If you didn't know better and read the press release accompanying Roses on White Lace, the debut album from Pittsburgh's Icarus Witch, you'd think no one made metal in the vein of Iron Maiden, Dio and Judas Priest anymore. Say what? There are plenty of new bands - some of them even successful - carrying on the grand tradition of classic metal's elders. Hell, even recent output from Maiden, Dio and Priest reeks of their own classic sound. So this quartet isn't exactly igniting "a blaze that burns false metal to the ground, shining a light for a new generation ... , while serving as a beacon to call back the thousands of old-schoolers who years ago had hung up their denim and studs in disgust."
But that doesn't mean we can't take pleasure from these songs that are so rooted in the old-school classics that you can't help but admire Icarus Witch's dedication to their heroes. With titles like "Curse of the Ice Maiden," "Winds of Atlantis" and "Dragon Ryder," it's clear these dudes would rather storm a castle than, say, examine the sociological effects of 9/11. Vocalist Matthew Bizilia sounds like Rick Mythiasin (Steel Prophet, Taraxacum), but the rest of the band sounds like … well, you know who. Icarus Witch even stole this EP's title from an Alice Cooper song, a cover that kicks off the five-track disc. It's all packaged in a handsome digipak that comes with a free sticker. How metal is that!
Track Listing:
1) Roses on White Lace
2) Curse of the Ice Maiden
3) Halcyon
4) Winds of Atlantis
5) Dragon Ryder
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