EP REVIEW: Ad Infernum – Dead Icarus

DEAD ICARUS are a brand-new act who’ll sound very familiar to turn-of-the-century metalcore fans. They were founded by ex-ATREYU vocalist Alex Varkatzas and retain a lot of characteristics of his former band, especially from their breakthrough period in the early 2000s. Ad Infernum’s short runtime is crammed with gravel-throated roars, melodic choruses and chunky breakdowns, as well as the obligatory worship of Gothenburg metal. It’s thoroughly unsurprising but if nothing else, Varkatzas does seem to have got his mojo back.

However, they also suffer from the same problem that ATREYU did; the vocals. Varkatzas never had the strongest set of pipes in the metalcore scene, but age has exacerbated his shortcomings. His cleans aren’t too bad, but whenever he switches to screams, he sounds strained and desperate. His enthusiasm is definitely back, but he’s painfully close to gurgling when he should roar and lacks sufficient power to make the songs hit.

Which is disappointing because DEAD ICARUS still have a few things going for them. Comparisons with their singer’s former band are certainly valid, but this material has more in common with the likes of Lip Gloss And Black than ATREYU’s later work. ENTERPRISE EARTH duo Brandon Zackey (drums) and Gabe Mangold (guitars/bass) dish out dense, riff-heavy ’core like they’re fighting for a spot on the 2004 Ozzfest line-up and do a pretty decent job at it. So I Set Myself On Fire is probably the best of the four new songs Ad Infernum has to offer, especially when Mangold lets rip and his fingers dance across the fret board.

But whenever their heavily-inked frontman starts to growl, DEAD ICARUS’ chief weakness is only too apparent. It’s especially noticeable on a faithful-but-pointless cover of PANTERA’s Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit, where the vocals sound horribly fragile and like Varkatzas is struggling to get every syllable out.

To be fair, ATREYU had a long, rewarding career so some folks obviously had no problem with the vocals. They’ll likely accept DEAD ICARUS as a spirited return to the glory days and there’s every chance that this is the start of another successful run. If you’re of the opinion that ATREYU were at their best pre-Lead Sails Paper Anchor, this will have you reaching for the tight jeans, lip ring and hair straighteners all over again. But we’ll have to keep a respectful distance and wish they had a better singer.

Rating: 4/10

Ad Infernum is set for release on March 13th via MNRK Heavy.

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