Wetton/Downes – Icon II: Rubicon

Published Nov. 09 2006

*=Staff's pick	The Die Is Cast* Finger On The Trigger* Reflections (Of My Life) To Catch A Thief* Tears Of Joy Shannon The Hanging Tree The Glory Of Winning Whirlpool Rubicon*

Genre	Melodic Rock	John Wetton	Vocals
Tracks	10	John Wetton	Guitar
Runningtime	50 Min.	John Mitchell	Guitar
Label	Frontiers Records	John Wetton	Bass
Release	08 Nov. 2006	Steve Christey	Drums
Country	England	Geoffrey Downes	Keyboards
Similar artists	Asia

First things first; I am a huge fan of Asia’s first three albums. When my older brother introduced me to this band in the early eighties I surrendered completely to the fantastic music I heard. The self titled debut, Alpha and Astra are all true gems that forever will be listed as classics in my book. Asia has since then continued releasing albums with different line-ups but without reaching the magic that the original members created. When I first heard that John and Geoff had started working together with the Icon project somewhere in 2004 I was thrilled and my expectations launched like a rocket to the sky. When the final product arrived, entitled Icon, I was a bit disappointed. It was by no means a bad album but it didn’t reach my high expectations at all.

Now it’s time for the second album of the Icon project and this time my expectations were a bit more human so to speak. Partly because of what I thought of their first album and partly because of the news that original Asia is back again. Could they really focus on this project when we all know what lies ahead and the answer is a big yes! The album opens in a way I never ever thought was possible. The Die Is Cast and Finger On The Trigger is nothing but monsters that sounds like original Asia all over. If I say that these songs hold a quality level equal as the best songs of the Asia albums I mentioned in the beginning you might get a clue of the grandeur of the compositions. The Die Is Cast is a symphonic masterpiece with melodies all over, superb harmonies and it was a long time since I heard John Wetton sing as good as he does on this one. Finger On The Trigger continues in the same vein, up tempo and strong melodies reminiscent of the debut album. After these instant classics the quality level drops a bit, mostly due to the fact the rest of the compositions are mellow and the number of ballads is way too much. If you look beyond this detail you will find a bunch of great and beautiful songs arranged and performed in the best of ways. To Catch A Thief for instance is a beautiful ballad with symphonic touches and this is one of two songs that includes Anneke van Giersbergen from The Gathering on vocals. The inclusion of Anneke is a brilliant move because her vocal range pushes the already great composition into majestic proportions. Apart from a couple of indifferent tunes in the middle section the quality level is held on a high level to the very end, and Rubicon that finishes the album is also a majestic piece that leaves you breathless.

It’s not easy to leave a fair judgement to this release. If they would have included two or three songs that were a bit more fast paced the flow of the album would had been much better. I can’t criticise on the song writing or performance because it is top notch all over but the amount of ballads decreases my final judgement a bit. But every single one of you out there who like me loves the original Asia will love this as well. And I’m still in awe of the first two songs, who would have thought…?

Production	Vocals	Compositions
7,5	8	7,5

Summary
7,5 chalices of 10 - Hawk