aaamusic | On 11, Dec 2011

 

What would the sons of Icarus look like? On fire perhaps? Reckless? Togas? Well, one of three is a definite: what I can say is the Sons Of Icarus’ riffs most definitely have flames running through them. Following hard on the heels of bands such as Black Spiders and Rival Sons, they play the kind of hard rock that has its eyes set upon the stratosphere. 

Opening track ‘You Want It All’ is a classic example of climactic hard rock, with Led Zeppelin, Guns N Roses and even some stoner rock all thrown in the mix. The vocals are classic rock, the drumming and the ground guitarwork take cues from the 1980s hard rock scene, and there is a slowed-down grind to the riffs reminiscent of Kyuss’ first album, and the whole thing forms into a swaggering, colossal opening statement of a song that grabs attention. ‘Can’t Let Go’ too is the kind of song that conjures up images of arena shows and colossal stacks of Marshall amps, with its churning rhythm guitar/bass interplay, crashing percussion and powerful vocals. I would have to say that it’s a bit formulaic at times, but the soul is there. ‘Not Myself’ is less stadium-orientated in its sound, but as a result it’s a beastly thrash-toned monster with chugging rhythms and high-octane lead guitar and a big heavy metal chorus. The solo is solid as a rock and twists and turns on itself until it hits fever pitch. To close off, ‘Sick To The Teeth’ is a more slow-burning track, again feeling like a midpoint between the big-hair big-riffs metal heyday and the heavy stoner rock that grew from the ashes of its glory days. At seven minutes, it’s in it for the long haul as far as hard rock goes, and the sped-up sludge moment midway through adds an interesting twist to an otherwise good yet familiar-sounding band.

My only real criticism of Sons Of Icarus is that they do pretty much sound like an earlier Black Spiders EP. That’s no bad thing: it’s great to hear a resurgence of appealing hard rock in a music scene that seems largely consumed by dubstep and rather bland non-indie, and they really do know how to play their instruments. So really, they’re just waiting to fully harness the flickers of something even more interesting that occasionally rise up from their songs.

Author: Katie H-Halinski