Iconoclast

It's time again to take a look at another album I failed to give a complete review to when it was released earlier this year. This time it's Are We Dying, the latest effort from Ottawa's premier hard rock outfit Iconoclast.

The band offer a brand of hard rock that's far more honest and organic than the contrived stuff you'll hear on traditional 'alternative rock' radio. Tracks like "Wondering" and the title track are slick numbers that don't lose any of their power, despite their refinement.



The band combines an Alice In Chains-esque verse with a deep groove chorus to create the marvelous rock Frankenstein "Vultures Overhead". Oddly, "No Closure" begins with a guitar riff reminiscent of Collective Soul of all people, before it explodes into a catchy chorus that erases all memory of that.

The album's standout is the fantastic blues rock number "Single Act of Lust". If there were any justice in the world, this would have been heard far and wide across the land.

There are some misses. The lacklustre "Magdolena" succeeds solely on the strength of Marc Bourgon's vocals. "What of Me" is a sluggish toss-off. "Senses" comes perilously close to the realm of power ballads.

I'm getting a little too old to be a hardcore hard rock fan, but Iconoclast makes me feel younger if just for an hour or so.

Iconoclast play the Arbor Room at Hart House in Toronto tonight.

Best tracks: "Single Act of Lust", "No Closure"

Track listing for Are We Dying:

Wondering
What of Me
Vultures Overhead
Single Act
No Closure
Magdalena
Are We Dying
She Is Pain
Hide the Knives
Senses
Without You Naked
Healing Sticks
- TO Snob's Music

Ottawa hard rockers Iconoclast are back with a new full length album. The record, Are We Dying, is set to come out in March.

The band have always packed a punch while deftly avoiding the cliches that plague most hard rock bands. This time around though, they've added even more depth. In addition to the towering choruses there's a new found groove ("Wondering") and even some gritty blues rock ("Single Act").

You can hear some of the new tracks on the band's Myspace.



Here's the track list:

Wondering
What of Me
Vultures Overhead
Single Act
No Closure
Magdalena
Are We Dying
She Is Pain
Hide the Knives
Senses
Without You Naked
The Healing Sticks
- TO Snob's Music

Ottawa hard rockers Iconoclast are back with a new full length album. The record, Are We Dying, is set to come out in March.

The band have always packed a punch while deftly avoiding the cliches that plague most hard rock bands. This time around though, they've added even more depth. In addition to the towering choruses there's a new found groove ("Wondering") and even some gritty blues rock ("Single Act").

You can hear some of the new tracks on the band's Myspace.



Here's the track list:

Wondering
What of Me
Vultures Overhead
Single Act
No Closure
Magdalena
Are We Dying
She Is Pain
Hide the Knives
Senses
Without You Naked
The Healing Sticks
- TO Snob's Music

So far, it’s been a good year for Iconoclast. A new album, their CD release presented by 106.9 The Bear and an opening slot for Theory Of A Deadman.

Speaking of their new album Are We Dying, I must admit that after my first listen, my impression was “meh”. However I never listen to an album just once. After a few listens, the guitar riffs and song rhythms started pulling me in and sticking in my head. With each listen a different song was making me take notice.

The album starts off strong with the lead track Wondering. From there, I really got caught up in the grooves offered up in Hide the Knives and Single Act of Lust, and the driving chorus of the title track Are We Dying. The album also has it’s mellower side. While Vultures Overhead starts off sounding like it would fit squarely in that category, it builds to a pounding rhythm towards the end, acting as the perfect gel to hold the album together. To be honest, I could keep going. It’s hard to pick favorites.

Lead singer Marc Bourgon’s scruffy vocals sit nicely atop the musical rhythms laid down by his bandmates. If you like your riff driven rock ‘n roll, you should definitely give this album a listen! - Spotlight Ottawa

About the nominated track/album:
The tracks we submitted to TIMA were 'No Closure' and 'Vultures Overhead', from our 2012 album Are We Dying, produced by Steve Foley at Audio Valley Studios in Ottawa.

The song 'No Closure' came from a riff Mike Korn had, a type of hammer-on riff with open notes that we all really dug. It was the last track recorded for the album, with lyrics I wrote about the breakdown of a relationship and the questions you could have after time passes. This tune is a favourite of the band, with the middle groovy-type bridge part one of the best parts of our live show. We chose to submit this tune because it's a full-on rock tune that is straight badass.

The second song we submitted, 'Vultures Overhead' is one of the most emotional pieces of music we've ever created. It again came from a mellow groove that Korn had, written during a week off that he and I took to buckle down and finish a load of tunes and ideas we had piled up. We wrote 25 songs that week. This song came a day after I received news that a cousin had passed away. It was written from the perspective of other loved ones, those directly affected by it. It was a pretty heavy day, but this thing of beauty came out of it.

This album is the culmination of years of work and upheaval both in the band and outside it. A lot of times we wondered what was going on with this band, are things worth continuing? So many bands we came up with have broken up and yet we can't seem to stop getting together through weddings, separations, jobs, life, etc. . . . We've always flown under the radar in Ottawa and haven't really had a lot of support from the industry, so Are We Dying was an appropriate title of the record. We are very much alive and our fans keep it that way.

We chose these two tracks for simple reasons: they have kickass riffs, groove like a mother and have great messages!

What makes good music?
It's so subjective, what makes good music is personal to the individual. I got hooked on music at age four by listening to Loverboy. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but basically, whatever speaks to you and moves your ass!

