1170. Iconic / Second Skin. 2022. 4/5

The first wave of the covid pandemic – and yes without becoming political I don’t think it’s over just yet – bands and artists found a way to keep active by doing online jams with their own band and with other artists, keeping their names out there and keeping themselves occupied at the same time. And, as I mentioned in the intro here, some of those appear to have progressed to the point that players got together and pooled their material and had it eventually released to the listening public. It has also been true that record companies have looked to facilitate these kind of mergers amongst their own artists, in order to have more albums coming out at a time where it has been difficult to come together and make them happen. Nostalgia is a popular theme amongst these so-called supergroups, because they can contain either artists from bands from a bygone era, or songs with a sound like those old times to draw in the punters who yearn for a return to those ‘simpler’ times, or better yet a combination of both of these things.
And so that is what we have here, the coming together of some quality musicians in the quest for musical glory, and by naming the band “Iconic” it feels as though they are either pretty confident that the group is a killer line up, or they are just on themselves. Leading the charge is Joel Hoekstra, current lead guitarist for Whitesnake, and given that that band is apparently on its farewell tour, perhaps Hoekstra is auditioning his next gig. He has been joined by excellent bass guitarist Marco Mendoza, who has played for such bands as the Dead Daisies, Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders, as well as lead vocalist Nathan James whose main job is in the band Inglorious and Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards. This would normally be enough to draw in even the most undecided fans, but then you can add two further legends of metal music. Drummer Tommy Aldridge has been around for over 40 years, played for Ozzy Osbourne and Whitesnake amongst other greats, and lends his talents here. But perhaps the star attraction is Stryper vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet, who comes aboard to lend both of those amazing talents to this crew. All in all, it’s a hard outfit to go past without at least checking out what they’ve produced.

Any doubts about what this band was going to bring to the table in regards to its music are shot down in flames from the start of the opening track “Fast as You Can”. Filled with great riffs, brilliant trading solo licks and the combination and duelling of crushing vocals, this is as good an opening track as you could wish to hear from a new formation in the universe. Everything about this song completely showcases the best of what each member has to offer. “Ready for Your Love” follows, and is the first of many tracks here that have an undeniable Whitesnake flavour to the music and vocals. It is in songs such as this one, along with “Nowhere to Run” and the slower “Worlds Apart”, where James’ vocals slow into that Coverdale croon, helping that Whitesnake comparison. Given that Hoekstra and Aldridge and Mendoza all have history with Whitesnake it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand why there is some similarities to that band’s music in places.
The title track again allows James and Sweet to combine with duelling vocals, which really lifts this song and the opening track above the rest of the album. James' vocals throughout are awesome and powerful, but paired with Sweet the combination is amazing. More of this would have made this album... iconic? More iconicer? It would have made it more superb I guess is what I’m saying. Sweet has been quoted as saying that it made a nice change for him to be playing more guitar than just singing on this album. C’mon, you’re in the studio, do more of both!!
“All I Need” is the power ballad, the kind that bands often depend on to draw in their fans, but I have to give credit where credit is due here, James’ vocals and the harder edge of the guitars throughout make this a great track. It actually reminds me a bit of the ballad the former band of Jack Black’s character in The School of Rock play at the battle of the bands... remember that? This is better though, much better. “All About” is a mid-tempo rocker that is lifted from the average through the vocals and harder riff edge of the guitars, with the solo section starring again. “This Way” is a less attractive power ballad, a bit more staid. “Let You Go” steers towards the 70’s AOR sound, the one time this album heads in that direction, but with a nice guitar solo in the middle to break it up. “It Ain’t Over” finds a nice groove and excellent guitar riffs to lift the album again, before “Enough of Your Love” concludes the album in what I can only describe as a slightly less showcasey fashion than I would have expected considering what had come before it.

There are a few things I can throw at you as to my thoughts on the album and the group as a whole. Firstly, it is tremendously disappointing that we won’t hear any of this material performed in a live setting. The band has no agenda to touring, with everyone having commitments to their actual bands rather than this group. And that seems like such a waste given what has been produced here. Even if they tried to get together for a festival run sometime next year, the album will be in the history books by then and have come off the radar. Secondly, as much as I love Nathan James’s vocals on this album, and he is quite spectacular in places, I do think it was a missed trick not to incorporate more of Michael Sweet in more than the two songs where he is involved in singing. But perhaps you can’t have everything. I think the guitars of Hoekstra and Sweet here are electric, with great riffage and excellent solo breaks between the two.
I was drawn to this album because of those playing on it, and I have to say that the positives far outweigh those couple of negatives I may have risen. Like all new albums, this takes a while to grow on you completely. But once those vocals and those guitars and that solid rhythm section come together, and you get to know the songs from repetition, I think it is a terrific effort.
This is the fifth of five new albums that I have reviewed for this blog over recent weeks, and for me this is the best of them, overall. Each has good things about them and a couple of negatives. This album’s negatives only come from a slight change in style of a couple of tracks, that despite this the band still perform so well you can’t help but enjoy them. That is what will keep this album on the turntable longer than other albums.