ICED EARTH SURVIVOR 2018: Results -> A Question Of Heaven wins!

Are you satisfied with the results?

  • Total voters
    10
A guy at the concert was trying to tell me that he thought Crucible was the second best IE album.
 
In Sacred Flames - Decent intro, but merely an intro. It gets an obvious vote.

Behold the Wicked Child - Awesome song and a great way to reintroduce Barlow in the band. This song has a lot to offer and sets the bar high for the rest of the album.

Minions of the Watch - Some OK riffing but also a lot of plodding and annoying vocals. Not really sure why the song is so short either, they could've worked on it a bit and made it into something more interesting. As it is now, it seems pretty half baked. Vote.

The Revealing - Same as the previous song, but much less memorable. Vote.

A Gift or Curse - I have to give them credit for trying something different here. I really dig the percussion and unique guitar sounds. It's at least sonically distinguishable from their other ballads. After that though the song kinda plods around without being particularly interesting. There are some interesting flashes in the heavier sections but overall doesn't live up to the promise of the song's start. I'll hold off on voting for it for now because it did have some interesting parts.

Crown of the Fallen - More plodding, half baked, generic riffs under uninspired vocals. Vote.

The Dimension Gauntlet - Decent guitar harmony but not much else to offer. Surprised that this is not one of the shorter songs on the album because it feels like another interlude. Vote.

I Walk Alone - One of the better songs here. Nice chorus, some cool soundscapes, and decent guitar work. This is one of the few songs on either Something Wicked albums where everything comes together musically and conceptually.

Harbinger of Fate - Love the tribal drums in the middle section. The rest is boring. Vote.

Crucify the King - It feels like I listened to the same song twice in a row. Similar huge chorus under generic riffing. Vote.

Sacrificial Kingdoms - The vocals in this song are extremely annoying. Barlow sounds strained for a lot of it. The riffing actually isn't that bad, but the vocal parts ruin it. Vote.

Something Wicker Part 3 - More of the same. Vote.

Divide Devour - The chorus here is significantly better than the last few songs, but there's such a huge lack of dynamics. Everything is at one volume which kills the effect of the chorus and the choir bit that comes in the middle. This song is begging for an epic buildup, but there's nothing to build to because it already starts at full volume. The drums are also obnoxious. Vote.

Come What May - Fantastic song and probably still the best post-Horror Show moment (Clear the Way comes close though). Love the middle section, the chorus, and the riff. It feels like this song was given way more attention than anything else on the album. It's not even that complicated, just extremely inspired. Barlow also gives the only performance worthy of his previous stint with the band.

Epilogue - Like the intro, this isn't a bad end to the album, but nothing special out of context. Vote.

Easily one of their worst albums. The worst part is that there's a lot of potential here. There are some flashes of brilliance and a lot of songs that could've been great if they were given more attention. I wonder what would've happened if the band at least temporarily shelved the Something Wicked project and instead focused on making a great comeback album with Barlow. There's so much filler on here and many of the songs seem to exist solely to tell a convoluted and bland story. A huge missed opportunity and it's sad that this is probably going to be Barlow's swan song with the band.
 
Mosh said:
Crown of the Fallen - More plodding, half baked, generic riffs under uninspired vocals.
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:fencing:
Mosh said:
The Dimension Gauntlet - Decent guitar harmony but not much else to offer. Surprised that this is not one of the shorter songs on the album because it feels like another interlude.
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It is one of the shorter songs. A very fine one.
Mosh said:
Come What May - Fantastic song and probably still the best post-Horror Show moment (Clear the Way comes close though). Love the middle section, the chorus, and the riff. It feels like this song was given way more attention than anything else on the album. It's not even that complicated, just extremely inspired. Barlow also gives the only performance worthy of his previous stint with the band.
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I don't get the Come What May hype. It is atmospheric but I miss good melodies and variation. The first half drags. Take the instrumental parts between and after the verses for example. Just to extend the song, there's no musical enrichment. Very monotone. Then the change in the mid piece. This is better. But then it goes back into that generic chorus again for more than a minute.
 
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God, this album is so. BORING. There's only a couple songs that are truly terrible, but the majority of it is simply bland, rehashed, and devoid of creativity. What a slog.

I genuinely love Come What May (though it's still not a 10/10), I really enjoy I Walk Alone, and I think Harbinger and Crucify are both alright. Voting for everything else. Also, V.
 
