I.C.O.N. Album Review: “The Blacklist”

I.C.O.N
“THE BLACKLIST”
Album Review by Barry Vest Sr

9/10

ICON - The Blacklist - Artwork

Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘New Born Lie’ in 2009, I.C.O.N have consistently gone from strength to strength, continuing to build their fan base across the UK and mainland Europe.

I.C.O.N have so far shared the stage with Breed77, Blaze Bayley, Warrior Soul, Voodoo Six, Diamond Head, Furyon, Witchfynde, Logan, and Zico Chain, amongst many other great rock and metal bands. Their music can be found on the smash PC off road driving game MOTORM4X.

Stunning, exciting live festival appearances, coupled with a strong work ethic, and literally hundreds of live shows have firmly established I.C.O.N as one of the UK’s fastest rising, hardest working, genuine, gritty metal acts. They rightly believe that good heavy metal belongs on the road – which is where they spend as much time as they can.

As pointed out by, Get Your Rock Out – SOS Festival, 2013: “Mark Sagar never feels the need for screaming or incomprehensible growling, he delivers with power, not force. He knows how to work a crowd too.”

Mark Sagar has one of those “I’m at a biker bar” voices. A powerful gritty kind of voice that gets you in the mood to ride, drink, fight, and party. Now the start of this album sounds as if they recorded in the desert of California. It has a certain unmistakable sound, like Josh Homme playing one off recordings at Rancho De La Luna. I must say the opener gets me in a mood that is difficult to describe; however, not impossible. At the 2 minute, mark until the end at 2:19, the underlying force starts to take over and you realize you are in for an ass kicking good time. So at this point there is nothing left to do but pour some tequila and get ready to rock out!

Feeding the Negative is like sitting on your bike and getting ready to tear down the desert highway. Boom! Away we go. At the 29 second point Mark delivers us his powerful voice and we are well on our way to a sore neck. As the lyrics suggest, sometimes we just need the negative. This song is fuel for the fire within us all. A ripping solo at 1:55 takes us further down the road until we arrive at 2:57. I feel empowered when Mark utters the line “Feed the monster,” it’s like I’m waiting for someone to piss me off so I can tear out of the driveway. It’s hard to sit here calmly and write.

So after a short ride to calm down, I enter back in with Grindin’ Wheel, another power guitar laden track. “Push, Grind, Destroy”, if I’m hearing correctly, is a great euphemism to true life. Sometimes we just feel like we are in someone’s Grindin’ Wheel and this tune makes me want to push against it. So far this album has taken me somewhere else. What better a rating than that you may ask. Well let’s find out together shall we.

I’m The Venom definitely shows us what we want. More headbanging punchy bass and guitars begging you not to sit still. The riff in this track will play in your head all day (trust me) and Mark again brings the right voice. From now on I think it’s safe to say his presence will just be assumed because without it something would be lost. At the 2:23 mark another instrumental hits us like the early days of Metallica, so I will just sit back and be swept away again. This band relies on one another and it shows. No solo is without the rest of the band killing it behind them. It’s just badass. The last word of the track is intoxicate, how did they know? How did they know I was drinking Tequila and shouting with them? Oh right, they are a true road band. So they know all too well.

Now as the longest track on the record at 4:24, you get what you would expect, a 45 second intro that grabs you by the scruff of your neck. Welcome To My War puts you in the head of someone just trying to get through the day. Riddled with mostly instrumental sections you can see yourself just walking around town. Ready to open fire like in an old western desert town. It is a slower track but still carrying the overall theme I see in front of me.

Speak To Your God lands you in a screaming match with someone. Is there a God at all? Well there surely is if guitar Gods count. I’m really digging Scott and Reece, their work is fanfuckingtastic! This track, however, doesn’t really speak to me much. But it still holds to the theme I keep speaking of. It really is like a bike ride in the desert.

Bass drum in my ears right off the bat here with, Devil’s Blacklist. We are all on the Blacklist! Another slower track but with powerful vocals and this time Larry is front and center showing off some drum skills. The groove of this one is infectious and begs for some personal insight while slowly banging your head.

Wrong Way Back brings some grungy gritty licks as if we are coming back from a crazy romp in the desert. The solo at the 2 minute mark is killer and sounds like some good ole southern metal. Like something Dimebag would play around the bonfire. This band is going on my IPod indefinitely, I love killer grooves and this song nails it hard.

Man of the North starts with swirling winter winds and then comes some great guitar and bass work. The bass line is badass here folks. No lyrics, but a “close your eyes” and feel the music moment. This is a tried and true staple of any band worth their salt. A band is nothing without the proof of their combined talents and sometimes that means even the lead singer has to sit down and respect what carries his voice to the masses. Great job taking me away from the desert and into Valhalla guys!

Deconverted, the first 45 seconds starts out so badass, I played it over three times to make sure I heard it right. You will bang your head, you have to, I promise! By the end of this song your neck will be sore. This track grabs you like Pantera could grab you. Heavy riffs, constantly crushing your ears with a few reprieves here and there.

For the last track, more of that southern rock with Slayer riffs coming through. This song is going to be big in concert. Larry is killing the drums and Scott’s solo is just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately for me this badass record is over, but wanting more is what sells records right. I hope I get to see these guys perform live. Drinking alone sucks! Cheers guys and go get this record. Seriously, are you still sitting there?

This is a must have for any fans of Pantera, Slayer, Machine Head, Superjoint Ritual, and the like. It just screams southern rock and dusty desert rock. It’s a must have and I for one will be turning this up in the truck later for sure.

“The Blacklist” will be released on 15th June 2015 via Metalbox Recordings.

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TRACKLIST

A Room In Hell
Feeding The Negative
Grindin’ Wheel
I’m The Venom
Welcome To My War
Speak To Your God
Devil’s Blacklist
Wrong Way Back
Man of The North
Deconverted
Drowning In The Screams

I.C.O.N