If you like bands like 2Hot4U or Saga but without the same intensity, then Icy Roads might be of interest.
ARTIST: Icy Roads
ALBUM: Icy Roads
LABEL: Globe Records
SERIAL: CD 01109301/LC 5153
YEAR: 1993
CD INFO: Discogs Info
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany
LINEUP: Ralf Stahn – lead vocals, keyboards * Olaf Brockmann – guitars, vocals * Robert Rausch – bass, vocals * Jens-Peter Fuhse – drums, percussion
TRACK LISTING: 01 Lost In Human Race * 02 Where Do We Go * 03 I Haunt You With A Sigh * 04 Live It Up * 05 This Way * 06 I Got You Under My Skin * 07 Promises * 08 See You Again * 09 Don’t Wanna Feel Lonely * 10 Silent Longing * 11 Back Into Daylight * 12 Six Dreams
Background
This album From German band Icy Roads was bought to my attention some time ago. Thanks to one of our GDM regulars DEMONAOR, I finally had the opportunity to listen to it. I came away not completely convinced however. Musically, Icy Roads are a less pompier version of fellow Germans 2Hot4U, who were also in operation around the same time frame.
The songs on this album do have keyboards within, but they don’t dominate as much as I would like. Instead, it’s the over-powering vocal of their lead singer Ralf Stahn which kills it for me. His preference to raise his pitch at the end of nearly every lyrical phrase is a turn-off for me.
The Songs
Starting out with a TV broadcast about conflict and violence, ‘Lost In Human Race’ is one of the picks of the album, though overall it leans to the pomp-lite category, even if the guitar solos are very good. It’s a pity the rhythm guitars weren’t heavier. There were only a handful of other songs that stood out.
‘Promises’, ‘Back Into Daylight’, the instrumental ‘Got You Under My Skin’ and the melodic pop of ‘Live It Up’ were kinda reasonable. When the band drifted off into melancholy territory, they became less interesting, as per the pointless ‘Silent Longing’ and ‘Six Dreams’, while ‘This Way’ would’ve been much better except for those annoying lead vocals.
In Summary
There’s very little info on the band across the Net. Rateyourmusic has nothing, Facebook refers to a French punk band with the same name. Discogs has a brief page on them, but not much else. As mentioned, if you like bands like 2Hot4U and perhaps a lighter version of Saga but without the same intensity, then Icy Roads might be of interest. For me, not so.
