Icarus
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 Many new artists use MP3s to demo their music via free download. Young musicians hope to land a recording contract with a major label based on the popularity of their free music. One of these hopeful artists is Icarus, whose demo CD Sky of Icarus contains eight songs composed and played by himself on a Sound Track 97 Ruby wavetable synthesizer. He claims to be influence by Savatage, Cradle of Filth, Lacrimosa, Blind Guardian, Slayer, and Sojiro, although I'd be hard-pressed to find a trace of Slayer on this CD.
The light bell sounds at the opening of To Little Bird [MP3] quickly give way to a rocking tribute to Bach and his Little Fugue in G-minor. Despite the limitations of a static beat, this song has the life and drive usually absent from computerized music.
My Sky [MP3] begins with the chords of a classical organ, making me wonder if I had accidentally stumbled into a church hymn. The tempo picks up a bit, but the heavy chords continue through most of the song. Icarus obviously has very talented hands.
I'm not sure what the origin of satanic liberty [MP3] is. The pace of this song is unrelenting aside from a brief interlude. A bit into the tune the orchestration begins to resemble To Little Bird, which points out some of the limitations of synthesized music: there are only so many possibilities within a machine.
The Reed Forest [MP3] is the antithesis to satanic liberty. This is a haunting, poetic piece, and Icarus really draws the life out of his Ruby. This track is fairly short but rewarding for the attentive listener.
The upright, classical sound found in My Sky also characterized the opening measures of unfinished journey [MP3]. There is a brighter tone to unfinished journey, however. The upsweep of appreggio is very sweet.
The swell of bells at the beginning of The Deep Well in My Mind [MP3] is interesting. This crescendo-decrescendo pattern plays throughout the song. Just before the two-minute mark, the song takes a turn in rhythm and style. It returns to the frenetic race of To Little Bird and satanic liberty.
Pray For Little Wings [MP3] appears out of silence, as if it had already been playing before you turned up the volume. Icarus stays in the lower registers for much of this song, adding variety to a style I think he can safely call his own.
The cathedral organ again sets the tone for Blackened Windows & Sad Sex But Lies to Me [MP3]. I liked the interlude. I personally would like to hear some of these songs played on the concert piano. It seems like there is some good composing skills here, but the sound card/synthesizer combination can be limiting.
Icarus also has another band. Together with S. J. Giru, Icarus has formed the heavy metal group NABAN. From the demo CD Virginflight to the World, you can listen to Icarus Part 2 [MP3] and Evidence of Blood [MP3]. This is a much harsher world of music, but NABAN has added vocals and depth to Icarus' synthesized compositions.
By Denise Ahn
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