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Something Wicked Trilogy, listen to it now. The Coming Curse, see The Coming Curse thread made by me in the Heavy forum.

Stormrider to me is the classic iced earth. That doesn't take away from Something wicked though, for it's jon schaffer at his best no doubt.

Personally I never get tired of hearing consequences....It's highly underrated

I really dig the songs on this album, but as a whole it's just too many ballads and not enough technical stuff to really stand out. Some songs, although pretty good, are kind of filler-material in comparison. Personally, I think Stand Alone, Consequences and Reaping Stone could have been dropped all together. Instead, one or two technical songs like Pure Evil or epic songs like Dracula would have totally pushed this album to the very top!
Don't get me wrong, I love this album but I think if they (he) would have put more thought and work into the songs BESIDES the trilogy, (which kicks so much ass I barely even think about it without throwing the horns in the air), this album would have been the very pinnacle of Iced Earth.

Stormrider destroys this album.

No way this beats Stormrider by a long shot Jon Greely sucks as a vocalist sorry for those who like him but Barlow beats him big time.

I like this album a lot this is the best Barlow era Iced Earth album followed by Horror Show..The Something Wicked trilogy kicks ass.I especially like The Coming Curse with the added Gregorian Chants adds nice atmosphere.

I can't wait for the follow up to this on their next CD wonder what the Watchers have planned for mankind we have to wait and see what happens next.!!!!!!!!

Stormrider does destroy this album, but it is a very good album.

Greely's vocals are better suited for the music. Plus, the scream he unleashes in Angel's Holocaust absolutely slays the pathetic attempt Barlow does on his version of the song.

Storm rider is way much better than this album.and Greelys vocals doesnt suck.

I like Greely on that album. It slays. This album is also very good. I'm not sure which i like better.

Stormrider ranks among my top 10 list of 90's albums. Techincal, complex, riff after solo after riff, this is the stuff classics are made of. Greely's deranged vocal performance is simply second to none, I still get goosebumps every time I listen to his screams, about 9 years since I got the album!

Now as far as "Something Wicked..." goes, the closing trilogy is indeed divine. Other than that I like it, but it's nothing exceptional, plus there are some Metallica influences which I could live without. Not a bad album though by any means, but it still can't hold a candle to Stormrider (or Burnt Offerings for that matter).

Agreed. To me, this album (excluding the Trilogy and 1776), is good, but not great.

Truth times a goddamn billion, even though I prefer Barlow on the whole. I just don't think Barlow felt all that inspired re-recording vocals for a song written for someone else, as is also indicated on the beyond disappointing 'Tribute to the Gods'. The Alive in Athens versions are better instrumentally, but even though Barlow has improved over Days of Purgatory, he still doesn't quite posess Greely's talent in pure screaming. Oh well, still a great vocalist just the same.

As for this album...this is to me their worst release and therefore their most overrated by far. The ballads are horrible and the heavy stuff just redefines the word "filler". It's like a heavier but far less inspired version of Dark Saga. Not a single song on here stands out to me, really. Stormrider not only destroys it, but also molests its corpse and has it for breakfast later.

i also rather saw Stormrider as a classic, but this is very good as well 8)

I began listening to IE when Dark Saga came out, that was my first IE album. I then picked up Burnt Offerings, both of which I thought kicked ass!! Then I got Iced Earth and Stormrider and was utterly disappointed. Greely is much better than Gene Adam, but I'm really no fan of either. I can barely listen to Iced Earth without cringing and though Stormrider is better I usually only listen to "The Path I Choose" and "Mystical End" since this is the only place they're found.

I like all IE's albums, but the first two are my least favorite.

The Path I Choose is on Alive in Athens. And Greely and Stormrider rule.

Bah! Live isn't my thing, though I do own the 3CD version.

This album is solid, but i think night of the stormrider is their best album and thus deserve the classic status. That album made their own genre.

That's why the 2-disc Days of Purgatory owns. You get all of the best songs from IE and Stormrider, with a real vocalist.

exactly

I cant stand Greely's vocals, thats why i put on DOP when i wanna hear pre-Barlow Iced Earth.

As for SWTWC, I think its a tad early to be calling it a classic. It was my very first IE album, and holds something special to me...but i like Dark Saga and Horror Show more than this album.

The trilogy is good, but not fantastic. I think the first two tracks are the best on the album IMO (Burning Times & Melancholy). Other tracks which stand out would be Stand Alone and Consequences, while My Own Savior and Blessed Are You are pretty good.
The two average tracks would be Reaping Stone and Disciples Of The Lie, the latter being very ordinary.

Overall, it is a very good album, but being released in '98, i feel its too early to slap a classic tag on the album.

I'd give it 92.5/100