Future plans:
Our plans for the future are to play and record, meet people and other bands, and make it work. We can't stay away from each other for too long!

Last words:
Finally, we'd like to thank the TIMA people for nominating us. Everybody says this, but it's so true for us – we're so pumped that we even are nominated, it's great to be recognized by someone other than your mom. Thanks!

- Raz Mataz Magazine

Review of Iconoclast's new record Are We Dying. - Dangerdog

Review of Iconoclast's new record Are We Dying. - Dangerdog

Iconoclast put on an intense performance in front of a packed house last night at Mavericks. Iconoclast came back from an eight-month hiatus with a vengeance. While on hiatus…added lead vocalist Marc Bourgon, a tremendous front man with incredible stage presence, charisma and experience. His powerful voice combined with bassist Mike Korn's backing vocals provided some astonishing harmonies that really enhanced the overall feel of the songs. On top of having a great voice, Marc knows how to work a crowd. Whenever possible, he encouraged the enthusiastic crowd to jump, clap and sing along with him. Twice during the set, Marc stopped singing and let the crowd take over, a true testament to the band's popularity!

Guitarist Mike Corkum and bassist Mike Korn really stepped it up a notch. Mike Corkum is just awesome to watch on stage and Mike Korn is equally as good. Mike Korn really showed everyone just how entertaining he can be. Watching him was like watching Finger Eleven. He was stomping his feet, swinging his bass and bouncing up and down. Drummer Marian Dej was solid as usual and played a good set.

Iconoclast came out strong and maintained the same level of energy throughout the set… Iconoclast is truly at ease on stage and it's reflected in their live shows. - By Nick Maheux - Ottawarocks.com

The record runs just shy of 18 minutes. And that's how long it takes for Songs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 to become Nothing but Hell, Straightjackets, Famous, Blame & Ruin and Unremarkable. Iconoclast's sound evokes the ghost of solid 90s rock and roll, ala Soundgarden, Rage and STP. The EP in particular is more Buckcherry meets Tea Party. Marc Bourgon's vocals blast through speakers with the rage and passion of Josh Todd and the darkness and sincerity of Jeff Martin. Mike Corkum (guitar), Marian Dej(drums) and Mike Korn (bass) display the same diversity as their eccentric frontman throughout the album. These guys got it. - Remi L. Roy - Ottawa Xpress

Five years of gigging have been channeled into Home, the debut album from Ottawa's Iconoclast, hard rockers who funnel all their oomph into live show and save the rock melodies for the disc. Expect speaker climbing, singalongs and escalating rock mayhem when the four piece launches its disc Saturday at Maverick's, 221 Rideau St... - By: Fateema Sayani - The Ottawa Citizen

Five years of gigging have been channeled into Home, the debut album from Ottawa's Iconoclast, hard rockers who funnel all their oomph into live show and save the rock melodies for the disc. Expect speaker climbing, singalongs and escalating rock mayhem when the four piece launches its disc Saturday at Maverick's, 221 Rideau St... - By: Fateema Sayani - The Ottawa Citizen

There is another popular use for the 'f' word. ANd you'll find it in Never Enough, the defiant opening track from local band Iconoclast's EP, Home.

"F**k what you say! F**k what you do!" Iconoclast frontman Marc Bourgon spits at the source of his frustration while bandmates Mike Korn, Marian Dej and Mike Corkum construct an aggressive wall of sound behind the singer.

It's one of seven tracks on the four-year-old band's debut release. And, language not withstanding, it, like the remainder of the CD, is decidedly radio-friendly.

"Twas not always the case for the band's music, Corkum admits.

"Korn, our bass player, used to sing," Corkum recalls. "But we decided he was better at playing bass."

Fortunatly, there were no hard feelings. And the band has steadily been gaining a local following that should ensure a full house at Maverick's for Saturday's CD release show.

The CD, Corkum enthuses, is a worthy representation of the band's sound. "It'll be nice to have the ability to give this to someone and not have to explain ourselves," he says of that first release's role. "To just be able to say, 'this is my band; this is what we sound like.' " - By Alan Wigney - The Ottawa Sun

Iconoclast is a surprise for some people. Like me. They'd been described as hard rock, compared to Nickelback, Metallica, and Sevendust. This always struck me as pretty cliche and uninteresting, until I finally got the chance to HEAR them.

It is true that you could draw these comparisons, or at least notice them as influences. But there's a style and originality here that appeals to lovers of hard rock and makes even the cynical raise an eyebrow and take notice. The instrumebtation is inventive and skillful. There's great sustain and some harmonics and crunching riffs that force you to move with the beat in some form.

Iconoclast has an infectious hard rock sound that defies strict comparisons and is bound to push this band to great heights. - By: Brian G. - Onegoldenspoon.com

Iconoclast is a surprise for some people. Like me. They'd been described as hard rock, compared to Nickelback, Metallica, and Sevendust. This always struck me as pretty cliche and uninteresting, until I finally got the chance to HEAR them.

It is true that you could draw these comparisons, or at least notice them as influences. But there's a style and originality here that appeals to lovers of hard rock and makes even the cynical raise an eyebrow and take notice. The instrumebtation is inventive and skillful. There's great sustain and some harmonics and crunching riffs that force you to move with the beat in some form.

Iconoclast has an infectious hard rock sound that defies strict comparisons and is bound to push this band to great heights. - By: Brian G. - Onegoldenspoon.com