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Album Reviews : Red Bee – Ictus

By on July 10, 2013

redbee-ictusThrow a variety of musical styles such as math metal, progressive rock and djent in to a melting pot, mix them together and what you’d get as the end result would be Blue Mountains based band Red Bee. The band has managed to roll a variety of seemingly disparate influences in to style that is both cohesive and something that they can definitively call their own.

No need for a long drawn out intro here, as opener “Road Kill” begins the album in no nonsense, sharp and precise fashion. The track is a great introduction to what the band is all about, a song that while having clear roots in technical metal, still showcases the bands real major strike weapons in melody and groove. The chorus heavy track “Dark Daze” is a clear highlight on the album though, as it skilfully blends technicality with a certain catchiness and melody that most modern day bands could definitely take note from.

Other tracks such as “Deathbed Memory” and “Through to You” are jammed packed with catchy and off kilter riffs, where “Confess, Conform and Collapse” is filled with a certain tongue-in-cheek Australian attitude. The instrumental track “Angelo’s School of Arms” however is a blistering example on how to do instrumental tracks right. It breaks things up on the album, just when it was needed and is another certain highlight.

Vocalist Daniel Silk seems to have taken great influence from 90’s homegrown rock/metal bands, as his melodic infused vocals seem to carry more than touch of Sunk Loto and The Testeagles influence in them. Dare I say it; I even detect a hint of Placebo in the vocal department, albeit delivered instead with a broad Australian accent. Sure this vocal style is not going to be for everyone, perhaps more so for our overseas counterparts, but it is refreshing to see a band do something different than the norm.

Instrumentally this three piece are about as tight as they come. This aided along with some quality production serve to elevate Ictus to the next level. In this day and age and with the quality of Australian releases getting better and better all the time. The argument that Australian bands do not hold up against their overseas counterparts is getting weaker and weaker all the time. Red Bee can now be added to the ever growing list of Australian bands to help further exemplify this.

Band:  Red Bee
Album: Ictus
Year: 2012
Genre:  Hard Rock/Metal
Label: Self Released
Origin: Sydney, Australia
facebook.com/redbeemusic

Track list:
1. Road Kill
2. Dark Daze
3. Deathbed Memory
4. Confess, Conform, Collapse
5. 10-4
6. Angelo’s School of Arms
7. Thin Red Line
8. Poetic Equation
9. Through to You
10. Hell & Fire

About

In his spare time, between being a slave to the grind, contributing to MetalObsession.net and hitting up as many local/international gigs as possible. Gareth also contributes to Dutch based metal-zine MetalRage.com, books the odd show under the Inherit Earth moniker and plays drums for Sydney-based bands Whisky Smile and Swamp Harlot.