Happy Tuesday my friends, and welcome to the Thrash Attack. As you may have noticed, the flow of the Thrash Attack column has slowed down. I will be transitioning into a brand new column as of next Tuesday. What that also means is that as of today, this is my last Thrash Attack. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm in these past articles.
For now, let’s go ahead and talk about Ice Giant from Lowell Massachusetts. For fans of thrash and power metal, Ice Giant comes pouncing in with their self-titled debut LP. The seven track album is full of epic tales involving adventures and battles. For the overall sound, there’s a huge Iron Maiden vibe. The vocals come with a high pitch and bravado, similar to that of Bruce Dickinson. Instrumentally there are quite a lot of similarities as well, but with plenty of roaring epic shredding. Playing just a tad slower to give off more of that adventurous vibe, when these guys really take off, they produce the same adrenaline gut punch like their fellow Massachusetts neighbors Lich King.
“At Tyranny’s End” will give you those Maiden feels right off the bat. The drum beat comes pummeling down, the guitar tearing away with ferocity. The track then shifts into an aggressive drive, the guitar shredding away, the vocals picking up in anger. Towards the end we get one of the album’s many kick ass solos. These moments are just pure bliss, producing a soaring radiance in their electric vibrancy. “Dimension of the Damned” does not waste any time hesitating, and jumps right into the chaos. Slight distortion makes its way through the guitar, the song speeding away into a blistering fury of adrenaline. The vocals continue their track of giving off a powerful boom, the bass also giving off a crushing heft. “The Tale of Rawonam” is a true blue fantasy epic, hailing to the king of metal. With proud shouts, the lyrics burst out, “Behold the mighty king of metal/ mighty warrior, of the night/ the God of men, a man of gods/ sent to fight the dark horse.” The song feels like a campfire tale thanks to the rich storytelling aspect, along with the guitar’s wavy flow to build tension. “Wrath of Justice” slows the instrumental component down, still allowing the guitar to give a dark churning groove. The vocals continue to jump right out, tossing in some inflection that feels a bit like something out of black metal.
If you want to get the full experience of just how epic Ice Giant’s self-titled debut is, please feel free to stream it below. You can also follow the band for any updates via Facebook. Thanks for tuning in for the Thrash Attack and your constant support. Stay tuned next Tuesday for my brand new column, where I’ll be sharing tons of my favorite bands. Expect all the moshing, head banging, and brutality to come ;)
