It’s been four years since the debut of hard rock supergroup Iconic, featuring Joel Hoekstra and Michael Sweet on guitar, legendary Tommy Aldridge on drums, Marco Mendoza on bass, and frontman Nathan James. Their album Second Skin was an insta-buy for me after only hearing the debut single, “Nowhere To Run.”
So it was great news to hear the band had reunited for a sophomore release, which came out this past Friday, titled, appropriately enough II. This isn’t a full Retrophisch Review, just first impressions from a single listen-through, plus a few re-listens from the released singles.
The TL;DR version is: if you liked the first album, you’ll like this album.
It’s really just more of the same, only more more. And this is in no way a bad thing. These are all incredibly talented musicians, and to have them all together in one band, even if it’s only for album releases and maybe a one-off live show, is a real blessing. The elder statesmen in the group have lost none of their fastball, as Hoekstra and Sweet trade off blistering riffs and solos, while Aldridge and Mendoza ably hold down the rhythm section with all their trademarks. And how can you not think Nathan James was born to front hard rock bands with a voice like that?
I am a little disappointed that Sweet’s vocals weren’t featured more on this second album, as they were on the first. However, I can totally understand if either the material didn’t lend itself to that end, or he himself chose not to. Michael has been very forthcoming in interviews and online that he considers himself a guitarist first, and a vocalist second. Having just seen him live with Stryper a couple of weeks ago, he certainly looks like he’s having the time of his life when he’s shredding. And he’s certainly having fun on this album.
There have been five singles released up to release day, and you can find videos of them on YouTube. Of the five, “Heart of Stone” is my favorite, both for the song, and the comics motif used:
And to show how people’s musical interests vary, even within a single album, there has not yet been a video released for any of my three favorite songs from the new album:
- Far Away
- Open My Eyes
- Nothing Left for Me
If you miss the hard rock music of the ‘80s, and want something from utter craftsmen of the genre, then this is an album for you.
