Having been a fan of ‘Ripper’ Owens while he was in the band, I admit to being one of the faithful who thought that the return of Matt Barlow to the fold would be the right thing for Iced Earth. I also believed it would make The Crucible Of Man a stronger album than their previous effort. I guess all of this could have been true, except that one thing got forgotten – write some bloody decent songs!
Barlow is back, and his vocals cram themselves out of the speakers at you, but is there any real feeling or power there? Has he lost his touch? It’s difficult to say, but it really isn’t the same man who sang on Iced Earth albums ten years ago. However, he can only sing the material he has in front of him, and here it seems the band has slipped dramatically. Where have the heavy songs gone? Where is the intense riffing that once was so prevalent in their music? Have they left speed for good? This is where all the conflict is. You can’t have a good album without good material, and in trying to tell a story it appears that the music has been dealt a savage blow.
It is possible that this is such a massive disappointment because all of the talk leading up to it was the return of Barlow? Actually, no. The elements of Iced Earth are there, but they just feel watered down. Or are they just outdated? Surely the time has come to just go out and get back to the basics, and bring back what made Iced Earth such a formidable band. Big fans will probably still get enough out of this album. I did not.
Rating: If going back to the past is their ideal, then they need to go further back. 1.5 / 5
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