Thursday, May 17: Icecross, “Scared”
“Scared” doesn’t sound much like metal now, and it didn’t really sound like what was understood as heavy metal when it was originally released either. But Icecross was still vital to the development of the genre on many levels, not the least being that the Icelandic band was among the first in the continent to play a bit louder and looser, and in much the same way that Budgie mixed early metal with pure oddness. Axel Einarsson wasn’t trying to wail like Ozzy or Robert Plant, but his singing still aligned with the eccentricities of a Burke Shelley or Eric Bloom. And in a way, the jazzy fits and ludicrous drumming on “Scared” paved the way for some of the more esoteric acts that would emerge under the auspices of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, most notably Legend. The tune was more heavy than metal, but even though Sabbath, Zeppelin and Purple had already released several landmark albums between them, metal wasn’t really a thing in 1973, and so Icecross was at the vanguard.
