Iceburn

Iceburn was started in the early '90s by guitarist David Gentry, who over the course of the last decade has remained the group's leader. Musically, they took jazz in the only direction Miles Davis didn't explore in the '80s -- a grindcore jazz hybrid. In the early '90s this made them somewhat unique placing them on the cutting edge of the free jazz revival that was beginning to emerge from indie rock. While indebted to metal, they should not be seen as a logical outgrowth of dark metal's emphasis on virtuosity. Rather, they are taking off from Godflesh (in fact, Justin Broadrick gets thanked in the liner notes) and then applying free jazz form and technique. Iceburn sound like the Jesus Lizard but not as tightly controlled; like Slint but not as indie and melodic; like Don Cabelero, with repetitive melodic lines subordinated to rhythmic motives, but not quite as heavy. On this 7" they feature one of their own typically epic songs, "Moon," backed with a take-off on a Davis number, "Brew #9." Their presentation of the Davis composition is heavy, dark, and open, but without a lot of interplay among the instruments. "Moon" sounds like a Chicago free jazz rock song if they listened only to Blue Cheer and Captain Beefheart instead of Le Monte Young and Arto Lindsay (and meant it). Iceburn re-emerged as the Iceburn Collective, putting out two albums on Revelation Records in 1998 and 2000. Still based in Salt Lake City, they are too close to California to not escape being grouped with the post-hardcore scene in So-Cal, but (as this 7" demonstrates) their roots in are a much different soil. ~ Brian Whitener, All Music Guide