Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1

Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 is the eighth studio album from Iced Earth, released on September 11, 2007. It is part one of two concept albums based on a trilogy of songs from Iced Earth's fifth studio album, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The saga, aptly titled the Something Wicked Saga, tells the fictional history of mankind, from its creation to its destruction. It is the second and final album with vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. This is also the first album that Schaffer become more involved in playing lead guitars parts.

Overview
Framing Armageddon is the band's first studio album featuring lead guitarist Troy Seele, and drummer Brent Smedley, who never played on an Iced Earth studio album during his previous stints with the group. Tim "Ripper" Owens makes his final appearance as lead singer on this record, as well. Also, this was bassist Dennis Hayes' first appearance on an Iced Earth album, though he only appears on two songs. Former Iced Earth lead guitarist Tim Mills is featured on "Reflections", and co-wrote both that song and "Infiltrate and Assimilate".

In December 2006, Jon Schaffer posted a journal announcing that Iced Earth's new album, then titled Something Wicked – Part 1, would be released in September/October 2007. The follow-up album, then titled Something Wicked – Part 2, would be released in January/February 2008. On March 17, Schaffer announced the final track list, and that the album would be renamed to Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1), with a new target release of August or September.

A music video for "Ten Thousand Strong" was released, though lead guitarist Troy Seele was not yet with the band when it was filmed. The video features rotoscoping.

The Korean release of Framing Armageddon features the album's single, "Overture of the Wicked," as a bonus disc.

Jon Schaffer had intended to release both of the Something Wicked albums in one boxed set, with Matt Barlow contributing the vocals on both albums for the sake of continuity, plus adding at least four songs to The Crucible of Man and remixing Framing Armageddon. However Matt Barlow once again left the band before these plans came to fruition.

Story
Tim "Ripper" Owens talked about the story in an interview with Thrash Pit:

"It's about how we humans really weren't the first people on Earth, and there were a race of people called the Setians who were actually the first people here on Earth. They didn't have any weapons or technology, and the humans were actually the aliens who attacked and took over Earth. It's pretty unique, but it's kind of hard to talk about the whole story because there's so much going on."

A few years later, Jon Schaffer further detailed the story in an interview:

"The premise is that mankind is actually alien to the planet earth. And that we came here on a quest for this ultimate knowledge that these beings called the Setians had. They were the true inhabitants of earth and they are the direct descendants of God or the grand architect of the universe. So they have all of the answers as to why things are the way they are. And human beings were after this unlimited power. So they come to planet earth and they basically wipe out the civilisation of the setians –this is all in 'Framing Armageddon'- and that story takes place from the point of invasion up until the birth of Set.

The first part is a 10.000 year period. Before the invasion, the Setians see in a prophecy that this is going to happen. So they send 10.000 of their own chosen people to go into hiding to survive the attacks of the humans. And until after this event called "the clouding" which is where the earth goes through this cataclysmic shift like the magnetic properties of the polar caps shift and volcanoes erupt and there's earthquakes and sandstorms and the whole of earth goes haywire. At this point, the human beings believe that they have wiped out all of the Setians and they go through the days of clouding.

When the days of clouding are over, they have lost their memories of where they came from and why they are here. And so this whole invasion armada that came, all the ships and other evidence has been buried in the desert. So they wake up and what was once a lush green land with water is now a desert. So the 10.000 come out of hiding after the days of clouding and they now look like human beings. Setians are humanoid anyway but they have different features, they can morph and shift and look exactly like humans. Another thing that happens after the days of clouding is like the story of the tower of Babel: the human beings that have similar skin colours can speak to each other. This creates confusion because now the white guys can talk to each other and the red guys can, but they can't talk to guys with a different colour. Then they start to faction off. This is a way to keep people divided. It's all part of the plan of the clouding. And when the Setians come back in and mix with humans, they take leadership positions and they spread around the planet, societies grow. But the whole time they are being manipulated by the Setian leaders. They build up the order of the Rose. This is a lodge, like a philanthropic organisation that is supposed to be different, doing good for the world and for humanity. And for the whole time they are actually plotting the destruction of mankind. Every empire that rises and falls, it all happens by their design. You could say, for instance, that the rise and fall of the Roman Empire was by the design of the Setians. And all of the religions of the world were created by the Setians as well, because all these things help keep mankind divided, they thrive on the weaknesses of man in order to bring us to our demise."

Personnel

 * Tim "Ripper" Owens – lead/backing vocals
 * Jon Schaffer – lead/rhythm/acoustic guitars; bass guitars; backing vocals
 * Brent Smedley – drums/backing vocals

Additional personnel

 * Troy Seele – guitar solos (tracks 5,6,10,12,14 and 17)
 * Dennis Hayes – bass guitars (7); fretless bass guitar (12)
 * Jim Morris – lead guitars (16); backing vocals
 * Tim Mills – clean guitars (7)
 * Howard Helm – keyboards; Hammond organ; backing vocals
 * Steve Rogowski – cello
 * Todd Plant – backing vocals
 * Patina Ripkey – backing vocals
 * Debbie Harrell – backing vocals
 * Kathy Helm – backing vocals
 * Jason Blackerby – backing vocals