EMQ’s with THRONE OF ICARUS
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview, with London, England based Groove Metal band, Throne Of Icarus. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Rob: Writer/Lyricist.
Gregg: Guitarist
Rob: Icarus Originally started as a studio project but we quickly realised the tracks needed to be delivered in a live scenario to truly reflect the level of distain we feel towards modern society and all it represents.
How did you come up with your band name?
Gregg: It’s really a metaphor for mankind. It was something that we were chewing over for some time and we really wanted to find something that sat firmly with what we write about.
Rob: As Gregg says, it’s a metaphor. It depicts mankind’s arrogance as we position ourselves on the throne of history, actingwithout care or consideration for the planet we inhabit, and much like the legendary story of Icarus,we too will go a step to far and eventually suffer the consequences of our actions.
Gregg: I mean shit, we are seeing it now with the environmental crisis of flooding and forest fires in the news on a daily basis!
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
Gregg: We’re spread out between Essex and West London. The London metal scene seems alive and well and there are some really good bands coming out of the capital. To be fair, the UK as a whole has been seeing a real growth in home-grown talent which is awesome to see. We’re off on tour at the end of the year with Red Method, The Five Hundred and This is Turin who are three fine examples of the talent that’s out there!
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Rob: Our latest release is our second single ‘Teacher’. It’s a dark story about the soul of a historic serial killer who lives within present day individuals. We do most of our own recording at Gregg’s studio but have the honour of working with Dave Chang who does all our mix and mastering. Head over to Spotify and have a listen!
Gregg: Rob’s actually the star of that video! Look out for the angry looking guy with the tattoos!
‘Teacher’ (Official Video)
‘Inhabitants’ (Official Video)
Who have been your greatest influences?
Rob: There’s a big mix within the band from Hardcore, punk through to Death Metal, although there are obviously the classics like Slayer, The Haunted, Carcass etc.
Gregg: I’m heavily influenced by classical music while writing. I know it sounds strange but it’s all about the emotion it can generate, in turn that mood pours out onto the fretboard. From a production side of things, I’m always drawn to producers like Dr Dre for their approach and work ethic.
What first got you into music?
Rob: Metal music was my place to go during my teenage years to ‘let off steam’ and relate to a lot of the lyrics in tracks, it was the same sort of time I started to realise that ‘normal’ was bullshit, and I struggled to relate to the vacuous world of social popularity contests.
Gregg: Amen brother. I think Rob speaks for most of us there?
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Gregg: We’ve all been really impressed with a lot of bands coming out of Eastern Europe and Russia. Slaughter to Prevail would be awesome to work with, they really are getting shit right at the moment!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Rob: I would love to see the guys play Hell Fest, although I’m keen to stress that Throne of Icarus are available to play any festivals so please feel free to get in touch if you like our tracks…shameless plug?
Gregg: Although we don’t have time to give you a full list…so if I had to choose I’d have to say Wacken in Germany. Always been a personal favourite of mine.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Gregg: Not Icarus related, but I was recognised in being in a previous band years ago and got a kebab bought for me on a night out in Southend…not very rock n’ roll. Rob actually had a stalker for a while though didn’t you mate?
Rob: No comment.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Rob: Make no apology for who you are and what you stand for.
Gregg: We know this past year and a half has been shit for shows and stuff, but now things are opening up get back out there and get to local shows. Support your favourite bands and venues and never be intimidated! You’ll be shocked how cool people are in the metal scene. Come and join the family.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Rob: Dimebag Darrell
Gregg: Lane Staley
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Gregg: I enjoy most of it to be honest. Being creative, hanging out with some of my closest mates, travelling and meeting new people. Hate? Unnecessary politics. I have zero time for it. Also, not a fan of some venues treating artists like shit, maybe this whole pandemic will help that relationship.
Rob: I enjoy the creative process the most. I like unlocking the parts of me that have to be controlled in order to function in society. Yea, same as Gregg, bullshit politics or bitchy jealousy.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Rob: To make it more about talent and work ethic than who you know. Too many great bands are getting pushed to the side or never being noticed because they don’t have the right contacts.
Gregg: I’d like to go back to 1995…CD’s, packed shows and that feeling of discovering a new band from a review in your favourite magazine or track on a cover disc!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Rob: Machine Head – “Burn My Eyes”
Gregg: Guns n’ Roses – “Appetite For Destruction”
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Rob: I’m guessing downloads, although not being that ‘tech savvy’ I miss the simple days of cassettes and CD’s.
Gregg: CD’s for me. I like having a physical copy of something in my hands as well as getting the chance to open the inlay booklet and really getting a feel for the bands message. CD artwork creation was an awesome process from an artists perspective.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Gregg: Although Throne of Icarus has been around for a few years now, the pandemic hit just as we were about to hit the road, so can’t name one yet! We’re back out as of October and it can’t come soon enough!
Rob: Yea, collectively we have all played some awesome shows in previous bands but this will be next level!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Gregg: Well, we are metal musicians in a pop world which means we all have 2nd jobs! If we’re not pulling metal gurns on a stage you can find us in all sorts of trades…Highway engineering, caring, metal fabricating, corporate health & safety…I’ll let you try and match the trade to the member!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Rob: Andrei Chikatilo, David Attenborough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Alan Watts and Christopher Hitchens.
Gregg: I kinda want to go to Rob’s party now just to see how Andrei and David get on!
What’s next for the band?
Rob: Shows, shows and more shows, it’s time to demonstrate the power of Icarus, we’re keen to demolish venues and sell our brand of terror to anyone who wants to hear it. In addition to that, there will be more releases coming.
Gregg: We have an albums’ worth of material written but really the focus is on getting out there live to make up for lost time! We’ve got a kick arse light show to show off too which we are excited about. Next year we’ll be looking to release an EP or split, let’s see what the world offers up!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Rob: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, You Tube, Apple Music, Amazon…the usual culprits. Tap out name in and we’ll come up. Head over to www.throneoficarus.com/ where everything you’ll ever need is!
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Rob: Cake, it says it on the packaging.
Gregg: Cake. When they bought out the Jaffa they realised that if they called it a biscuit it would be subject to VAT…So they called it a cake. Christ I’m boring.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Gregg: Nothing other than to say a massive thank you to Rick and the team at Ever Metal for the interview and support! Massively appreciated and keep up the good work guys!
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