Iceburn

All Music Guide:

Iceburn and their later incarnation as the Iceburn Collective is one of a handful of groups in the genre of math rock. The group move in between soft passages and abrasive, dissonant music that incorporates elements of jazz, heavy metal, punk, and classical.

Formed in Salt Lake City, Iceburn's first release was Firon (1992), which was later re-released on Caroline Records. Signing to Revelation Records, the group released the double-LP Hephestus in 1993, which consisted of four tracks. After an EP, split with Engine Kid in 1994, they returned with Poetry of Fire that same year. Renaming themselves the Iceburn Collective, they released Meditavolutions in 1996. The tracks on 1998's Power of the Lion were conceived of as a modular music system which could be played in numerous combinations or in a collage. Partly inspired by quantum mechanics, the group experimented with the music as collage on their subsequent live dates. In 2000, they released Polar Bear Suit on which the band expanded to a small orchestra with the addition of two upright basses, bass clarinet, and bassoon.

Wikipedia:

Iceburn, known later as the Iceburn Collective, was a musical group formed in 1991 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, by guitarist/vocalist/composer Gentry Densley, the sole constant member through multiple personnel changes. They were known for their unique style that combined elements of jazz, heavy metal, punk, and classical music. Releasing albums on Revelation Records and Victory Records, Iceburn achieved little mainstream attention, but earned critical praise for their unusual music.

Band history [edit]

Their early output could be classified as jazzcore, blending the speed and energy of hardcore punk and metal with the intricacy of jazz and progressive rock. For their first few years and albums, Iceburn were, for the most part, a classic "power trio" of guitar, bass guitar and drums.

Around 1996, with the release of Meditavolutions, a 70-minute continuous piece in the form of a musical palindrome, the band began to go by the name the Iceburn Collective, to reflect the dynamic nature of the group's membership. The lineup expanded with a saxophonist, percussionist on conga drums, and a second guitarist. Critic Piero Scaruffi described the pieces on Meditavolutions as "their most [...] accomplished works," while critic Bret Love writes of the album, "the eclectic sound of this Utah-based septet flows so seamlessly that it may take a few songs before you realize you've never heard anything quite like it."

The band gradually introduced more and more improvisation. By the time they disbanded in about 2000, Iceburn was a completely improvised avant-garde jazz unit, featuring saxophone and other woodwind instruments.

Densley went on to participate in Ascend, a collaboration with Greg Anderson.

Most of their albums featured artwork by Californian Rich Jacobs.

Iceburn reunited for one concert in February 2007 to celebrate the 18th Anneversary of Slug Mag (Salt Lake Underground, devoted to local music and arts), a longtime booster for Iceburn and Densely's music.