ALBUM REVIEW: Zealot – Dead Icarus
When a key member of a band leaves, it can of course be for various reasons and, should those reasons be musical, it often becomes more obvious if the departed member pursues a band that either sounds like a certain element of the previous band or something different entirely. With ATREYU having gone firmly off the deep end in terms of quality but also not even trying to be a heavy band anymore, it stands to reason that DEAD ICARUS, the new project of former screamer Alex Varkatzas would aim to mine that vein of heaviness.
Now, Alex is a man who isn’t shy about his opinions and has been known to be a little outspoken in the past. That is the case with this new project, as he is the mouthpiece and has been certainly giving the record a good chunk of hype in the run up to its release. After the band’s debut EP was the very definition of fine, the band (featuring ENTERPRISE EARTH guitarist Gabe Mangold and drummer Brandon Zackery) looked to spend more time on their full-length and find their own style and sound, but is it a sound worth listening to and will Zealot be the release that takes DEAD ICARUS to bigger heights?
Firstly, it would help if they could actually settle on what they want to sound like. From mixing modern melodic death heaviness in with shoehorned in keyboards and synths on the opening track The Unconquerable, it reeks of that faux, “OMG so heavy” overproduced style that plagues second rate bands like SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL and gives people who worship Sirius XM funny feelings in their stomachs. It sounds heavy, but it really isn’t, it’s the production masking some pretty average riffs, which is very surprising coming from an amazing talent like Mangold, and some lyrics designed to be generic enough to get you through one more rep, but not your PB. The rest of the album veers between some similar moments of sub latter day KILLSWITCH ENGAGE metalcore and slabs of modern metal designed to tickle the balls of your co-workers and people who make sports compilations.
It’s not all bad by any means, and there will definitely be an audience for this type of thing. The chorus on the title track is a pleasant enough earworm that shows Alex still has his ear for melody and on a vocal level, he’s still a force to be reckoned with, it’s just a shame his lyrics fall into the cookie cutter realm more often than not. Hell Opens Its Mouth is probably the album’s best track, sounding like a band who actually want to do something exciting with their career rather than one who would happily support I PREVAIL till the end of time. Recent single 1 Million Days takes things a little more anthemic and sounds like a true crowd pleaser. Given the calibre of artists involved, it’s surprising that there aren’t more moments like this on the record but at least it hints at something more adventurous in the future.
Sadly, there isn’t much more exciting to discuss. Zealot is fine. It doesn’t blow you away, but neither does it hit like a teaspoon of ipecac syrup like Alex‘s former band’s recent output. It will find its niche and there’s ultimately more promise on this record than negativity, it sadly just lacks a little in the sticking power. If DEAD ICARUS can take more of the adventure from Gabe, and Alex starts to feel like he doesn’t need to please everyone all the time they might start to make a sound worth embracing.
Rating: 5/10
Zealot is out now via MNRK Heavy.
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