The Dark Saga

The Dark Saga is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Iced Earth. It is a concept album based upon the comic book character Spawn created by Todd McFarlane, who also provided the album artwork

The majority of the songs on the album feature a relatively short running time (under four minutes), with the final four tracks being of longer duration. The song structure is more simple and straightforward than on previous Iced Earth albums. Many fans note the improved vocal range of lead singer Matt Barlow, who had taken singing lessons after the release of Burnt Offerings. This is also the first Iced Earth album featuring drummer Mark Prator, and also the last album to feature bassist Dave Abell and guitarist Randall Shawver. There was also a limited edition digipak version in Europe, limited to 10,000 hand-numbered copies, that included a cover of “The Ripper” by Judas Priest as a bonus track. That track was originally recorded for the Judas Priest tribute album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal Vol. 2, and also later appears on the reissue of The Melancholy EP. The last three songs make up “The Suffering” trilogy.

While Dave Abell performed all the bass tracks, he ended up leaving not long after the album was finished and the album’s artwork instead features then-bassist Keith Mensor on the back cover and booklet at Century Media’s request. Mensor was hired as a touring replacement for Abell, but he was unable to learn the material for the upcoming tour so he was fired and soon replaced with James MacDonough.