Icon-Eight interview by the Norwegian Webzine Heavymetal.no.
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Reviews of THRASH THE MOMENT:
www.SwedenMetal.info
Icon-Eight is a Norwegian two-man band and released this demo (Thrash the Moment!) in 2006. The quality is remarkably good and I think it’s hard to realize that this as a demo.
Conclave Studio who has done the mixing and Earshot Studio who has done the mastering has done a damn fine job.
But they wouldn’t have done anything without the band of cause. A very competent band, who plays performs several different styles in every song. The two first songs sounds most like Speed, but the third song is heavy and slow, and sounds more like Heavy Metal. The last song reminds me most of Power, if you don’t consider the vocals. The vocals are the same in all songs. It’s not deep growls, clean vocals or some sort of high pitch. It’s more like a deep scream, and it fits very well. Maybe it’s because of the vocals that these different songs does not seem too different, but fits like a hand in glove? I am very interested to hear more form Icon-Eight now…!
Score: 4,5/5
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Metal-Observer.com
Norwegian guitarist Mactabilis was fed up with Black Metal, an thus he started a new band called ICON-EIGHT in early 2006. Thrash Metal fans who are into the early efforts by DESTRUCTION, SODOM and CELTIC FROST will be pleased by the fact that Mactabilis recorded the 4 songs on the EP “Thrash The Moment†with the help of session drummer and unleashed it upon the Metal crowd in August 2006.
The sound and the production of „Thrash The Moment“ are nicely raw, just like they were in the 80’s, but thanks to the better technology of today they have more power. Blast beats, skull-splitting riffs and scream-along parts are the trademarks of “Torn Asunderâ€, where producer Øyvind Skutle contributed some backing vocals. The title track is a true blast beat/double bass behemoth where there are few parts to relax, constant head bangers will be pleased! With the captivating riffs of “Psycho Terrorizer†there is no break for the neck muscles either. The track, which partly is very calm and almost balladesque for Thrash standards, turns out to be a real highlight and will certainly gain many friends live. “Trail Of Fire†concludes this EP, though your neck muscles will be tested to the maximum once again here. Even though I hadn’t heard of the guy before, Mactabilis delivered a neat piece of Thrash Metal and it remains to be seen if there will be a full-length album with permanent band members in the future.
(Online March 6, 2007) Score: 9/10
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Lords of Metal.nl
Icon-Eight - Thrash The Moment (Demo)
Self-financed
file under Speed/thrash metal
Tormentor Erich: Mactabilis is a metal head from Norway. According to his bio he gained some experience in the (black) metal scene from Bergen by playing and working with different bands. But the good fellow has lost interest in the black metal music and nowadays he is more into hard, eighties orientated, thrash metal. The man turns out to be quite active. He did the guitars, the bass and the vocals on this demo by himself. Only the drums are done by someone who is named Loke. The first result of this effort is this four track demo, and I can confirm: these sixteen minutes of music are not bad at all.
Opener 'Torn Asunder' starts with a 'Welcome To Hell' saying, and then it goes full speed ahead. The song is interrupted a couple of times by some slow and heavy riffs, and because of this the song sticks inside my head and it shows a bit of the eighties influences here. On 'Thrash The Moment' the speed stays up and although Mactabilis is not into black metal anymore, he still might reach some of those listeners just by the way he sings here. The third track 'Psycho Terrorizer' is starting slowly and it is mainly mid-tempo with a lot of atmosphere. The last track is called 'Trail By Fire' and it is a bit standard thrash metal, but with a firm groove and this is okay. So, in the end the production could be a bit more powerful but in general this is an interesting demo by an interesting band.
Rating: 74/100
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www.HeavyMetal.no
...Icon-Eight manages to engage.
The first song is named Torn Asunder, and stands as my favourite on the album, together with the titletrack. It has fast parts, and parts who blasts away like the most furious black-thrash. It becomes quite clear to me that what we got here is a Ep with much Destruction, in both the riff’s and production. The vocals is not like their frontman Schimer, it’s deeper and harsher. The main-ingredient is thrash, but yet there is mixed in elements of other extreme metal genres, and sometimes it sounds semi-melodic with a touch of Swedish metal of Icon-Eight.
Mactabilis and Loke has made a decent Ep, but not everything is as good as the rest (mainy third track), but I count on them to fix that until next time.
Score: 7/10
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Urkraft
Welcome to hell! Its full speed ahead from the firs second! Icon-Eight was born early January 2006, as a project by Mactabilis, and Loke joined to do the drums and they entered Fifthy-Fifthy Studio. The result is this Ep.
Thrash is the deal, yet with elements of black metal in the riffs and tempo. It’s certainly not bad, actually one of the better this genre has offered for a while. The combination between the tempo, melodies and heavy riffs make this Ep a massive sound and attitude. A release I will spend more time with in the future.
I await the debut album!
