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Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, we highlight the new single “Cry No More” from the supergroup Iconic.
It’s easy to be cynical about supergroups. The thing that makes bands so special is often not just the unique chemistry of players but also the deeper alchemy of life experiences and perspectives on art evolving together, both for and against each other. It isn’t just similarity that makes people work well together but productive tension, and that’s hard to manufacture out of thin air even when the combination makes perfect sense on paper.
Which makes Iconic’s lead single “Cry No More” from their upcoming sophomore album II noteworthy. Of course, Tommy Aldridge can’t so much as touch a track without giving it the same incredibly heavy metal heft that he contributed to all those early Ozzy solo masterpieces. That the majority of the rest of the band have worked together in Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy lineups, two bands often underrated regarding their consistent musical strength and vitality, certainly helps things. Add in Stryper frontman Michael Sweet, serving as guitarist in this group, and it’s not a shock really that the song is so strong.
But the real cementing factor is lead singer Nathan James’ vocals. His lower register keeps the song fully away from glam metal territory, giving it an early heavy metal feel approaching power metal at times. This is a type of music that’s tricky to pull off; one wrong step and you’ve fallen into self-parody territory, where the immortality of rock gods becomes the banal fear of aging we all struggle with. Seeing the continued excellent of young players and old, music that advances the form and music that celebrates its history, is a perpetual thrill.
Honorable Mentions
Ordh – “Apis Bull”
This progressive death metal troupe, born from the ashes of sludge metal group Barishi, immediately convey both a deep study and deep love of the genre. There is the same focus on hookiness as Death at their peak married to a prog heft that feels visionary and expansive. This opening cut from their new record Blind in Abyssal Realms is surprisingly bright from a death metal track, showcasing a quite direct sense of heavy metal theatric behind the sophisticated arrangements and tricksy turns. It’s hard to hear and not understand right away why genre adherrents are so thrilled by this sonic world.
Pilor – “Lèse-Majesté”
This French grindcore act’s opening salvo from their new album Sans Adieu is an absolute ripper. Chaotic grindcore, an especially fun micro-genre name, mixes the intensity of grind with the textures of black and death metal, arriving at blistering heavy music from the feral wings of punk. You can feel it manifest here; there is malice and darkness, but also the kind of righteous rage that drives all great punk. There is music that tells us its okay to not be okay and then there is the music for what comes after, the uniquely heavy metal and hardcore punk animal response to extreme duress.
Voivod – “Forgotten in Space (Symphonique)”
Prog-thrash legends Voivod return with live album Symphonique, out June 5th, re-orchestrating their music for symphony. The majesty of the new arrangement brings out the high-minded elements of beloved deperated guitarist Piggy L’Amour’s writing, with flutes and brass and strings bringing out an old-Hollywood level of theatricality from the music. The result, perhaps colored by the visualizer video for the song, lands rather close to Imperial Triumphant’s territory over the past decade or so. Voivod continue to offer us a vision of an alternate universe where Yes, Rush, Metallica and Dead Kennedys got fused together in a horrible teleporter accident, one which we should remain perpetually grateful for being allowed to witness.
English (US) · 