Iced Earth's Framing Armageddon

[The Fiddler]

The new SX is not a concept disc at all. This was told to me by both Russ, Lepond and Rullo on interviews that I conducted with them. What they did was tracing some parallels so to speak from the lyrical themes to themes in the Paradise Lost book. Or something like that...

Thanks for the clarification. It had the look and sound of a conceptual/thematic disc after I spent a week with it, but I was mistaken. Great artwork and great music. Certainly a top ten disc of the year for me.

 

[Bryan316]

Question.


Is there anything on this new album that even comes halfway to the riffwriting complexity of, say, Pure Evil?

 

[Rycher]

Question.


Is there anything on this new album that even comes halfway to the riffwriting complexity of, say, Pure Evil?

I'm not a musician or guitarist at all, so my thougths may be different than soemone that actually understands it - but there are plenty of riffs on the disc that certainly harken back to the speedy, galloping IE riffs of old.

I think there's a good balance of the faster, intricate riffs and the simpler, catchy riffs ala The Dark Saga & The Glorious Burden.

 

[Kenso]

What songs are better? Sure I love 'The Hunted' and every song on Dark Saga. Hell its probably my favorite album of theirs. But The Clouding is just something else to me.

the clouding, while a good song, is definitely far from being their best song, its not even their best song with tim owens, i'll take devil to pay over it for sure, and several other matt barlow sung tunes.

but regardless about which is the best iced earth song and blah blah, this cd gives me mixed feelings. alot of these songs just sound forced, and strike me as filler tunes. the cd overall though isnt bad, i have only given it 2 spins so i cant give it the review it deserves. on some of the songs i just find myself sitting there waiting for the song to come back to the chorus.

this cd definitely exceeded my expectations after the overture of the wicked promo, or what ever. this cd isnt near as good as gettysburg/TGB in my opinion. iced earth definitely havent lost it, its just that they are lacking the monster tracks that they used to be so consistent at IMO.

dont get me wrong this cd has some good tunes, just from the 2 times ive played it through i dont see this cd stacking up to their more popular cds.

 

[Kenso]

Question.


Is there anything on this new album that even comes halfway to the riffwriting complexity of, say, Pure Evil?

i dont think that riff complexity is something jon was ever known for, he had some good riffs respectively, but i just think the catchy ness of their uniquely evil themed songs is what made iced earth so great.

 

[steelreign]

I think the new one is fucking killer. So many great songs - the thing I notice is the upgraded amount of contrast between songs and the dynamics seem to be a lot more pronounced. I think this one will grow plenty on most people. Give it the same amount of listens as SWTWC and only then can you make an accurate assessment.

 

[Rycher]

The Clouding is awesome - love that main verse riff in the heavy part when the song just kicks in.

What a tremendous song.

 

[Iced Dog]

After several listens the past few days, here's my track-by-track take on the album...


Overture - Classy mixture of tribal drums with violin/chello/guitar accompanyment.

Something Wicked Part 1 - Some cool riffage, good chorus...verse vocal melody is a bit awkward though.

Invasion - Interesting sci-fi sounds effects...did Jon raid the offices at Lucas Arts?

Motivation Of Man - Militaristic human addressing his soldiers...Ripper giving an odd delivery...sounds almost like Ozzy.

Setian Massacre - Love this track...the verses rip! Nice breakdown at "all that they've ever known is dead". Very tasteful guitar solo.

A Charge To Keep - Slow chugger...verse isn't anything special, but that anthemic chorus is pure gold...simultaneously sorrowful and triumphant, and very catchy. I can almost imagine the crowd holding lighters during this one

Reflections - I dig Ripper here...nice somber delivery, and then...

Ten Thousand Strong - ...BAM, major boot to the face! Excellent chorus, and the bridge is great with that staccato rhythm guitar breaking things up. Finale is nice with Ripper overlaying his vocals on top of the normal chorus.

Execution - Somber interlude with native american flute, giving way to aggressive "kill them all" exclamation by Ripper.

Order Of The Rose - This is the only track that hasn't impressed me yet *shrugs* It's not bad by any means, but needs some more dynamics.

Cataclysm - I like the echoing guitar melody taken from the intro of the revised Prophecy, nice touch. Sounds like the clouding is initiated by a supernatural electrical storm of sorts.

The Clouding - Cool echoing guitar, simple but poignant (David Gilmour-esque)...dreamy retro-like atmosphere is created with added acoustic guitars and works perfectly with the lyrical content. I like how the first part is sung from the human perspective...then comes the Setian take on it all, muahaha! The verse is nice and sinister, good job by Ripper. The closing riffs are a perfect punctuation, fading to the tribal drums.