Score: 3/5
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Spot.no
…it’s natural when a black metal artist goes from making black metal to create thrash, you get black thrash. And Icon-Eight is not an exception. The music presented is comparable with (early) Aura Noir. The big difference is that the tempo isn’t always fast as hell. Don’t misunderstand, I like sonic blastbeat-terror, but sometimes a drummer need more rhythm than just speed in his body. On Thrash the Moment! Mactabilis though of this, and made it vary a lot in tempo. Another interesting thing is the special melodic bassplaying, as you understand the point is not to play for your life and speed over those 4-strings all the time. The riffs are not typical black-thrash like Aura Noir and Nocturnal Breed. Some of the riffs make me think of black metal, other points to melodic death metal, but mainly there is a “thrash, the classic wayâ€-feeling over the riffs. It’s not hard to see the common divisor between Icon-Eight and Desctruction and many of the other bands from the classic era of thrash metal. Yes, they have even made space for some leads/solos.
..I have hopes for the future and think Thrash the Moment! can be nice to spend time with now and then in the future. Solid stuff from a debut… I look forward to the next release from Mactabilis and his Icon-Eight.
Score: 4.0/6.0
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Monster Magazine
Raw and brutal, heavy and melodic, yet a little too chaotic for my taste. Icon-Eight is a man who bears the name Mactabilis, and together with a session-drummer has recorded and released an Ep by their own.
The vocals remind me about Cronos (Venom)…
…I would like to recommend that you get your hands on this…
Score: 3/6
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Vampire-magazine.com
Icon-Eight is Norwegian, but not extreme dark or black metal: like you could have guessed from the title of this demo, it is thrash, although I would say that a serious dose of old school death metal has been added to the recipe as well, just listen to the fast drumming parts… Icon-Eight is the project of Mactabilis, helped on this one by drummer Loke: a wise action, because this old school metal is often ruined by using a drumming computer, and Mactabilis understands that very well. In fact, I recognize a scent of Venom in opener ‘Torn Asunder’, the rock ‘n’ roll/ metal approach, also due to the vocals…
Mactabilis claims in the bio to be fed up with the old school black metal attitude, yet he manages to carry a bit of that dark feeling forth into this new project, like the style of drumming that is so characteristic for old school German thrash and Norwegian black/thrash.
The first two tracks are raging old school tracks that lean towards German thrash, with that touch of old school death metal. Personally I like ‘Psycho Terrorizer’ a bit more, as it is less old school (heard it all before) and it contains some roots of Norwegian hypnotic black metal riffs, thus creating a song that grips your attention, and giving Icon-Eight more of an own face. Apart from that, it is a nice break among the three more ferocious songs.
Fans of Sodom, old school death and thrash metal but also of the Norwegian old school thrash bands (like Aura Noir and Audiopain) should certainly try to get their hands on this demo, of which the first three songs can also be found at the band’s MySpace site.
Score: No Score on Demos
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Metal-Norge.com
Thrash is not really my deal, but I don’t say no to some good thrash. When we talk about Norway, I have never really been convinced by the genre, but Icon-Eight tries as good as they can to change that. With some help from other genres.
For me, thrash is about one thing; it has to be tough. And Icon-Eight manages to hit the bull’s eye really hard, and Thrash the Moment and Psycho Terrorizer are like hammers of quality! To hold that feeling through a whole thrash metal album is to me a hard task, likewise here. The demo does not manage to shot the power again and again, but the release is absolutely worth giving a listen.
Inspired by the 80’s, and some Destruction-vibes, together with small doses of heavy and black metal, and a pronounced vocal with a wide range, make this demo countable when this years (2006) best releases shall sum up. Icon-Eight should not make their sound more modern than this demo; it could be more “dirtyâ€, but that should only be mentioned as a small detail. The titletrack and Psycho Terrorizer hold this release up, high up!
And now we have to wait and see what Mactabilis and Loke whips out next time.
PS: I’m going to see this live, if I get the opportunity! Score: No Score on Demos
Metal-Norge.com recently had a retrospective article for 2006, and Icon-Eight was listed as one of last years highlights of demo bands!
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Scream Magazine
The note that follows the debutdemo from Icon-Eight mention that the band plays thrash inspired by the 80s. I would not agree to that instantly. Of cause there is elements from example the German scene to trace here, but IconEight’s music include more than that. The sound is too clinic, and the drums draw more against the extreme genres. The same goes for Mactabilis’ vocals, who does everything on this demo except for the drums. The music includes more melodies and variation than pure thrash. But it’s absolutely not bad, but little bit too anonymous. –Leif Kringen
Score: No Score on Demos
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Invisible Oranges
Icon-Eight is Mactabilis from Bergen, Norway. In Thrash the Moment! he's concocted four cuts of raw, vicious thrash/death. The bio and title both reference '80s thrash, but the sheer ferocity and occasional blastbeat tip this EP closer to death metal.
Whatever you call it, it rocks. The production is gritty but solid, with a black metal-esque buzzing atmosphere. In fact, Mactabilis' voice is sometimes reminiscent of a pitched-down Abbath. Bjørnar Nilsen of Black Hole Generator handles mixing, with mastering by Herbrand Larsen of Enslaved. This is a great start for this project, and I'm eager to hear more.
Score: No Score on Demos
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Icon Music Magazine
…The riffs are where they should be and I get the feeling that I’m swinging along with the music. The production is good too; consider that this is a demo. It’ll be interesting to follow this band in the future…
Eternal-Terror.com
…As a hint of a forthcoming album, this is promising…