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BLACK ICE - Eve EP (Atakra Productions deadmartyr@yahoo.com www.mungaso.com/blackice )
The Opener „Broken Pieces“ has a heavy Death-Rock feeling and reminds me on bands like The Plague, The Vanishing or Penis Fly Trap. The Rhythm section is very powerful and I think this track will be an underground hit in all good Gothic- (not Dark Wave-) Clubs around the world. Next comes „Invisible“, which has an early Siouxsie/Toyah/Hazel O´Connor-atmosphere, but sounds more raw. If you like the earlier works of Berlin´s Untoten, this song will please you, too. The third new song is „Eve E.“, which again has something of Siouxsie´s „The Scream“ and „Join Hands“ albums. All the three songs on the A-Side has been recorded in the new 5-Piece-Line-up, while the older tracks on the B-Side has been recorded by the original 3-piece-band. So the record has two very different sides, an more Gothic-/Death-Rock inspired one and a more experimental darker one. That shows perfectly, how many-sided BLACK ICE are and I am sure, they are a great Liveband. BLACK ICE are one band out of a bunch of actual US groups, that show, there is much more than boring Marilyn Manson sound or Goth-Pop like the Crüxshadows (which I really like live on stage). Other good bands are Sister Mary Shoelace, Veronica´s Veil, The Vanishing, Kastle Grey Skull, The Phantom Limbs and others. They prove, that the Underground is still alive and well. Order your copy soon, ´cos the „Eve EP“ is limited to 100 copies and surely will be a collector´s item in the future... (A.P.) „An
Almost Pleasant Experience…“
Back
Again (BA): Why and when did you
start a side project to your band The Phantom Limbs, what have been your
first Steps? Stevenson
(St): Actually some of the music predates the Phantom Limbs. Skot and I
had been doing more studio-oriented stuff since the late 90s without a
name. We did some music for a performance art piece and later were asked
to do some music by a local filmmaker for her movie “Charm”. We got a
good response and so we started to devote more time to the project. BA:
How did Miss Kel come into the band? St:
We had heard her work with Sister Mary Shoelace and loved her
voice! I had tried to sing on a few Black Ice songs, but it was obvious we
needed someone with a real range and depth to match the music. Luckily,
when Miss Kel heard Black Ice, she was equally as enthusiastic. BA:
How would you desribe your musical style, which is very different to your
work with The Phantom Limbs? Would you say, that you „needed“ a
project, which can´t be compared with your main band(s)?
BA:
Did you ever perform live with BLACK ICE and how can we imagine a gig (or
how would it be, if you didn´t perform live yet)? St:
We are rehearsing currently and plan to do a few dates later this
year. We would like the live shows to be more intimate and are trying to
be selective about the places we play and who we play with. I don’t
think Black Ice will work live unless the ambiance is right. BA:
How did you choose the name BLACK ICE and what is it standing for? St:
We were unsure of a name and one night we were in the studio. It
was very late and we were mixing some tracks. It was cold and rainy
outside and a friend of ours was talking about how a few years ago, he was
driving in Canada and hit a patch of black ice (which, if you don’t
know, is when the road is frozen, but you can’t tell, cause it’s
black). He had been driving all night and was a bit delirious. When he hit
the ice, he spun out of control. He said it felt like he was spinning for
hours , but he said it was an almost pleasant experience. He said he felt
very calm. He finally spun off the road and into a ditch, but was ok. He
was surprised to find himself covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He
stepped out of the car into the cold and he said he felt quite high. The
crazy thing is that he had been listening to a song Skot and I had made on
the car stereo the whole time. So we named the band in his honor. We feel
its quite appropriate.
St:
Really, the only one of those bands I’ve heard is Sixth Comm, but
we are big fans of bands in that vane, like Current 93, Death in June,
Swans, etc. We like the mix
of natural acoustic instruments and sounds mixed with heavy effects and
tweaking. It’s the best of both worlds. BA:
I know The Phantom Limbs and BLACK ICE, but on your website there are also
projects/bands mentioned like Factory Of Angst, Anal Kitties and Sister
Mary Shoelace…what kind of music do we have to expect from them and are
there any releases available (I personally would like to hear more of Miss
Kel´s voice!)? St:
All of these bands have sites on www.mp3.com
, so you can hear for yourself. Sister Mary Shoelace is Miss Kel’s other
band and the one that inspired us to ask her to join the ice. When we play
live, we will be performing some Sister Mary Shoelace songs. Anal Kitties
is Skot’s old industrial band. They were quite good and are well
respected in the local scene. Factory of Angst was my band with Tacs
Namerf from the Anal Kitties. Demented Carnivalesque music. People often
compare us to the Legendary Pink dots, which is somewhat fair. Sister Mary
have a cd available thru www.mp3.com
. I highly recommend it! BA:
What is planned fort he near and far future? Will you try to find a label,
which releases a complete album of BLACK ICE or do you prefer to work
independently? St:
We are currently shopping our demo around and plan to put out a
full length album. If we can’t strike a deal with someone, we will put
it out ourselves. BA:
Anything else, you want to add? St: Nope.
Thanks! Thanx , too Stevenson, for answering
these short questions such quick. Hope to get the chance to hear more of
BLACK ICE´s music soon, BACK AGAIN will hold its readers updated about
all news, of course. Hopefully, there will be more infos
about the music of the mentioned sideprojects and their music soon… Until then, don´t forget to visit BLACK ICE´s website at www.thephantomlimbs.com/blackice (A.P.) ( www.thephantomlimbs.com/blackice )
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After
a self produced CD-EP, „Eve“ is the first vinyl of BLACK ICE from
California/USA and it comes in the most lovable 10“ format. The EP
contains six tracks, of which are some actually known from the CD.
An
Interview with BLACK ICE (April, 8th/9th 2002)
St:
BA:
Where do you get your influences from? I think, the atmosphere of your
debut CD is very archaic, it reminds me a bit on projects like Skin or
Sixth Comm, but also on Faith And The Muse. Do you know these bands, and,
if yes, what do you think about them?
BLACK
ICE is a side project of Stevenson Sedgwick and Sköt B. of The Phantom
Limbs and female singer Miss Kel, but the music is totally different to
the punky Death-Rock of The Phantom Limbs. It is more kind of a
Neoclassical-Neofolky-Dark-Wave or something like that, really difficult
to describe. Somewhere between Skin/Swans, Sixth Comm/Mother Destruction,
Siouxsie And The Banshees, Gitane Demone, Faith And The Muse and it
definetly has a certain Gothic-Feeling. The band uses a lot of samples,
archaic rhythms and has a very arty feeling. The voice of Miss Kel is very
intensive and captivating and I wonder, if this wouldn´t be a fascinating
live experience. The self-produced 4-Song CDR-EP can be ordered on the
above mentioned website, so there is nothing more to say, than: get
something very spezial here! If you like bands, whose name describe
perfectly their music, you are right here! An interview with the
bandmembers will follow soon! (A.P.)