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Tired of the usual Power Metal? Looking for something different but don't want to give up the main features of the genre? Don't worry, here's your Defender85 with a golden suggestion: what better than the American Iced Earth? Among the albums that have not yet been re-reviewed, I decided to talk about the beautiful "The Dark Saga" from 1996. I imagine you all know the band and the genre they propose: a very original Power Metal with strong influences in the rhythm section from Metallica's Thrash.
John Schaffer and company offer us a record of hard, fierce, and incandescent Metal, a concept album inspired by the "Spawn" comic saga: in fact, the songs tell the story of a man who sold his soul to the Devil to save the people he loved, but when reborn and enlisted in the infernal armies, he discovers that his girlfriend is now with his best friend: the whole album unfolds along this logical thread, telling part of this story, but above all describing the protagonist's inner anguish—servant of Satan and forced to obey his orders, yet still possessing a glimmer of good in his soul, a glimmer that makes him hope for God's help and fear the wrath of the latter.
The album opens with the title track "Dark Saga", which immediately sets things straight and defines the sound of the entire album, oriented toward darker, indeed more dark, sounds, but without losing sight of the unmistakable style that characterizes the band. Next is the semi-ballad "Died For You", which expresses the protagonist's inner turmoil as he discovers the relationship between his girlfriend and his best friend, but he is forced to obey the orders of the Demon, unleashing his power on them, which is worthily conveyed by the violent Thrash of "Violate". Here our hero begins to fear the wrath of the Heavens, described in the following "The Hunter", with Matthew Barlow at his most expressive and confirming once again as a great vocalist. The following tracks "The Last Laugh", "Depths Of Hell", and "Vengeance Is Mine", which address the protagonist's rebellion against his infernal master, are excellent Heavy pieces—hard, incisive, with an indestructible rhythm section (Dave Abell on bass and Brent Smedley on drums) and solos not filled with unnecessary showmanship but rather brief and incisive. But one of the best pieces of the lot is undoubtedly the next "Scarred", from the concluding triptych called "The Suffering": it is a dark track loaded with a shadowy and sulfurous atmosphere, so much so that it borders more on Doom in the initial part, with Barlow at the peak of suffering and a melancholic guitar chiseling the song marvelously, which in the concluding part takes off and launches into a highly compelling solo. "Slave To The Dark" continues the melancholic theme of the previous one in the initial part, only to plunge headlong into a strong and powerful ride (the style here is very reminiscent of Iron Maiden). When the protagonist's hopes seem lost, a glimmer of salvation hope arrives with the concluding "A Question Of Heaven", slower, at times acoustic, at times powerfully swept by the guitars of Schaffer and Shawer and Barlow's rough voice, and interspersed with angelic female choirs.
In conclusion, a great album, recommended to all lovers of a powerful and structured Metal, yet melodic; in short, one of the finest expressions of Heavy Metal in these years.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Dark Saga (03:42)
The deal was rigged
There's darkness in my soul
I want to die
again
An empty soul shrouded in darkness
Alone and confused what am I?
Images flash memories jaded
He took my life God damn his lies
Fight spawn of the damned, bring down the heavens
Smash in the gates, burn down
You must accept the fate that you've chosen
You will obey your destiny
I cheated myself for love
Love unconditional
Now just to see her face
I've lost it all
I know there's goodness in me
Though I'm not the same
I will defy the master
I will refuse to be his slave
No, I was betrayed I can't accept this
My future's unclear, it's a lie
I'll follow my heart stand and be counted
The curse will lift I will survive
I cheated myself for love
Love unconditional
Now just to see her face
I've lost it all
I cheated myself for love
Love unconditional
Now just to see her face
I've lost it all
02 I Died for You (03:48)
I can't believe this now
This isn't what I planned
I lived and died and now
I just can't understand
With all the love I feel
I could never leave her
No matter what the cost
My souls the price to see her
(Chorus)
Oh how I love you
The pain won't go away
Oh when I need you
You're always so far away
I cry for you
Leaving myself to blame
I died for you
I gave up everything
The pain was just to much
When I finally saw her
She's happy and in love
In love with my best friend
What makes it hurt so bad
Is that I love them both
And they will never know
For love I sold my soul
(Chorus)
(Solo)
(Chorus)
03 Violate (03:37)
Enter now the fiendish one
Twisted little man
Vile wretch disgusting mess
Perverted little man
Born of hell and in disease
Hate festers in his veins
Demonic clown and shapeshifter
Little man gone insane
Enter now
Enter now
And violate
AI'll beat you with your spinal cord
Split your skull in two
I'll feast on your intestines
There's nothing I can't do
I'll rip your heart out of your chest
Watch it beat as you cry
I revel in your agony
I violate and make you die
Enter now
Enter now
And violate
04 The Hunter (03:56)
A force of light an angel
Sent through time to destroy
Avenging the dark ones
Descending angelic force
Heaven sent the hunter
Her mission to crucify
Slay the hellborn
His offspring demonic force
Descending from heaven
The angel sworn to bring him down
The hunter the thunder
The wrath of heavens comin' down
She swore an oath, an allegiance
Armageddon is in sight
To be the thorn in the devils back
To make him weak, the final fight
Descending from heaven
The angel sworn to bring him down
The hunter the thunder
The wrath of heavens comin' down
06 Depths of Hell (03:02)
Angels coming from above
Take the essence of his love
Challengers call him from al around
Demons coming from the ground
Battles won and nothing gained
Feel the pain
Feel the shock
From the depths of hell
Darkness dwelling in his soul
True damnation no control
Shattered pieces of his past
Broken dreams among the dead
When the smoke clears he will arise
Feel the pain
Feel the shock
From the depths of hell
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