Icarus Witch

With only five tracks, of which one is a cover and another a brief instrumental, Roses on White Lace is a pretty inauspicious debut for one of the best true metal bands I’ve heard in years. Icarus Witch embrace the old-school ethics of 80s melodic metal without sounding entirely dated, bringing a modern sonic aesthetic and a contemporary heaviness to the musical formula pioneered by such American acts as Crimson Glory, Vicious Rumors, and Savatage. Though I could do without the threadbare Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy lyrics, I can’t otherwise fault this disc. The title track, an Alice Cooper song (of which I am shamefully unfamiliar), is a heavy mid-paced rocker, “Curse of the Ice Maiden” is a classic metal epic crammed into a compact 4:41, “Winds of Atlantis” summons memories of the first Crimson Glory album, and the slinky “Dragon Ryder” recalls the best of Omen’s work. Only the sound-effect set-piece “Halcyon” feels like filler here. By avoiding the breakneck speed and relentless double bass of most backwards-looking true metal aspirants, Icarus Witch allow plenty of room for their studied and sophisticated songwriting skills to shine. Solid musicianship and the excellent, high vocals of Matthew Bizilia make this inexpensive EP a must-have for traditional metal aficionados, who should likewise expect this band to take a leading role in the perpetually simmering American melodic metal scene. - Metal Maniacs

There are two bands reviving the dark spirit of Mercyful Fate: Force Of Evil and now Icarus Witch, a mysterious US-based act that seem to have time-traveled back to the perfection of that band and early King Diamond, distressing, foreboding esoterica included. Quite simply, this is stirring, timeless old school power metal with the best production of the '00s thus far. - Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles

Rating: 9 Out Of 10
This album is a shout-out to fans of early Savatage for sure! What a great band! Let me begin by saying that this is one of the best sounding indie-releases that I’ve heard in years. The production is stellar and the music is good enough to be something I’d choose to go deaf by. I think the band hails from Pennsylvania, but regardless, they sound like they could be European at times with their Helloween meets Iron Maiden numbers like “Winds Of Atlantis” and “Dragon Ryder”. Although only an E.P., this release should get them the attention they deserve from someone like Century Media or even Nuclear Blast who can do them right with label support and distribution. The guys look pretty young, which makes this scribe feel the world of Metal music is being taught well on American soil these days. I couldn’t be happier and Traditional Metal fans will feel the same way when they experience Icarus Witch. Very Highly Recommended with only one point being subtracted for the E.P.’s brevity. Sometimes, you just gotta have more!!!
- away-team.com

Remember the glory days of heavy metal back in the '80s? You know, that time when you showed up to see PRIEST or MAIDEN play and saw a bunch of underage kids drinking beer and hanging out in denim jackets with oversided patches by their Trans-Am or rusted van? Some of us were those kids, some of us still are those kids, and ICARUS WITCH is the soundtrack for our modern era of classic metal. No growling, no down-tuned guitars, no dreadlocks. Soaring vocals sung in the NWOBHM style and lyrics about dragons, ice maidens, and Atlantis to lift you from the doldrums of your daily grind and put you in a much better place. Clean guitars played with passion and power, drums that don't make your ears bleed from constant battering, and bass lines that you can actually hear. ICARUS is one of the torch bearers of the old generation, the first generation, of heavy metal and a band that carries the torch so well as to make you forget that this is twenty years past its time. The most shocking part of this band is how young they are. Recently formed in Pittsburgh in 2004, ICARUS already shows veteran chops. This is a great up-and-coming talent and ROSES should put ICARUS up against other great classic acts like ICED EARTH, SAXON and DIO. Terrific stuff. My only complaint is that it's an EP. Hurry Up with the full length! - Freddy Rollins - Pit