Dew Scented - Icarus
With a total change of line-up for 2012, Leif Jensen and Dew Scented are back with a point to prove. Leaning towards the more extreme side of modern thrash metal, their characteristic all-out brutality has never waned, not even once, over their twenty year (and nine album) career.
Ever since I picked up a copy of Inwards back in 2002, Dew Scented for me have always been the band that took thrash metal to the next level; modernising without losing touch with its roots, and adding that extra layer of all-out heaviness.
With Icarus, Dew Scented continue to prove they are far from done. Whether it's the all-out speed thrash attack of Sworn To Obey or the crushingly heavy Thrown To The Lions, they demonstrate with indisputable ease that twenty years is nothing more than another line of chalk on a wall. Old school influences, with a welcome 21st century twist. Leif's aggressive screaming once again does wonders for the band, giving the music that extra punch. The new band members do more than enough to hold their own as well, with shredders Marvin Vriesde and Rory Hansen, bassist Joost van der Graaf and drummer Koen Herfst all contributing to Dew Scented sounding more blistering than ever in 2012.
It's when the pace drops that the songs become somewhat forgettable, but with Icarus, there's always something lurking round the corner, waiting to punch you in the face. Album highlights The Fall of Man and Destined To Collapse display an increase in aggression and intensity that you wouldn't have thought possible after experiencing half an hour of face melting thrash metal. The weaker material here doesn't quite hold up to the strength of the band's back catalogue; the stronger material however, tops it all. If album closer Perpetuated doesn't leave you wanting to spin this album again immediately, nothing will. A coming-of-age has taken place over the last few years and I think more than ever, Dew Scented have managed to carve their own identity into a genre filled with bands who seem content to ride the Slayer-mobile into Testament town.
Dew Scented are never going to reinvent modern thrash metal, but in 2012 they practically define it. One thing they are is consistent, and to mistake consistency for insipid in this instance would be ludicrous. Leave it to the Germans to once again show the rest of the world how things are done. Icarus is a searing hot summer release, just in time for festival season. If Dew Scented are coming to your town, the pits will open.