When ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer announced that the band's next release would be a concept album that will continue the "Something Wicked" trilogy from the 1998 album "Something Wicked This Way Comes", fans saw that as great news. On top of that, in order to give us a little taste of what we can expect from their next album, ICED EARTH has released "Overture Of The Wicked", an EP which contains the single "Ten Thousand Strong".

People who were expecting any surprises with this song might be disappointed, but the hardcore fans will surely be pleased. "Ten Thousand Strong" is a very basic ICED EARTH song and offers what we've come to expect from Schaffer and the boys. But you would be very wrong to think that it's a bad thing, as this is a really solid song. Consisting of a strong riff with even stronger drum rhythms, some cool melodies and a powerful chorus, if this first single is any indication of what ICED EARTH's next release will be like, then we can expect an album that will be just as strong as 2004's "The Glorious Burden".

Also on this EP are the re-recorded versions of the "Something Wicked" songs: "Prophecy", "Birth Of The Wicked" and "The Coming Curse". Although sounding extremely good and being very well produced, some might question the reason behind re-recording those classics ICED EARTH songs; but I believe it is a nice refresher for those who haven't heard the trilogy for a long time. Also, the EP is recorded with Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST) on vocals. He is considered by some to be one of the greatest singers of his generation, while others consider him as just another annoying screamer, but no one can deny the fact that he does bring a new level of intensity to the band without taking anything away from ICED EARTH's previous singer Matt Barlow, who was also tremendously talented.

Since "Overture Of The Wicked" is only an EP and offers just one new song, it might be something that mostly interests the more hardcore ICED EARTH fans who like to collect everything from the band. But if you're curious as to what to expect from ICED EARTH next album, check out this EP.