The Dark Saga is
Iced Earth's fourth album, and was released in 1996. It's their second album to have
Matt Barlow on vocals, and the whole album is based on the comic book
Spawn by
Todd McFarlane. The front cover shows an image taken from Spawn issue
50, drawn by
Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane. Al Simmons, from McFarlane Productions, even wrote some of the lyrics for the album, but because of some legal issues, no names from characters in the comic are mentioned in the songs.
The album tells the story of a man who is killed, then sent to
hell, where he makes a deal with the devil so he can return from the
grave so he can see his wife again. Basically, it's a very dark love story. There's good, there's evil, there's betrayal, there are angels and demons, and there's true
love.
The album is a mixture of
power metal and
thrash, with double bass drum, furious guitar riffs and clear vocals. It's not as aggressive as previous Iced Earth albums, but it isn't soft either. The last three songs form a trilogy,
The Suffering. The album was produced by
Jim Morris and Jon Schaffer.
Line-up:
Matt Barlow: vocals.
Jon Schaffer: rhythm guitar and backing vocals.
Randall Shawver: lead guitar.
Dave Abell: bass guitar.
Mark Prator: drums.
Tracklisting:
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
The Suffering:
8. Scarred
9. Slave To The Dark
10. A Question Of Heaven