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Unless
you are Dragonforce speed has become a thoroughly thing of the
past. It’s still good for the thrash revival, but as far as new
more experimental metal, now it’s all about shedding tears,
expressing frustration, crying out loud your politics and
speaking out your mind through sheer excruciating soul exorcism.
And we all know you gotta take your time for that. As a result,
every day we see more and more acts trying to imbue their music
with the kind of morose sentiments that apparently can only be
loyally channeled through turtle speed. Sure, doom and stoner
rock is everywhere, but while those two subgenres share the same
roots, bands like Icos who breathe, pound, breathe and pound
like they are trying out for the Olympics, the source seems to
come from more hardcore oriented bands like say….Neurosis.
Very much
like their labelmates of Fall of Efrafa, Icos then sees the
origin of its roots/influences in the hardcore/crust scenes. But
the difference lies in their experimentalism, which is pretty
much channeled through doom-esque melodies, slow and fat guitars
and a legible growl spewing cryptic lyrics whenever present.
Very much
like a band like Neurosis and Fall of Efrafa, this Swedish
quartet could also be an experimental band. But if there were
no vocals then Icos would more accurately fall into the post
rock category. There are no hundreds of inflections here, but
the growth and growth factor is in the music. What’s not in the
music is the dynamics of Fall of Efrafa or the all-is-fair
spirit of Neurosis. Instead Fragments of Sirens sounds
like a record based around very narrow sonic ideas. There is
nothing wrong with simplicity, but do we have to hear the same
two-note riff for seven minutes to get anywhere? I am not trying
to be negative, listening to Icos is a far more rewarding
experience than listening to 75% of the current doom/stoner rock
bands, but through these seven songs there is the incumbent
feeling that Icos is about to take off, but they never do.
What’s even worse, at times they even sound a bit tired. This is
living proof that going slow is not always a good thing. Even in
these times when it’s all the rage.
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