Voting after just one listen. There's a chance that I'll warm up to some of these but on the first listen, these were the songs that didn't really speak to me/I found annoying for various reasons:

Minions Of The Watch
Crown Of The Fallen
Harbinger of Fate
Sacrificial Kingdoms

Also leaving a vote for Anthem

I understand the bland critique and there's a lot of sameness to it but still I didn't find this album all that bad. I agree with Mosh and his assessment of A Gift or a Curse? That was a welcome new take on a ballad from IE. Other faves - Come What May of course and Divide Devour, the latter in particular kicked ass :)
 
Finally gave it a relisten, and I'm firmly on MrKnicker's side for this one; Crucible of Man's biggest flaw is how boring it is. Way too many songs just chug away without a heading or any real purpose. On some tracks I sorta get what they were aiming for, but overall they mostly feel half-baked, as if Schaffer just didn't bother finishing them properly. Definitely my least favourite IE album along with the debut.
The first five songs (Intro through A Gift or a Curse), along with Come What May, are strongest tracks, I feel. Crucify the King isn't too bad either, and I liked The Dimension Gauntlet for referencing The Coming Curse in one of the melodies. Voting for everything else in addition to Raven Wing, Ghost Dance and Anthem.
 
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Credits:
Jon Schaffer - rhythm guitar, bass & vocals - 9th album with the band
Matt Barlow - vocals - 5th album with the band
Brent Smedley - drums - 2nd album with the band
Troy Seele - lead guitar - 2nd album with the band
Guests:
Dennis Hayes - bass on 5 songs

  1. In Sacred Flames - Awesome intro.
  2. Behold The Wicked Child - Honestly... songs like this one are missing from the last 3 albums. It's epic as fuck. Obviously, Barlow is perfect, but the song as a whole is perfect too. Awesome drumming buildup in the verses, awesome chorus and a very cool outro.
  3. Minions Of The Watch / The Revealing - These two songs are one entity IMO. What's in both of these songs is awesome, but both sound unfinished and incohesive even when put together... Damn shame. Somewhere out there is an awesome 5-6 minute long song.
  4. A Gift Or A Curse - Yeah, this one is really awesome. An unusual ballad for IE with unexpected changes and obviously, an incredible Barlow performance. I think this one is the last song to feature Schaffer's vocals more prominently.
  5. Crown Of The Fallen - This one is one of the weakest songs on the album. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but it's kinda generic. But Barlow obviously sounds awesome.
  6. The Dimension Gauntlet - Recycled song. Don't like it, it feels like an interlude. Barlow's vocals are obviously the only good thing about it.
  7. I Walk Alone - Awesome choice for a single with an imposing Barlow performance, obviously, and a cool performance by Brent Smedley. Chorus is epic.
  8. Harbinger Of Fate - A pretty basic IE ballad saved by an obviously awesome Barlow performance. Also the choirs are awesome, they should bring them back.
  9. Crucify The King - I don't particularly like this one. It's too plodding and the chorus is kinda annoying. Barlow is obviously the only saving grace of this song.
  10. Sacrificial Kingdoms - This one has one of the best IE choruses ever. Fucking epic. Barlow obviously kills it.
  11. Something Wicked, Part 3 - Another recycled interlude-ish song, a waste of Barlow's obviously awesome vocals.
  12. Divide Devour - Ah, the Violate of this album. Yeah, it's generic, but it mostly works because of Barlow's obviously awesome performance. It's kinda repetitive though.
  13. Come What May - A worthy swan song for Barlow's time in Iced Earth... wish there was more. He killed it on this song. Makes it obvious for anyone how irreplaceable in IE he is. Can't praise this song enough. It's pure perfection in every way. Should be a live staple IMO, but not sure if Stu can sing it properly.
  14. Epilogue - OK outro.
Overall: I'm not sure how high I'd rank this album... Probably higher if it had less songs. Cut Crown Of The Fallen, The Dimension Gauntlet, Crucify The King and Something Wicked, Part 3, and rework Minions/Revealing and it'd be a perfect album.
Best song(s): Come What May, Behold The Wicked Child, I Walk Alone, Sacrificial Kingdoms

And I voted for Great Heathen Army, Raven Wing, V, In Sacred Flames, Minions Of The Watch, The Revealing, Crown Of The Fallen, The Dimension Gauntlet, Crucify The King, Something Wicked, Part 3 and Epilogue.
 
Has Come What May not been played with Stu? I thought it was at least a few times
 
Once.


But that was a long time ago. He doesn't generally sound as good nowadays, he'd struggle with the high notes.
 
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Eliminated after Round 6:
Epilogue - 8 votes
Minions Of The Watch - 7 votes
Sacrificial Kingdoms - 7 votes
Something Wicked, Part 3 - 7 votes
In Sacred Flames - 6 votes
The Revealing - 6 votes
Crown Of The Fallen - 6 votes
 
Great Heathen Army
Anthem
Everything remaining from Crucible except for I Walk Alone and Come What May

I also had no idea that Jon played bass on Crucible. I know that bass usually isn't a standout part of Iced Earth, but that's still lame.
 
Steve DiGiorgio played bass on Horror Show. Schaffer also played bass on Framing Armageddon, though.
 
What’s lame about it? The bass playing doesn’t seem any different than the other IE albums so I don’t see why it matters who’s playing on it
 
Schaffer shouldn't pay anyone to play bass on his music, it's nonexistent in the mix and adds absolutely nothing to the band. I'm shocked he doesn't use a drum machine on everything TBH
 
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