Icarus Witch - Roses On White Lace (Magick
Records) 2005
1. "Roses On White Lace" (4:23)
2. "Curse Of The Ice Maiden" (4:41)
3. "Halycon" (1:04)
4. "Winds Of Atlantis" (3:05)
5. "Dragon Ryder" (3:50)
This band has a great label who know how to market a band. What to know how to get an unknown band some exposure? Take a cure from Icarus Witch. Here was this little five song EP sitting in the metal section of Hasting's Music for a measly $4 with a big gold sticker on it that states, "Fans of old school Dio, Maiden, Priest, Sabbath, Ryche & Malmsteen rejoice." For $ I couldn't resist checking these guys out. Otherwise I might not have even given this band the time of day. Sooooo, do Icarus Witch live up to their own hype? Pretty much. I'd have a hard time saying that these guys are on the same level with the bands listed, but they certainly will appeal to the same crowd. Icarus Witch from Pittsburgh, PA and crank out four original songs and one Alice Cooper cover, for which the CD is named. The vocals of Matthew Bizilia remind me of James Rivera of Helstar and Seven Witches fame. Musically, this band is along the same lines as bands like Jag Panzer and Helstar. Galluping heavy metal that isn't "happy", yet isn't tredding into grounds of death or black metal either. The lyrics, are unfortuantely rather dark from what I can make out of them. Sadly this may be the worst part of this CD. Otherwise it's a pretty enjoyable EP.
Icarus Witch - Capture the Magic (Magick) 2005
1. "Storming The
Castle" (4:21)
2. "Capture The Magic" (4:56)
3. "Soothsayer" (4:34)
4. "Forevermore" (3:48)
5. "The Ghost Of Xaivor Holmes" (4:36)
6. "Darklands" (5:15)
7. "Nemeton Forest" (3:53)
8. "Awaken The Mountain Giants" (4:39)
9. "S.A.T.O." (4:10)
I picked up the first Icarus Witch EP on a whim. I saw it sitting there on the CD shelf with a sticker inviting fans of classic metal to take a listen. I was pretty much blown away by the EP. With that, I anxiously awaited a full length album. I can honestly say, that the full length is every bit as good. Icarus Witch play a style that is a complete throwback to bands like Omen, Dio, Helstar and early Fates Warning. However, despite having that retro metal sound, they don't really sound like any one particular band. The music stays within the slow to mid-paced mode, never really breaking into anything fast. Instead they rely on steady, galloping tempos. The playing is superb and the songwriting will leave you singing along within a listen or two. This is especially true of the title track, which in my opinion, is one of the band's best songs. "Forevermore" is a slightly more upbeat song with some killer melodies as well. "The Ghost Of Xavior Jones" features Frank Aresti on guitars and is another slow. heavy, intricate tune. Vocalist Matt Bizillia is a fine, charasmatic singer with a clean style that reminds me of a cross of ex-Balance of Power vocalist Lance King and Helstar vocalist James Rivera. The CD finishes off with "S.A.T.O", which is a cover of an old Ozzy song featuring guitarist George Lynch. I really enjoyed the band's obscure Alice Cooper cover on the EP as they just made the song their own. On this cover, it sticks a little more true to the original, save for the extended guitar solo which allows Mr. Scary to go off a bit. As might be expected by the band's name and song titles, the lyrics are all mystical in nature and deal with all things supernatural.