Infiltrate And Assimilate - The pre-chorus & chorus are the true gems here...so infectious!

Retribution Through The Ages - The verse guitars are quick and furious, but the vocal melody is a bit awkward here as well. The chorus is very nice with that fast flurry of rhythm guitar punching through at intervals. The bridge is bloody damn good...shreddy rhythm with a melodic solo.

Something Wicked Part 2 - Nice tribal drumming with echoing bouncy guitar, then at :55 takes on eastern flare..then later a latin flare...very cool instrumental.

The Domimo Decree - Wacky organ driven intro. Evil Ripper verse. The chorus is punctuated with a nice choppy high-pitched rhythm guitar. The instrumental bridge is a true highlight, with the organ playing a prominent role...who woulda thunk? This is one funky track, and along with The Clouding is one of the most original sounding IE songs.

Framing Armageddon - Hold on to something...pure unrelenting fury in sonic form. Jon (I'm assuming it's him) overlays some great menacing spoken-word vocals in the chorus that really add to the sinister feeling of it all, while ripper gets into the upper ranges. After the second chorus, we have in-your-face slabs of rhythm guitar, followed by a decent solo, and another does of Jon's vocals. Then at 2:35 comes my favorite part...an angry galloping guitar accompanied by ethereal female vocals..fucking WIN! The conclusion is hard driving with Ripper screaming his ass off...whew!

When Stars Collide (Born Is He) - Love this track, sung entirely in choir...a very cool, heavy groove-based guitar marches throughout. The chorus is catchy and has a great bouncy vocal melody.

The Awakening - Beautiful eastern-influenced female vocals provide an eerie and emotional atmosphere...backed up by a choir, and even some tribal child vocals at one point.


Conclusion...very strong and creative effort, will take repeated listens to initially digest and become familiar with. This could be a grower for some fans, while others may embrace the progressive touches and take to it immediately. Bring on Revelation Abomination

 

[General Zod]

OK... so I really listened to this last night; bought the CD, had the lyrics in hand and listened through headphones. What became clear to me, is why some Iced Earth fans are disappointed. With past releases, the music and melodies was instant. Songs like "Declaration Day", "Dracula", "The Hunter", etc. have a sense of immediacy to them. The riffs and the melodies were out in front, straight forward and hit you like a bag of hammers. "Framing Armageddon" is massive, complex, rich with subtlety, and consequently, not intended to be easily digested.

Listening to this with headphones on, really allowed me to gain a sense of just how deep this water runs. There are layers, upon layers of backing vocals and instrumentation, which enhance the disc immensely. If your approach to Iced Earth has always been "crank the volume and proceed head banging", you're going to be disappointed. You're going to need to alter that approach, at least through the first couple of listens.

I'm incredibly impressed with the story. As I suggested earlier in this thread, a better concept for a Metal disc has never been conceived. Like the backing vocals and instrumentation, the story has many layers. The way the story interweaves science fiction, politics, religion and conspiracy theories is quite impressive. However, the way it goes the additional step, and holds a mirror up to modern day America, makes it all the more brilliant.

All in all, I now view this as a very good disc. Whether I eventually view it as "great" or merely "average", will depend largely on how these songs either grow on me or cause me to lose interest.

Zod

 

[Dark One]

Iced Dog - That was a very cool analysis, thanks for sharing. I absolutely agree with "The Domino Decree" being a true standout track in their catalogue.

Zod - As you know, I'm usually not one to care too deeply about lyrical context unless the words are either truly ridiculous (obviously detracts from the enjoyment) or near brilliant (obviously enhances the enjoyment). After reading your follow up analysis, I'm going to try and absorb the storyline as well and see if that further enhancement is achieved.

I'm already digging this big time and am now all the more excited to continue to revisit.

I also agree with your assessment regarding the immediate nature of the majority of the songs not being there this time around. This is the most "absorb worthy" release from IE in a long time. This probably explains why "Ten Thousand Strong" was the track that grabbed you the most right off the bat.

Jason

 

[General Zod]

This probably explains why "Ten Thousand Strong" was the track that grabbed you the most right off the bat.

It's not just me... it's why it's the single.

Zod

 

[Dark One]

It's not just me... it's why it's the single.

Oh yeah, no doubt, but I was only referring to what you had said earlier that "Ten Thousand..." was the only one really grabbing you right off the bat.

But defininitely, in a general sense, it also is completely understandable why they chose that song to be the lead.

Jason

 

[edgeofthorns]

I haven't heard one note of this disc yet, but I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. Just like any thing else that's released, some people will like and some not.

