On Wednesday, Feb. 12, Berlin-based-but-multinationally-sourced four-piece Icarus Burns will release their self-titled debut album through their own label, Feather and Wax Records. It’s not the band’s first outing overall, as they had an initial three-song EP out in 2021 in a different configuration. The most notable difference is that the album has no vocals and the EP did, with Eva Bandke having contributed to the short release as standalone singer. Icarus Burns arrive at the declarations of this self-titled after having pared back to an instrumental outfit in 2024, reportedly changed tunings, and refined the focus of their songwriting. Accordingly, Icarus Burns feels fresh and benefits from the added crunch possible with two guitars in the lineup, as the underlying chug in the second half of “Die Werft” or the more metalized, double-kick-backed crescendo of side B opener “A Distant Light… in the Darkness” readily demonstrate. While it feels inherently like a more straightforward, stripped-down take, the album is by no means without flourish.

Much of that is heard in the interplay between Jens Gehrke and Tim Corden on guitar, but as opener “Minotaur” (which has a flash of creepy sampled speech that sounds homemade, as regards vocals), there’s rhythmic intricacy from bassist Axel Kalteiß and drummer Cristobal Cuadra Bravo (who’s come aboard since the EP) as well. In its midsection, “Minotaur” becomes a more brash, almost noise rocking crunch, even if it ends dreamy, and the prog-metal elements of “Die Werft,” indeed lower in tone than the band were a few years ago, grounds the exploratory-feeling leads. Each side ends with its longest track, because symmetry, with “Melancholia” (9:04) and album-capper “100 Days” (11:47) taking their time to reach further into the ether. Their doing is suitably otherworldly, to be sure, but the crux of Icarus Burns leans more toward prog than psych, so there’s a foot on the ground, however much a given part might seem to float, or, in the case of the soloing before the big-chugga breakdown ending in the finale, soar.

They may be relatively new to the modus outwardly, but the recording makes a few purposeful statements about who they are and what their intentions are going forward. That is to say, Icarus Burns tells the listener a lot about the band in terms of sound and what they’re exploring. They’ve set themselves on a path of instrumentalism, and already one can hear these tracks feeling their way toward aural progression or creative growth. The more aggressive punch of “A Distant Light… in the Darkness” is an easy example, but the subsequent “Tränen der Sonne” gives Kalteiß the foreground of the mix on bass while as the guitars offer more languid atmospherics — the title, translated as “‘tears of the sun,’ fits well — and thereby lends the record a less insistent cast. I wouldn’t say it’s languid with the thud-fervency of Bravo‘s tom work, but it’s purposefully less metal than Icarus Burns want to be elsewhere and in itself that speaks to a dynamic taking shape in their sound that one hopes will develop over the next however many years and outings from these beginnings.

That said, Icarus Burns are hardly tentative here. Sure, they’re perhaps feeling their way into being a different band than they set out to be five years ago, but there’s something to be said for that process of discovery itself and for a band who can realize they’re not making the music they want to make, adjust their trajectory and (hopefully) end up in a place they feel is more honest to what they want to express as a group. I can’t speak to where Icarus Burns might go from here — they might get a singer for all I know — but the timing on their first record shouldn’t be ignored. That is, they’ve been a band for half a decade, became instrumental in 2024 and turned around Icarus Burns less than a year thereafter. However long ago they were starting to be written, there’s urgency in these songs precisely because it’s new to everybody. They won’t have that advantage next time out, of inner/outer novelty, but for a foursome of such obvious and clearly directed creative will, something tells me they’ll be just fine without.

The album streams in its entirety below. Again, it’s out Wednesday.

 

Preorder link: https://icarusburns.bandcamp.com/album/icarus-burns

When the riffs hit, they burn. When the melodies soar, they sear. This is Icarus Burns.

Consisting of individuals from Germany, UK, Chile, the band is a rich blend of cultural and musical influences which combine to deliver an exciting and visceral live experience at their shows.

While the band has a wholly unique sound, Icarus Burns will appeal to fans across genres – reference bands include: Elder, Rotor, Karsk, Rezn, Monkey3, Mr Bison, Kosmodome, My Sleeping Karma, Robot God..

With their S/T debut album due to drop in early 2025, this next phase of the band promises to be their most exciting; with live gigs across various stages across Germany and Europe in the works – this will be the year IB take it to the next level.

Recorded at Wave Studios, Berlin
Engineered, mixed, mastered by Florian Schack (Wave Studios)
Produced by Florian Schack & Icarus Burns
All songs written by Icarus Burns

Icarus Burns is:
Tim Corden – Guitar
Jens Gehrke – Guitar
Axel Kalteiß – Bass
Cristobal Cuadra Bravo – Drums

Icarus Burns on Facebook

Icarus Burns website

Tags: Berlin, Feather and Wax Records, Germany, Icarus Burns, Icarus Burns Self-titled, self-titled

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