In late March and early April, ICED EARTH's unwavering leader and sole author of all the band's material, Jon Schaffer, posted his own press release and the cover art for the new single "Overture of the Wicked" on the official website, preceding the September release of the band's 8th full-length studio album, "Framing Armageddon." The single contains 4 tracks. Only one of them is new — the single version of the song "Ten Thousand Strong," which we will also hear on the upcoming album. The other three songs are re-recorded versions of the "Something Wicked" trilogy from the 1998 album "Something Wicked This Way Comes."
First, a brief word about the new song. It is interesting primarily as a new creation from the band after more than 3 years. After all, it might shed at least some light on the new album — what spirit it will be made in. Will it resemble the epic, extremely intense, and most dramatic album in the band's catalog, "The Glorious Burden" (2004), or will we hear something reminiscent of their pre-2001 works, or perhaps the album will be entirely self-contained and unlike anything ICED EARTH has released before? So, the composition "Ten Thousand Strong," for which a music video is planned: a fast, aggressive rocker with an epic chorus recorded in multiple vocal layers, quite reminiscent in spirit of the previous album. The instrumental break, consisting of melodic riffs in place of a solo, is a thoroughly typical approach for ICED EARTH, which Schaffer has employed once again. Overall, it's a quite interesting and beautiful piece. Tim Owens is, as always, simply magnificent. His vocal part in the song's finale is truly mesmerizing. Then again, this was predictable — Mr. Owens is arguably the most powerful vocalist on the contemporary heavy-power scene.
Now about the trilogy. Schaffer explained in the press release that the sound has become heavier on one hand, and more atmospheric on the other. Regarding the heaviness — yes, there's no arguing with that. But as for the atmosphere, that is a great misconception on Schaffer's part. From a vocal standpoint, Owens "Ripper" is of course a far more powerful vocalist than Barlow. On the other hand, is that really what matters most in these three trilogy compositions? We hear Barlow's near-whisper at the beginning of "Prophecy," and this same passage performed by Ripper at full vocal power, demonstrating his command of the upper register. The songs are performed in completely different ways; you certainly marvel at the second vocalist's singing, but the first performance touches the soul far more — it is more emotional, that's a fact, and overall the song was performed more interestingly the first time around. "Birth Of THE WICKED" has not undergone major changes, except that it's played in a lower key. But the concluding song of the trilogy lost its remarkable minute-and-a-half keyboard intro, became far darker, and completely lost its former charm: the female vocals sound more pale and inconspicuous, the Gregorian choirs have vanished, the instrumental side is too oppressive — in short, compared to what it was, the result is simply dreadful. There is, however, one caveat: this is a rare opportunity to hear the band's current vocalist Tim Owens interpret pre-2004 songs in the studio. For that alone, the single deserves principled attention. On Schaffer's part, though, this was an extremely ill-conceived venture!