Lukewarm conflict - A review of Ice War's Manifest Destiny

Ice War is a one-man heavy metal project from Ottawa that has just released its sophomore output Manifest Destiny. The man behind the project is influenced by heavy, power and speed metal of the eighties somwhere between Iron Maiden, Manowar and Exciter. The release has a simplistic charm and raw production. The guitar work is performed skillfully and the melodic vocals work well in that context. The cool cover artwork blends in perfectly.

However, the record suffers from a lack of variety. The guitar work is skillful but never spectacular enough to stand out. The rhythm section is serviceable to the songs but fails to add an own note. The vocals always sound the same and are lacking passion. This contrasts the lyrics in a way that is unintentionally humorous. The singer claims things like "I would die for you" as if he said "Let's eat a sandwich" or sings "It's death and glory now" as if he mentioned "It's raining outside".

The song material isn't bad at all. If this were actually a band and not a one-man project, the final result could sound much more diversified, dynamic and organic. Ice War could easily open for bands like Annihilator and warm up the audience since this type of traditional metal is best enjoyed in concert.

Ice War has the potential to become more than a sidenore if band leader Jo Capitalicide decided to build an actual band around it. As it is now, Ice War is only interesting for avid traditional metal enthusiasts and passionate metal fans supporting local groups and projects in and around Ottawa.

Final Rating: 50%