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Icarus Witch: Draw Down The Moon Heavy Metal Cleopatra Records February 9th, 2010
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Review
Icarus Witch is a band that really focuses on making music along the lines of the traditional Heavy Metal sound, and they often do it well. With the release of Draw Down The Moon, the band's third studio album, it's clear that this has not changed. With a combination of music that reflects against early Heavy Metal acts like Iron Maiden with a hint of influence from acts like Black Sabbath, as well as a lower production quality that's not too raw, but enough to bring on the nostalgic feeling of earlier pre-remastered recordings that built up the Metal foundation, it's clear that Icarus Witch are here to stay, even if they don't bring their best game with them all the time. The music on Draw Down The Moon isn't really that fast, having more a Hard Rock mid-pace to them, with a few that go slower and often tend to be on the side of attempted epic ballads. "Reap What You Sow" is the perfect example to a more epic ballad track, and it works out well. "Dying Eyes" is another slower paced ballad-like track, however it's just not as epic aside the guitar solo, coming off more as a ballad you would expect to hear from a Judas Priest inspired Hair Metal act. Suffice it to say, this is about where the album starts to drop the ball. While the opening tracks "Black Candles" and "Aquarius Rising" are very catchy and well composed, not all of the album is as good. Once you hit "Dying Eyes", the rest of the album seems to get a little generic. After this point, much of the album seems to stick to the ballad-esque sound that was provided during "Dying Eyes", which get's rather repetative by the end of "Dying Eyes" as it is. When you "Funeral Wine", the album starts to pick up and go back into a heavier sound that goes at a slightly faster pace,w ith the album closing out on a higher note with "Haunting Visions", which is nice and heavy, building up to the closing track "The Ripper" which isn't quite the catchiest song on here, but it's perhaps the most reminiscent of Heavy Metal on this release. Draw Down The Moon is caked in nostalgia, from the production quality to the Judas Priest sounding tracks that effortlessly blend in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Some of the tracks on here do sound like filler, which is sad, as the album does start off with such a high note, and ends that way as well. There isn't anything too original, or even that impressive about the release outside of the many tracks on here that not only heavy, but catchy as well with moments that will be lodged in your head for a while.
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