Album Review: Iced Earth – Incorruptible

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Rick

Iced Earth has built quite a reputation for writing whole albums rather than just a collection of songs that are packaged together. Even Tribute to the Gods had a unified sound that gave it a whole album feel. Their latest effort, Incorruptible, sees the band taking a slightly different approach.

Taken as a whole, the one thing that stands out about this album is the introduction of a lot of different style elements into the songs. “Black Flag” brings forth a pirate metal sound that this author doesn’t recall ever being in an Iced Earth song. There are pseudo-blast beats and even a breakdown in “Seven Headed Whore,” which sees the song flirting with a death metal aesthetic but not quite getting there. And finally, on “The Relic (Part 1),” we have progressive metal time change elements that don’t seem to quite fit. In fact, they take away from what could have been one of the better songs on the album.

In writing this album, Jon Schaeffer went away from his traditional approach and wrote something personal. The inclusion of some of the stylistic elements as described above, however, don’t quite work. Artistic exploration is not a bad thing at all when it is done in a manner that adds to the piece in question. Unfortunately, these do not. Positively, though, this does result in a more diversified output from song to song and may bode well for the future as the band finds better ways to insert new elements into future material. This also may put off some of Iced Earth’s more hardcore fans, many of whom have come to expect a more unified sound throughout an Iced Earth album.

There are 2 standout tracks on Incorruptible. The opener, “Great Heathen Army” showcases some of what Iced Earth does best – power metal with strong riffs and great vocals. “Clear the Way (December 13th, 1862)” is also one of the best tracks on the album. All of the songs have the epic feel for which the band is known, but these 2 tracks stand out in that regard.

Overall, this album is definitely worth buying, even if one only enjoys the 2 standout tracks listed above. I’m excited to see where Iced Earth goes from here.

Final Score – 7.5/10

Release Date: 16 Jun 2017
Label:  Century Media

Way Back Wednesday – W.A.S.P by W.A.S.P.

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Rick

This album wasn’t my first exposure to W.A.S.P. That actually came with “The Headless Children” and their cover of “The Real Me.” It did, however, open up an entirely new world of heavy metal when I finally did listen. By the time of “Headless,” the band seemed to have mellowed a bit. This debut album, however, was raw power both musically and lyrically. Blackie Lawless hadn’t quite reached his potential as a wordsmith on this album, but he knew how to deliver what he had written. In fact, for a long time I thought he was a better singer than Ronnie James Dio, but we can write that off to the ignorance of youth.

Here it is,the in all its raw power, with the reissue bonus tracks:

Album Review: Obsequiae – Aria of Vernal Tombs

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Rick

Obsequiae – Aria of Vernal Tombs (20 Buck Spin)

When I think of Minnesota, medieval sounding metal isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Granted, there are some quality acts in my birth state – Bloodgeon (death metal), American Head Charge (nu-metal?), and Amiensus (USBM), but this sounds nothing like I’ve heard come from the home of Green Giant Vegetables and Target.

The album starts our with an instrumental intro that runs 3:02. These intros can drive some people crazy as many bands use them to simply up the song count on the album. I find this one is a good mood-setter, even if the title is Spanish. Overall, the songs are varied enough in order to not let the listener get bored, but you can feel an overall unity of design in the songs. There are also short instrumental interludes that weave the songs together very well, giving the listener a pause to consider what he or she just heard. All this gives “Aria of Vernal Tombs” a concept-album feel that one may not get absent outside context. There is definitely a black metal feel to the album, with just enough progressive elements to keep the sound from getting bogged down in the conventions of black metal.

The only thing that may put some listeners off is the concept album feel. The songs are best listened to within the context of the entire album, not simply as self-contained entities. “Autumnal Pyre” and “In the Absence of Light” are two songs that could be released as singles, but without the rest of the album, it’s difficult to fully appreciate them. Music snobs will love it, casual fans will hate it. Of course, there are those “metal purists” out there who may dismiss this album out of hand because it’s not pure black metal, pure progressive, or pure folk.

Strong songwriting and execution make this album an aural journey of highs and lows. The punch of black metal along with the creative freedom of progressive metal make this a strong sophomore effort. Those expecting 11 tracks of self-contained songs may be disappointed, but when is listening to an album and taking it in as a whole a bad thing?

“Aria of Vernal Tombs” drops on 26 May via 20 Buck Spin. Until then, you can check out the track “Pools of a Vernal Paradise” here on their Bandcamp page.

Final Score – 8.5/10