~Brian~

 

[Iced Dog]

Iced Dog - That was a very cool analysis

thanks bro, it was fun to write Someone on another board read it and told me I'd make a great salesman because I actually made the album sound good

Zod, you make some good points about the complexity of the disc. As far as the production goes, I'm fairly pleased, but suprisingly I'm wishing the rhythm guitar was more up front, a little more punch...didn't think that would ever be an issue on an IE album

 

[The Fiddler]

The way the story interweaves science fiction, politics, religion and conspiracy theories is quite impressive. However, the way it goes the additional step, and holds a mirror up to modern day America, makes it all the more brilliant.

That's what really special about the disc for me. It's quite timely. The idea of another race living among us that is working to divide mankind with concepts they created to cater to man's weaknesses (e.g. religion) is brilliant. There are a lot of fantasy concept discs out there that are awesome (like "The Dark Saga"), but with Framing Armageddon, you get the fantasy with the possibility that there may just be some truth to it all. The story really gets the listener to think about why all the shit that happens in this world happens the way it does, or why it has to happen at all (i.e. "If there is a God, why does he allow so many people to suffer." Well, maybe your "God" is just a puppet god serving a different god with a different agenda ). Some fans won't be able to or won't want to enjoy the story at that level, but for those who like their lyrics to have meat, you're not going to find a beefier entre out there!

The only other conceptual CD that I hold in the same league as Framing Armageddon is Queensryche's, "Operation Mindcrime" which totally changed the way I approached and appreciated music. Lyrics are never a, "make-all" or "break-all" component of a album for me. I rarely read them. But when discs like the above are created that pull me into the story or song, they make something already sweet that much sweeter. Quite a nice bonus that's hard to find. And on that note, kudos to Tim for somehow managing to make all those lyrics sound great. When I sat down and read them for the first time, I was like, "How in the world is Tim going to put a melody to all these words!" He did a splendid job!

 

[BlindPanzer]

Never thought I would hear a mellotron in an Iced Earth song. Any one else think these songs feel weird without Jon Schaffer introducing himself every 30 seconds? =p

 

[Iced Dog]

haha, that's exactly why I didn't listen to the promo

Part I is more melancholy and somber than Part II. Part I lays the groundwork for armageddon in Part II (which begins with the birth of Set Abominae). If there wasn't enough havoc for you in Part I, there will be in Part II

Has Jon alluded to this before, that Part II would be overall more aggressive?

 

[The Fiddler]

Has Jon alluded to this before, that Part II would be overall more aggressive?

Overall heavier, yes. The epic feel will continue, but the overall vibe will shift further towards the darkness and sinister that comes with the actual process of Armageddon. Part I sets mankind up for Armageddon, Part II continues the division of mankind and tells the story of Set Abominae who's destiny is to bring ultimate closure to the faltering human race. Jon keeps things pretty close to his vest regarding the story and likes to keep me and everyone else guessing, but from what I understand Set Abominae isn't born just a big monster to bring Armageddon (although he instilled with that potential from the day of his birth).

Much of Part II will be written from Set's point-of-view. Vaguely similiar to Damien in the movie, "The Omen", there is a struggle within Set Abominae to accept his destiny and the caranage he must bring to his planet, perhaps his own race, and of course, the race of men. Jon has stated that this stuggle will be told with some emotionally intense songs. How that all will happen and exactly sound, we'll all just have to wait and find out.

So, in summary, the as the story evolves, the music will evolve to tell the story. Part II isn't just a re-hash of Part I. It picks up with a huge instrumental/choir intro similar to where Part I's instrumental outro left out. Work is underway to assemble a choir of about 40 individuals for portions of Part II (including that intro, I believe - I've heard it over the phone and it's chilling and even more epic-sounding than anything on Part I). Of course, that intro has to be ball-out as it signifies Set Abominae's birth and thus, the beginning of his physical presence on Earth.

 

[sinerchris]

first let me say that I think the album is pretty good. Overall I like it.

However, it was really hyped for a long time. It has to be 3-4 years that this album has been hyped by Jon in interviews and such. And what I got from him was that "this is the best material IE has ever done". He definitely was confident about the material.

Now let's think about SWTWC. Good album? Hell yes. How many songs related to the Set Abominae story/concept? 3 - the trilogy, of course. These songs are the gems on that CD...but how were we to know what a continuation (or pre-quelesque) of songs from this concept were to sound like? Well we know now that Part. 1 sounds like this.

I will say that there isn't anything OMG this kicks ass on it. If you ask me...the kick ass IE material is on the 2 CD Days of Purgatory discs. And Alive in Athens 3-disc-er.

 

[Iced Dog]

Fiddler, thanks a lot for the insight...it's nice to have an "insider" to talk to about this stuff You heard it over the phone, that's awesome So we can expect another very long epic album? Eeeexcellent