ICE WAR "Manifest Destiny"



ICE WAR 
“Manifest Destiny”
The self-titled debut from Ice War was old-fashioned, clunky and awkward sounding heavy metal that sounded like came from 1980 in a time capsule…and it worked! The awkwardness was strangely endearing and the songs, despite noticeable flaws, worked. Now we have the follow up “Manifest Destiny”…is it more of the same?
In many ways, yes, but unfortunately the clunkiness here is just not as tolerable or endearing. The very rough and vaguely out of tune vocals of Jo Capitalicide didn’t hurt the debut that badly. Here they are often just plain bad to a level that can’t be overcome. First three tracks made me cringe with Jo’s tuneless vocals and ham-fisted vocal lines. “I Would Die For You” is the lowpoint…almost unlistenable, with guitar notes that seem to be deliberately out of key. The production is not too different from the debut, but seems even tinnier and thinner sounding.
The first half is a wash, but things recover in the back half of the album. “Light Shine On” is a good early NWOBHM type rocker and Jo’s singing is tolerable. “Ride On” is more of the same and last track “The Labyrinth” ends things on a good note, although I would never call Ice War a killer band. The second half is in the vein of the debut whereas on the first half, Jo seems to be almost deliberately making things sound out of whack and amateurish.
The result? “Manifest Destiny” is an average trad metal album, but you have to be patient to find the good stuff. I definitely prefer the debut to this.
https://soundcloud.com/dying-victims-productions/ice-war-no-way-of-turning-back




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