False Icons

John Bechdel's longtime work as an industrial-rock journeyman wasn't necessarily going to inevitably lead to his own band being formed, but it's no surprise that he did go that route, forming False Icons in 2002 and releasing its debut album in 2008. With production from one of his former employers, Al Jourgensen, Bechdel and bandmates on God Complex turn in a reasonable enough go at the form, though it has to be said that hearing what was once considered the music of the future become something as in thrall to convention and expectation as anything else is a touch enervating. Thus "Decay" and its contrast between directly sung lead vocals and slightly muffled gang-shout choral backing is immediately recognizable from Killing Joke's early song "Wardance," while the blend of instant riffing aggression and technological tweaks and noises can look to that and plenty of other similar sources as well. As a re-encapsulation of industrial rock's twists and turns following its consolidation and relative commercial breakthrough in the late '80s, God Complex is a reasonable enough sampler of sounds -- there are distorted rave/trance influences on songs like "Transform," even a bit of sweeping pop anthemicism courtesy of "Mystified" and its tremendous lead melody. Bechdel's dry but not angry rasp suits the flow of the material song for song and the whole is a fair enough effort that supplements if not extends the reach of what has become a well-established musical approach. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide