Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Iced Earth
Label: Century Media
Released: 1996
Running time: 43:54
Rating: 4.5/5
American heavy metal champs Iced Earth created their second conceptual achievement with their fourth studio album, »The Dark Saga«, one they can still be rightfully proud of today, much like the equally concept-driven »Night of the Stormrider« (1991). After the exceptionally dark and angry predecessor »Burnt Offerings« (1995), on which they plunged into the depths of the ninth circle of Dante’s hell, guitarist Jon Schaffer and his metal crew needed a fitting, contrasting refresh, since they didn’t want to repeat the same sonic formula as on that album.
Before ‘fateful’ September 11, 2001, when he, like plenty of his musical countrymen, got swept up in ‘patriotic fever’ and started spouting all kinds of nonsense that he unfortunately let seep into his music from time to time, Schaffer was an avid reader of comics from American publishers (including some socially critical ones), led by Marvel, DC, Image, Vertigo and Dark Horse, so he went looking for the concept for »The Dark Saga« right in the comic book world. Spawn, the tragic character of renowned American comic creator Todd MacFarlane, who also worked for Marvel at one point, thus became the core of the fourth Iced Earth album, for which Schaffer of course needed the creator’s blessing. After some initial reservations, MacFarlane gave the green light to using his character in the concept, and he also contributed the cover art, with a pissed-off Spawn rising from the depths of hell.
Schaffer originally had even bigger ambitions and wanted to talk MacFarlane into letting Iced Earth provide music for a potential Spawn movie and animated series down the line, but nothing came of it in the end, since the watchable-enough 1997 film of the same name didn’t feature their music. Still, on release »The Dark Saga«, helped along by a promo push from the Iced Earth members, also landed on the shelves of comic book shops, which was certainly a rather cunning marketing move and paid off nicely. On the next studio release, a double album of re-recorded older material called »Days of Purgatory« (1997), Iced Earth again used a comic character on the cover, namely the vampiric antiheroine Purgatori. »The Dark Saga« was their last album with bassist Dave Abell and the first (and only) with drummer Mark Prator in the lineup. He left before the album even came out and isn’t in the band photo, where his successor Brent Smedley already stands.
On »Burnt Offerings«, Iced Earth had already moved pretty close to progressive metal with the super-epic »Dante’s Inferno«, and Schaffer had started to worry a bit about drifting too far from their heavy/thrash metal roots. That’s exactly why they made »The Dark Saga« a somewhat less complex album than its predecessor, with shorter compositions and more melodic arrangements than was usual for a band that valued the legacy of Iron Maiden, Metallica and Judas Priest equally. Even so, »The Dark Saga« is still a pretty ‘vampiric’ and dark record, one that hits hardest in its lyrically rich ambient moments, when the double bass pedal takes a breather, like the excellent, shatteringly emotional »I Died For You«, one of the most recognizable tracks of their career, with Matt Barlow, the best singer in Iced Earth history so far, at the peak of his powers.
Schaffer had always loved the biblical conflict between hell and heaven, which shows up in quite a few Iced Earth songs, so the concept about the antihero Spawn, a sort of darker Batman who signed a deal with a demon to return from hell and avenge his death, came as if made to order. Because of copyright complications he unfortunately wasn’t allowed to use the names of the key characters, so listeners have to figure out for themselves who’s meant in each set of lyrics. The concept is really a short story about Spawn’s hellish origin or, better put, his resurrection from the dead and his eternal inner conflict between good and evil: serving the army of hell, avenging those responsible for his death, searching for lost humanity and love. The summary of all this is pretty much condensed into the title and opening track, »Dark Saga«, which, with its snarling buildup of a dark, almost dystopian atmosphere, makes for a perfectly fitting album opener.
The emphatically aggressive »Violate« brings brutal drum fills, an angry vocal performance and furious guitar passages as it introduces the demonic Violator, who torments Spawn in the guise of a vile, grotesque clown. The mighty guitar harmonies between Schaffer and lead guitarist Randall Shawver are among this album’s main strengths, especially on tracks like the classic »The Hunter«, where Spawn’s heavenly adversary (and later ally) Angela enters the scene, which would actually make »The Huntress« a more fitting title. Matt’s incredibly emotional vocal performance is so good across the whole album that even after the ‘test of time’, listening to »The Dark Saga« still gives some of us goosebumps all over.
