ICED EARTH: "Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Pt.1)

Fat Freddy wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I feel like I'm forcing myself to listen to this over and over again in hopes that it will grow on me. After I hear it , I hit play again, thinking "Maybe I missed something". Not a good sign.

I'm feeling the same way. I've spun the album a dozen or so times now and still the only songs that jump out at me are "Setian Massacre" and "The Clouding." I really WANT to love this album because I.E. are one of my all time favorites but it's really starting to feel like WORK trying to get into this one whole hog.

Was talking with brontotex last night about this CD and he feels the same way about it. He said he felt like he was forcing himself to listen so that he would like it.

I might actually try loading the actual songs from this album, minus the interludes, onto my Ipod to see if I like it better that way.

ultmetal wrote:

Was talking with brontotex last night about this CD and he feels the same way about it. He said he felt like he was forcing himself to listen so that he would like it.

I might actually try loading the actual songs from this album, minus the interludes, onto my Ipod to see if I like it better that way.

I'm about to drop the CD into the player and give it another shot...

Get Matt Barlow back!

Whilst I think Tim does a very good job on this album, I am very curious as to how it would sound with Barlow. I was listening to the original Something Wicked today and Matt's vocals are just amazing. I can only imagine amazing things would happen with the kind of vocal production and layering applied on Framing Armaggeddon.

As for FA itself, prolonged listening has basically led me to this conclusion. It's good - it's far better than The Glorious Boredem (hahahaha ) - but it's not amazing. There are a few stand out tracks, but a lot of it tends to fade in to the background. I like it quite a bit though and I'm hoping that Part 2 will be a lot more energetic. I also hope Jon writes some more riffs - precision picking and galloping doesn't qualify as riffs. Whilst the musicality of IE has improved in most areas on FA, I really do think the riffs have taken a bit of a back seat which is a shame. One of the things that really pulled me in to being an IE fan was the relentless instrumental passages, like those of Stormrider and what not. Anyone else have this gripe?

I didn't realize how good Barlow was until i heard the stuff without his voice.

ultmetal wrote:

I might actually try loading the actual songs from this album, minus the interludes, onto my Ipod to see if I like it better that way.

thats exactly what i did. i hate little interludes like that. i did the same thing with nightfall in middle earth and a few others

Fat Freddy wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Was talking with brontotex last night about this CD and he feels the same way about it. He said he felt like he was forcing himself to listen so that he would like it.

I might actually try loading the actual songs from this album, minus the interludes, onto my Ipod to see if I like it better that way.

I'm about to drop the CD into the player and give it another shot...

Geez, if we gotta go though all this to decide whether we like it or not, I'm thinking it's a clunker. If it ain't grabbing me on the 1st spin or 2, I'm moving on. I just got Fueled by Fire yesterday and already I know it's gonna be in constant rotation. I can't stop listening to it. I know it's 2 very different types of metal, but I know what I like.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Geez, if we gotta go though all this to decide whether we like it or not, I'm thinking it's a clunker. If it ain't grabbing me on the 1st spin or 2, I'm moving on.

I don't know if I'd go quite as far as calling it a "clunker" but it's certainly not as "immediate" as I'd hoped.
Put it to you this way, I've already picked up several new CDs since I got the I.E. and they're already edging FRAMING ARMAGEDDON out of rotation.

Fat Freddy wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Geez, if we gotta go though all this to decide whether we like it or not, I'm thinking it's a clunker. If it ain't grabbing me on the 1st spin or 2, I'm moving on.

I don't know if I'd go quite as far as calling it a "clunker" but it's certainly not as "immediate" as I'd hoped.
Put it to you this way, I've already picked up several new CDs since I got the I.E. and they're already edging FRAMING ARMAGEDDON out of rotation.

That's what I meant. I'm not saying that I'm giving up on it completely either, but I've got other stuff to listen to.

i like it but it is not as good as the glorious burden and there aint enough metal in it too much interlude stuff. setian massacre is the best song but i must admit i only listen to it becuase i paid 10.95 for it

troublezone wrote:

Get Matt Barlow back!

