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Review: Icy Steel - Icy Steel
Icy Steel
www.theicysteel.com
Icy Steel

Label: Pure Steel Records
Year released: 2007
Duration: 56:14
Tracks: 10
Genre: Heavy Metal

Rating:
4.75/5


Review online: April 20, 2007
Reviewed by: Sargon the Terrible
Readers' Rating
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Rated 3.64/5 (72.73%) (11 Votes)
Review

Icy Steel are the latest in the new wave of Hellenic True Metal bands, part of the same scene as Battleroar, Valor, Wotan, Battle Ram, and Assedium. There are so many bands coming from this part of the world in this style that I was starting to get skeptical, but one trip through Icy Steel's debut album was enough to make a total convert out of me. This band is extremely cool, and nobody is happier about that than I am.

A lot of bands call themselves 'epic' just because they have some keyboard intros, but you need a real epic feel to your riffs and songs to really be an epic band. It's hard to really define, but you know it when you hear it, and Icy Steel have it. The album intro is cliché, expected, short, and actually pretty good. Then you get to the meat: nine big, booming true metal epics with great riffs, solid vocals, cool leads, and an almost complete lack of basic English skills. Opener "Me, River" is a bit slow, almost ballad-ish, though the heavy riffs are very good. But from there Icy Steel never let up, cranking out winners like "The Man Without End", "Wind Of War", the total killer "Valley Of The Dragon", and…well pretty much every song after that. This is total Epic Battle True Metal so cool it makes me want to start every word in this review with a capital letter. The production is rock-solid, with a great guitar sound and a really good, even mix. Vocalist Stefano Galeano isn't going to win any awards, but he has a perfect voice for this kind of music: tuneful yet rough, with a few high notes here and there but mostly just balls and charisma. The one thing this band really could improve are the vocal lines, as they are good but not really catchy. What you remember about this album is the killer riffage, not the vocals.

So this is not a perfect album, but with riffs like the one on "Valley Of The Dragon" It's easy to see that Icy Steel have the chops to make a classic in the future. This is easily the best debut in True Metal since Ironsword or Battleroar, and if you like metal like this, then Icy Steel are a band you will want to get into, trust me. Highly Recommended.

More about Icy Steel...
Review: As The Gods Command (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
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