Year: 2022
Total Time: 01:13:47
Label: Ravencraft

It is so difficult for me to approach ICED EARTH in an objective way. ICED EARTH has marked my life, and the recent event with the “downfall” of their name in the music industry, pushed me even more to continue to support them fervently. Perhaps out of sympathy, I tend to lean towards the weak most of the time. Moreover, because few now focus on the musical aspect of the band, but look at whether or not Jon Schaffer’s political affiliations match their own.

This release may seem a bit inexplicable to those who do not follow the news of the band. I suppose it is those who will easily criticize it, because it was presented by many media as something new, when in fact it is not. Moreover, the timing lends itself to criticism of all kinds on such releases. Finally, Jon Schaffer, has evolved into a “love or hate” personality, therefore, every release will be met with polarization, this is certainly now a fact.

“A Narrative Soundscape” is a project that has been around since 2020 and needed the “Kickstarter” funding platform to become reality. So, two years ago, before Jon’s adventure, ICED EARTH came up with an idea and the band’s fans were invited to pre-pay for it by choosing the book, poster, CD and t-shirt of the “Wicked Words And Epic Tales” series. The aim was to cover the budget of the project and in this case the buyers could receive the package they chose. In any other case, their money would be returned to them.

The central focus of the project was to portray in different ways the lyrical orientation of the band and the diverse themes that marked their discography. The emphasis was placed on the illustrated aspect, with a series of books, while the narrative nature of the disc complemented the whole release.

Fans actively supported the project (666 people made their pledge, with a total of $103,000 raised), but due to the events with Jon Schaffer’s temporary detention, the release was delayed. So at the first opportunity, when Jon was released from prison, the album “A Narrative Soundscape” was released to complete a sort of an era. And it’s worth noting that apart from the few physical copies that met the needs of the project, here we have a digital release. So it’s mainly a gesture from the band to the die-hard fans, who supported the whole package financially beforehand.

Now let’s get to the content, which, naturally, was a divisive issue. On the one hand, those who consider the new versions to be an insult to the original material, on the other hand, those who see this album as a narrative album in its entirety and value it with a positive mark. To my opinion, listening to this compilation of old songs, with new musical interpretation and Schaffer telling each track as a story, I must admit I was at first moved. Subsequently, and after several listens, I find that musically it is more interesting and that the narrative interpretation (plus some unnecessary vocal effects) could have been much better and convincing.

The tracks have been “tweaked” enough to support a new concept, dark, imposing and slightly melancholic. In parts we are indeed transported to another era, perhaps I finally see this work as the closing of a long chapter before something completely new. Jon Schaffer’s performance of “Question Of Heaven” predisposes me in this regard. Aside from “Question Of Heaven”, I can also highlight the performances of “Raven Wing”, “Something Wicked”, “Damien” and “The Clouding”.

Obviously, to the loyal fans of ICED EARTH every release has something to say, maybe even a release like this, but to the rest it won’t be able to convey any emotion or generally something to keep them close to the band. So, I decided to avoid placing an evaluation, and we move on, with a question mark about whether and what Jon Schaffer and his …new band are up to.

Rating: N/A
Editor: Kostas Kafritsas
Related Link: ICED EARTH – Official Page