»The Last Laugh« is another somewhat more ‘thrashy’ number with busy double bass pedal work, killer guitar riffs and a shattering vocal ‘confession’ as Spawn’s demonic ‘creator’, Malebolgia, makes an appearance. »Depths of Hell« is an ambient, stylistically related track with an impressive guitar solo section. The exceptionally gloomy »Vengeance is Mine«, one of the angriest tracks on the album, could easily have fit on »Burnt Offerings« stylistically, since Barlow is completely fired up vocally here, while brutal guitar passages and relentless drum fills eventually make room for a rather tasteful guitar solo. »Scarred« has a longer instrumental opening with dark guitar harmonies, then Barlow’s vocal entrance brings a gradual transition into an ultra-dramatic section built on tense vocal harmonies, where Schaffer shines on backing vocals too, while almost pentatonic scales slowly start to take over, somewhat recalling Iron Maiden from the era of »Powerslave« (1984).
On »Slave to the Dark«, one of the highlights of »The Dark Saga«, Spawn wants to shake off the shackles binding him to the hellish lord Malebolgia for the first time, since before his death he was at heart a good man who just didn’t question the morality of his job with the American government’s secret service enough, a job in which he carried out plenty of bad deeds, which is how he ended up in hell. In exchange for supernatural powers and a return to the world of the living, which would let him avenge those responsible for his death, he signed a pact with the demon, but was (typical for the devil) tricked, because despite his extraordinary powers he became Malebolgia’s servant. Here the triple guitar harmonies in the Iron Maiden style come into even greater play, while Barlow’s epic singing is once again a chapter in itself and can’t be praised enough.
The melancholic-triumphant climax, and without a doubt the peak of »The Dark Saga« too, is the epic closer, »A Question of Heaven«, which wins you over above all with an exceptional combination of male and female vocal harmonies courtesy of Matt and Kate Barlow. The triple harmonies gradually build tense drama, while the male-female vocal harmonies shift between ‘hell’ and ‘heaven’. Spawn, caught in the middle of the conflict between the armies of hell and heaven, where his adversary Angela fights, longs in vain for salvation, yet at the same time finds his lost faith in love again, through which he realizes he won’t be Malebolgia’s hellish soldier forever. Barlow delivers one of the most emotional vocal performances of his whole career, and near the end of the song he hits downright astonishing high vocal lines, but it’s the choir-like female vocals that add the ‘icing on the cake’ to one of the best compositions in the entire Iced Earth history.
With »The Dark Saga«, a dark musical tale of Spawn’s suffering and vengeance, Iced Earth created one of the peaks of their career, even though the album mostly wasn’t greeted by the metal crowd with as much enthusiasm on release as its three predecessors. That was probably down to the otherwise welcome stylistic shift in the Iced Earth sound compared with the first three efforts, since on »The Dark Saga« they were moving toward the next creative phase of their career. Even though it took years for the album to earn greater respect among the ‘target audience’, today »The Dark Saga« still ranks among those rare metal concept albums with the power to completely take over a listener through just the right mix of music, lyrics and atmosphere. Here the music easily brings the comic book imagery to life, and with its exceptional energy and ambience the album moves all lovers of quality metal too, even those who’ve never heard of Spawn or who simply don’t dive much into the individual lyrics while listening. Anyone who thought Iced Earth would take a longer break after »The Dark Saga« or ‘shift down a gear’ was badly mistaken, because their next studio venture, the super-ambitious »Something Wicked This Way Comes« (1998), became the ultimate masterpiece of their colorful career.
Lineup
Matt Barlow – lead vocals
Jon Schaffer – guitar, backing vocals, co-producer
Randall Shawver – lead guitar
Dave Abel – bass guitar
Mark Prator – drums, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS
Jim Morris – backing vocals, co-producer
Kate Barlow – backing vocals
Production
Jim Morris and Jon Schaffer
Track list
1. Dark Saga
2. I Died For You
3. Violate
4. The Hunter
5. The Last Laugh
6. Depths Of Hell
7. Vengeance Is Mine
8. Scarred
9. Slave To The Dark
10. A Question Of Heaven
