Ex-Atreyu Singer Alex Varkatzas’ Dead Icarus Unveil Debut Album Zealot, Single Out Now
More than three years ago, former Atreyu vocalist Alex Varkatzas revealed that he had a new band called Dead Icarus on the same day his former band released an album without him. We’re pretty sure it wasn’t a coincidence it happened that way, but we’re talking about the same guy who famously walked back a statement that his old band invented metalcore, so…
Well, the day has finally come. This morning Varkatzas’ new band, which also features Brandon Zackey and Enterprise Earth’s Gabe Mangold, announced that their debut album Zealot will drop on October 31 via MNRK Heavy.
In conjunction with the announcement, the band dropped their first single “Bearing Burdens and Saving Skin”. I’ll let you decide whether you like the track or not, but to my ears, it sounds pretty fucking heavy. Are there melodic parts? Sure. But it definitely goes hard, especially when shit gets slow and thick around the 1:45 mark.
Speaking of the announcement, Varkatzas said he was stoked to get the music out into the world.
“I couldn’t be more excited and proud to shared our first full length album ZEALOT with the world. To be a ‘ZEALOT’ means to be fanatical and uncompromisingly devoted to one’s beliefs. A lot of emotion and energy went into its crafting. I worked very hard to step up my vocal performance and really committed to holding nothing back and trying new things in order to match the dynamic nature of the songs.
“We kick things off with ‘Bearing Burdens and Saving Skin,’ a fast, chaotic, catchy ripper. Lyrically, the song deals with dishonesty and unrelenting revenge. We match it with a dark and wild video by MyGoodEyeVisuals, which was shot in a cemetery inside a haunted house and serves as a precursor to the subsequent videos we have in the works. Be ready, we are just getting started…”
Zealot will be available on October 31 via MNRK Heavy, but you can preorder your copy today. You can also catch them on tour with Enterprise Earth and Nekrogoblikon. Tour dates can be found below.
Zealot Track Listing:
“The Unconquerable”
“Bearing Burdens And Saving Skin”
“Zealot”
“1 Million Days”
“Temptations Kiss”
“Fountains Of Death”
“Casting Spells”
“Hell Opens Its Mouth”
“Vade Retro Satana”
“Secrets In The Dark”
“Betrayal Shaped Daggers”
DEAD ICARUS ON TOUR:
WITH ENTERPRISE EARTH + NEKROGOBLIKON:
9/12 — Boise, ID — Shrine Social Club ^
9/13 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon *
9/14 — Vancouver, BC — Fortune Sound Club *
9/15 — Kelowna, BC — Revelry Hub*
9/16 — Calgary, AB — Dickens *
9/18 — Winnipeg, MB — The Park Theatre *
9/19 — Saint Paul, MN — Amsterdam Bar and Hall*
9/20 — Lincoln, NE — Bourbon Theatre *
9/21 — Sioux Falls, SD — Bigs Bar *
9/23 — Fort Wayne, IN — Piere’s ^
9/24 — Lexington, KY — Manchester Music Hall *
9/26 — Flint, MI — Machine Shop *
9/27 — Rochester, NY — Montage Music Hall *
9/28 — Hartford, CT — The Webster *
9/29 — Hampton, NH — Wally’s Pub *
10/1 — Hampton, NH — Wally’s Pub
10/2 — Nashville, TN — Cannery Hall ^
^ w/ Enterprise Earth
* w/ Nekrogoblikon
