Band of the Day: Icarus Dive

How many bands do you think there are in the world? Well, whatever the number, we’re ploughing through a lot of them. Here’s another, courtesy of the guys in Icarus Dive…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

The beautifully green suburbs of Guildford, Surrey.

How did you meet?

Louis (drums) and I, got as far away from Guildford as we could for 3 years to study the same course in Leeds. It was a surprisingly long time before we spoke properly and realised we lived just a few minutes away from each other back home. It was about 6 months after we finished in Leeds before I came to have a jam in Louis’ bedroom with a couple guys he’d known from school and we’ve been getting together every week since.

How long have you been playing as a band?

That was all about 3 or 4 years ago now. We spent a while bringing together different ideas, different styles and after a while we thought, you know, other people might want to hear this too. Then in the last year or so we’ve kicked everything up a few gears.

Before you get sick of being asked. where does the band name come from?

I think most people would agree, coming up with a name isn’t fun. We’d done a bunch of boring (unsuccessful) brainstorm sessions where we actually took a whiteboard to the pub over the road and tried to hash it out. Eventually we gave up, cracked a couple open in Louis’s garden and started listing fighting moves from video games and one stuck. We’re nerds, we love games and I take a lot of inspiration from mythology and sci-fi so it worked.

What are your influences?

We each grew up on different flavours of rock. Louis would tell you Primus is his favourite band, Harry (bass) would say Suede. For me, I’ve always been taken by the big theatrical vocalists; people like Freddie Mercury, Matt Bellamy, or Brendon Urie. These people that capture so much drama and emotion in their performance. We like the heavy stuff too though; Tesseract, Architects, Black Peaks… People that are willing to break boundaries and bring something new are more of an influence than any.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

It’s high energy. It’s theatrical. It’s intense but fun. We like to be a bit unpredictable, catch people off guard. Each riff or big chorus has just enough weird in it to remind you it’s an Icarus Dive song.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

I quite like to talk about things that I haven’t heard people talk about in songs before. Bring a new story or perspective. I talk a lot about what goes on in our own heads that other people never see; the conversations and battles we have within ourselves. Our first EP, Among the Thorns, talks a lot about the mental wars we go through to make changes in our lives, whether it’s committing to the thing you were born to do (“Hydra”) or losing control to a darker side of yourself (“Murder and Lies”).

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

I can’t say I’ve been keeping count but we’ve been gigging for a few years now. The live show is everything. These songs weren’t made to be played from a little phone speaker in someone’s bedroom, (although if that’s how you listen to your stuff, don’t let us stop you. We need the plays!), they were made to be blasted through your chest at a live show! It’s really high energy and we always try to bring something different and make sure we burn our mark into as many heads as possible in that room.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

I’ve seen a crowd spontaneously burst into a Macarena during a breakdown… that was metal!

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

I play a Gibson Les Paul through a BlackStar Series One. That combo just punches so hard on the riffs but you can get some beautifully warm clean tones too. Harry uses an Ibanez SR1805. The 5-string really helps bring a bit of darkness when we need it. Who knows what Louis is playing right now… He breaks too many drums to keep track. Ha! No he’s on a Mapex Saturn V I believe. Again a real nice deep, punchy low end. It’s all carefully selected to knock people off their feet at the gig.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

Our debut single, “Hydra”, is out right now on just about every download/streaming service that matters. Check out the lyric video on youtube (scroll down…) that features some awesome cover art from an extremely talented painter, Will Rochfort, and mark September 21st in your diary for the release of the new EP, Among the Thorns!

What are your plans for 2018?

Release the EP and play as many gigs as possible.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

We’d love to get on a stage with Black Peaks. Those guys just blew me away when I saw them live. That voice! To open? Iamwarface. If you haven’t heard of them then go check them out. They bring such a vibe and always get the crowd moving and dancing. It’s infectious.

Icarus Dive: facebook | twitter | bandcamp | youtube

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