Iced Earth
Something Wicked This Way Comes

THE REVIEW

The Iced Earth.
It would be very difficult, indeed, I believe impossible to assign a well-defined genre to this band, capable of merging Heavy, Thrash, and Power metal, creating a very pleasant style all their own.
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates Schaffer's band, which, however, in fifteen years of activity has managed to produce great works like "The Dark Saga", the monumental triple live CD "Alive in Athens", but above all, the splendid "Something Wicked This Way Comes".
I would like to introduce you specifically to this last one, released in 1998 and recorded by a band that, besides the absolute leader John Schaffer and the now fixed point Mattew Barlow, included the new entry James McDonough.

We are facing an album that pleasantly alternates between sustained songs and poignant ballads, culminating in the splendid final trilogy, which gives the album its name.
The festivities open with "Burning Times", a song about the Spanish Inquisition which, thanks to its strong riffs, presents itself as an excellent opener and gives way to the next "Melancholy (Holy Martyr)", the first ballad of the record, considered by many as one of the band's masterpieces due to its melancholy, also created by the lyrics talking about the last hours of suffering experienced by Jesus Christ... There's not even time to recover as "Disciples Of The Lie" is ready to transport us back to the circle of aggression, only to return to the sadness of the splendid "Watching Over Me", written by Schaffer in memory of a friend of his who died in a car accident and which I believe presents itself as the best song on this work.
With the fifth song, "Stand Alone", the grit of Iced Earth returns (although briefly), but as usual, the moment of the ballad arrives with "Consequences", capable of calming you with its poignant melodies and a Barlow who delivers an extraordinary performance, leading to the aggressiveness of "My Own Saviour", probably the most violent piece on the album that continues the alternation of calm and more sustained songs with the good "Reaping Stone", the sensational instrumental "1776", and then "Blessed Are You", characterized by a slow start, only to explode into the usual distorted choruses...
Once again, the conclusion of the album is given to a trilogy, starting with the alternation of melodic parts and distorted parts of "Prophecy", quickly followed by "Birth Of The Wicked", and ending with the ten minutes of "The Coming Curse", with which this grand album concludes...

Probably this "Something Wicked This Way Comes", at least in my opinion, can be considered the peak of Iced Earth's career, also due to the extraordinary form of its members where we find an incredibly inspired John Schaffer and a Barlow who, with his voice, offers truly sensational performances that have ensured this album was classified among the classics of metal, even if many do not consider it as such.

In conclusion, a great work, recommended to all those who want to approach new styles far from the usual patterns or who perhaps want to discover this great band...