff that manages to keep the song interesting, and the lyrics provide a number of references to those of "The Coming Curse".
8 out of 10

Divide and Devour: One of the most aggressive tracks on the album. It comes in with strong chugging, the verses and pre-choruses feature vocals that range from dark bellows to high pitched wails, the chorus provides a memorable though somewhat wordy refrain, and the choir returns for the song's climax. Not quite a highlight but still pretty good.
8 out of 10

Come What May: I'm pretty sure this seven minute track is meant to be the album's epic. It comes in with building guitars and a steady rhythm, the verses continue with a melodic chug and more restrained vocal lines, the chorus provides more of the same, and the solo section provides a few mysterious melodies. Definitely not up to par with past epics, but a fine climax.
8 out of 10

Epilogue: Closing the album out is a final interlude. Given that it is the exact same thing as the "Prologue", I can't help but wonder if there's really any purpose for it to be here. . .
7 out of 10

Overall, this album gets 120 out of 150, 80%, and 4 stars. Part of me feels as though this may be the band's weakest album but the other part of me feels that there are great songs on here. Either way, it's just good to have Barlow back. Now let's get Schaffer to compose some high quality power metal again!