Frontiers Music [Release date : 31.07.26]

Long haired, MTV look rock bands are well and truly back in fashion, in an under the mainstream radar kind of way.

Cue Iconic.
Recruited from headline bands Stryper, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, and the TSO, who would deny Nathan James, Michael Sweet, Joel Hoekstra, Marco Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge a place at the Supergroup table?

Their second album reveals an increasingly cohesive unit whose songs are full of vivid details and inventive musical flourishes, without actually breaking much new ground.

To be fair, nobody buys Iconic albums expecting musical innovation or poignant storytelling, just structurally tight songwriting, good tunes, tough but finely calibrated riffs, and a few (or more) moments of genuine class.

And that’s what we get.

And anyway, who needs to reinvent the wheel when they’re still working the ground they’ve already staked out?

Just in case we’ve forgotten James’s skyscraping vocals, opener ‘Cry No More’ acts as a powerful reminder.

With considerable skill and imagination, the guitars, bass, drums arrangement matches his voice with equal parts excitement and heft, culminating in a passionate band performance.

The moderated middle section promises something really special to develop further, but disappointingly, it doesn’t deliver on that promise.

Hoekstra and Sweet are on fire on ‘All I Want’, joining metaphorical hands in creating a rock’n’roll suite of classy riffs and a hook heavy chorus.
The song might remind you of the great Christian Rock band Guardian in places (was Sweet listening?).

And of course, with Joekstra and Sweet in the band we’re bound to get lots of twinning up, without descending into pointless duels. ‘Open My Eyes’ shows them both at their best.

A memorably melodic chorus takes off with its eyes closed, landing safely in the hands of the band’s driving axework.

The chorus has a “Since You’ve Been Gone’ urgency and feel about it. Largely because Sweet, Mendoza and Aldridge make a formidable, often adventurous rhythmic trio, and James’s mountain climbing vocals are up there with Graham Bonnet’s.

Above all, it is an object lesson in how to do it and get it right.

Elsewhere, the classy, balladic ‘Tears Keep Falling’ stands out, as does ‘Nothing Left For Me’ and ‘Heart Of Stone’, all demonstrating that winning focus on detail and delivery. ***

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 20 July 2026

BAD PRESS Old Hatchback (indie)
MARYLANE Seven (indie)
WOOD BURNT RED Fire Me Up (indie)
EMERGENCY RULE Hollow Gold (Wormholedeath Records)
SOME DAYS ARE DARKER Dead Romance (indie)
SWEET GORILLA Feels Like I’m Still In Love (5000 Records)

Featured Albums w/c 20 July 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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