Something Wicked This Way Comes (Iced Earth album)
| Something Wicked This Way Comes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Iced Earth | ||||
| Released | July 7, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | March, 1998 at Morrisound Studios, Tampa, Florida | |||
| Genre | Power metal, thrash metal | |||
| Length | 61:56 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer | Jim Morris | |||
| Iced Earth chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metal Storm | 9.5/10 |
| Allmusic |   |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 4/10 |
Something Wicked This Way Comes is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released on July 7, 1998, it was the band's first album to feature bassist James MacDonough and guitarist Larry Tarnowski, and is the only Iced Earth album to be solely produced by Jim Morris, who has worked with the band since 1996's The Dark Saga.
Recorded in March 1998, Something Wicked This Way Comes introduced Jon Schaffer's fictional story Something Wicked Saga, which would be later expanded upon by the band. The song "Watching Over Me" was written as a tribute to Schaffer's deceased childhood friend, who inspired the name "Iced Earth". The album received mixed reviews; it was noted as significantly "heavier" than its predecessor, The Dark Saga. It charted in Germany and Austria. During the album's supporting tour, the band recorded their first live album, entitled Alive in Athens.
As with the band's previous album, The Dark Saga, Iced Earth were again faced with line-up changes. Long-time guitarist Randall Shawver left the band prior to the recording of Something Wicked This Way Comes, as did drummer Brent Smedley, who was unable to play on the album for personal reasons. Because of these changes, only guitarist Jon Schaffer, vocalist Matt Barlow and bassist James MacDonough were credited as "Iced Earth", making Something Wicked This Way Comes the first of only two albums to feature a three-piece line-up of the band; the other one being The Crucible of Man.
Musically, Something Wicked This Way Comes is significantly heavier than its predecessor The Dark Saga. According to Jon Schaffer, because many of Iced Earth's fans felt that The Dark Saga lacked in speed and heaviness, the band tried to have a more diverse collection of songs on Something Wicked This Way Comes. Even though some material had already been written prior to the actual writing process, Schaffer has admitted that he struggled writing the remaining songs, attributing these problems to growing stress. One of the songs written right after The Dark Saga was "Watching Over Me", which is about Schaffer's childhood friend Bill Blackmon, who died in a motorcycle accident just before Schaffer moved to Florida in 1984.
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