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A well done album that takes too much from the member's lineage.-
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| ICS Vortex: Storm Seeker |
Progressive Metal, Melodic Black Metal
Century Media Records
August 23rd, 2011
- The Blackmobile - 3:18
- Odin's Tree - 4:43
- Skoal! - 2:30
- Dogsmacked - 4:25
- Aces - 3:42
- Windward - 3:55
- When Shuffled Off - 3:47
- Oil in Wate - 3:47
- Storm Seeker - 6:32
- Flaskeskipper - 2:48
- The Sub Mariner - 4:35
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| Review Information |
Release length: 45:14
Review posted on August 31st, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Storm Seeker (2011)
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| Review |
ICS Vortex is a rather innovative band. Sure the group's pairing of Progressive Metal ideas with Black Metal, melodic or not, isn't really new territory. In fact you can find similar concepts with bands like Borknagar, except they have that little extra Folk kick to them. With ICS Vortex, the band just takes these two ideas together, and really makes them work and sound different from a lot of other bands out there. The band hails from Norway and apparently just formed this year, signed with Century Media Records, and brings us their debut full-length effort, Storm Seeker. Of course this legacy can be traced back in some of the band's members, including ICS Vortex on vocal duties and guitarist Jens F. Ryland, both being from Borknagar, Cyrus on guitars and having had time with Susperia, drummer Asheir Mickelson in many bands such as Scariot as well as a former Ragnarok member, and Steinar Gundersen on bass, also from that band and a few others. In some circles, this makes ICS Vortex a super group, but does this rather unique sound really work out for the band, or is this just a solo version of Borknagar sans the Folk influences?
First of all, the album's quality sounds pretty modern , which is nothing new for Ragnarok fans, or even the label this band is signed to. The guitars are not quite sharp but still have that Black Metal sound, just cleaner, which isn't too bad an idea given the Progressive elements of the recording. The bass guitar is pretty obvious and loud, which you can say is a benefit of the cleaner guitars, allowing the bass to be heard much better then if the distortions were pretty thick. The drums are pretty good, having a slight click to the kicks, the cymbols are pretty loud and the snares hit the listener pretty hard. Finally the vocals are about what you would expect, performed as clean singing and clearly layered to make them sound richer, which again isn't a bad idea, but the layering clashes horribly with each layer. These only really happen at certain points that clearly are meant to build up a bit, such as in or around the chorus of the song, but with the energetic output comes a secondary layer that feels just slightly off pitch, and slightly off-timed, giving a split second notable difference here and there to enhance the clashing pitches. These issues are not unbareable by any stretch of the mind, but with songs like "The Blackmobile", it can slowly start to get on your nerves.
But, musically, "The Blackmobile" is a strong track that focuses more on the Black Metal side of the music. Of course not all songs do, which is great and one of the better elements of the album. There's a great diversity to the release, and "The Blackmobile" still manages to establish what the listener should expect. The song's blistering double bass kicks, strong less melodic Black Metal chords and blast beat riddled passages really bring up a layer aggression throughout the track that compliments the various passages of melodic blackened hooks and riffs and overall epic atmospheres and sound effects utilized throughout the track of engines and large feline animals roaring. The song really grips the listener with music that pushes an over-the-top sound that is infectious and commanding despite the vocal issues outline earlier. There really are not many songs that manage such an energetic and gripping output as this song does, and it really shines through as one of the better cuts off the recording as far as that goes. But, even their less energetic material stands out well, and in some times sound better where "The Blackmobile" struggles, such as the slower and more intimate sounding "Odin's Tree" using softer vocals and lacks a lot of layering on them that ends up clashing a bit.
As you go through the release, you'll find many tracks seem to take on a lighter, more atmospheric Progressive Metal approach compared to the heavier offering "The Blackmobile". However, some songs do take it a step further for the better. "Windward" really sticks out on this release thanks to the additional background keyboard that set up an early Rock meets Progressive Rock atmosphere that is as catchy as the song is impressive. Vocally, it's not too energetic, but neither is the song itself, coming off more like a solid professional recording focused solely on the talent of the band, which is more than acceptable when it comes to this group. But not all songs on here are as good. "When Shuffled Off" is really the first song on this album that really doesn't hold it's own. The music just feels slow and generic, and it really doesn't seem to go anywhere after a while. Though it's not really a filler song, it's just not interesting. It seems like the band was trying to go in a more Folk direction without really crossing into that territory. However, with the title track, "Storm Seeker", that's exactly what they wind up doing.
While much of the album feels rather void of stricter Folk Metal concepts, this track really puts them to good use on a slower track with lighter ballad-like instruments and sounds. Again, it's a good song in the sense of combining Folk Metal and Progressive Metal, but this doesn't sound like too unique an offering for ICS Vortex, especially considering that a good amount of the material has a clear Borknagar influence set in from the band's lineage. There's also some Folk input to "Flaskeskipper", but that could also just be more from the sensation the music is given by the band using their native language instead of English for the lyrics. However, "The Sub Mariner" immediately putus a top this, being a synth-heavy track unlike anything else on the album. It immediately gives off the sensation of an aquatic environment (the song "Aquarius" kind of seeping into mind as far as a similar atmosphere would be concerned) but on an astral level. Int's an interesting instrumental and closest the album well enough, but at the same time it's the most awkward sounding track on the album simply because it doesn't sound like anything else you've heard. It ends up just being there despite it's rather beautiful sound, leaving you feeling like you didn't quite reach that pinnacle of closure one would expect from an album such as this.
Is ICS Vortex just another Borknagar album? Yes, but mostly in the sense of certain diverse albums, and often without that Folk input, which does help establish this group as it's own entity and not a carbon copy via lineage. ICS Vortex does a good job at crafting some epic-sounding tracks, and even some rather moving songs that really use the atmosphere they create well. With a good amount of energetic tracks that are complimented well by more serious and talent-driven songs, it's hard to look the other way for this effort. If you are a fan of Progressive material, or even Borknagar's work, this is well worth looking into. Given the talent that does show up on here, and the fact that this release's "filler material" is more along the lines of good songs that are just not that interesting, it's safe to say that ICS Vortex is also a band worth keeping your eyes on when it comes to future releases, especially given the amount of time since the band's formation to the release of this album. Granted some of the material may have existed for a while, but the complete project speaks well for the members involved despite how you look at it.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Century Media Records.
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