Frontiers Records has discovered Raphael Mendes, the internet sensation, the … new Bruce Dickinson. So, the record company has set up around him a new, ambitious project, the band Icon of Sin. Here we have the self-titled debut album of Icon of Sin, which I would say it is rather a controversial one. Raphael Mendes’s voice sounds exactly like the voice of Bruce Dickinson. We are talking about an 100% similarity, the two singers are identical. And here comes the question – is this Mendes’s personal voice? Is this his personal way of singing or is he a mime, a copy of Bruce Dickinson? Where do similarities stop and cloning begins? I can’t answer these questions, I’ve just got this album for a review, knowing that the whole project is based on Mendes’s phenomenal skills. And I have to say, without any hesitation: Icon of Sin’s debut album is ideal for the fans of Iron Maiden. If you dig Iron Maiden, you will love this new release! It isn’t only Mendes’s voice, but the whole style of the compositions which sound exactly like Iron Maiden’s songs! The riffs, the dual guitar solos, the melodies, the vocal lines, everything resembles the works of Iron Maiden, everything is reminiscent of the style and sound of Steve Harris and co. Icon of Sin is built around Mendes, and the band takes full advantage of his voice. I personally really liked this album, I had fun listening to these nice songs and I already have some favourites, like “Night Breed”, “Virtual Empire” and “Clouds Over Gotham”. I don’t know if Icon of Sin is the new messiah of metal, I don’t know if they will have the success, the career of Iron Maiden, but I surely know one thing – I can’t stop listening to this magnificent disc again and again! Indeed!
♦ 8/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC2hHqdANnI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_3cuS2toPs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vnrC_nsYo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IklKIpmj8mI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qj24-vJvwA