Why? Did he write music or something?

I still think the album rules, interludes and all. "The Clouding" is an Iced Earth masterpiece.

I love the glorious burden, probably one of my favorite IE albums after BO and Stormrider...ripper is just amazing.

Eyesore wrote:

troublezone wrote:

Get Matt Barlow back!

Why? Did he write music or something?

Actually he has written lyrics for the band and his voice goes better with their music (more aggressive). Aside from Rippers painkiller scream i don't think his voice is all that great.

Quote :

i did the same thing with nightfall in middle earth and a few others

Exactly....to me NIME has 11 tracks....I just skip the interludes.


Interestingly, perhaps, the only IE that I love are Something Wicked This Way Comes and the Glorious Burden....so I'm still excited about this new one....

i must admit it is growing on me. why i am listening to it right now would you believe interludes and all

I have to admit that I did not get into this cd until the 10th time I played it.... the songs are all pretty good but the interludes annoy me a bit at times.... I can understand they are neecessary for the concept but I rather skip them than listen to them!

Good cd overal nevertheless!

it certainly is good cd but i will admit the production is thin. on blabbermouth earlier i saw someone describe iced earth as a white trah power metal band. how about that!

TheGooch wrote:

on blabbermouth earlier i saw someone describe iced earth as a white trah power metal band. how about that!

That's par for the course with Blabbermouth. Buncha idiots on the message board over there.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Quote :

i did the same thing with nightfall in middle earth and a few others

Exactly....to me NIME has 11 tracks....I just skip the interludes.

Nightfall is a different beast altogether. I mean, most of those interludes can just be downright annoying! Haha.

Listening to it as I type and I personallly find nothing wrong with it. Perhaps it's because of my pre-metal life (didn't start until I was 12) that my tastes in metal are so varied. Due to the fact that I watched a LOT of action, adventure, and fantasy movies (Willow, Secret of NIMH, Dark Crystal, Beastmaster, etc.) I like orchestral music quite a bit and love it infinitly more when mixed with heavy metal. Because of that and all the lighter music I listened to before I became a metal head, I think my tastes are so varied that I can listen to almost anything metal/hard rock.

With Framing Armeggedon, like all Iced Earth albums, it doesn't disappoint me in the least. However, I can see where many of you are comming from. Quite a few of you are older than me and were introduced to more hard rock as kids than I was which makes your musical tastes lean more towards raw and straight forward metal. I know many of you feel that orchestration has no place in metal, while I on the other hand welcome it with open arms.

In the end I believe everyone's opinions on the new Iced Earth have nothing to do with Barlow vs. Ripper but rather if you like orchestration in your metal or not. As for the interludes I don't find them as distracting (to me they don't last very long) and I believe that they have a purpose. When telling a long story through music, interludes have a way of telling parts of the story more quickly and sustinctly (sic) than a song would. If Shaffer wrote a song instead of an interlude, we'd be looking at parts 1, 2 and 3 instead of 1 and 2. I was expecting there to be interludes so the project wouldn't take longer than need be. I suspect that when Hansi Kursch finally does his Lord Of The Rings trilogy that he's talked about in interviews that there will be plenty of interludes as well.

It's another Iced Earth album, plain and simple. It is just what I expected, nothing more, nothing less. I am one of the few that liked the latest Manowar album, so the interludes on this album doesn't bother me much. I don't think this album would have been any better with Barlow, as it is written with Ripper's voice at hand. Balow is more unique, but Ripper has a different and wider range.

Ripper has a wide range but he can't do the more lower tone growl/shout aggression Barlow did and i much prefer to hear that then screeching any day.

This album is growing every day. And I really feel it is the natural follow up to Something Wicked

I'm listening to this as I type for the first time...UH, this thing slays! I don't know what all the disappointment is about. Minus the interludes the songs are great. Nothing Earth shattering or surprising but - to me - just about what I expected considering who's involved. Great stuff! Things usually take a couple spins to hit me, or not, but this one is good!! Thank you strange Ebay guy for sending this to me!!