Sons of Icarus

Sons of Icarus

Sons of Icarus are a UK hard rock band from Brackley, Northamptonshire, later based in Guildford. The group forms as a four-piece and develops from an earlier trio called The Fury.

Formation and line-up

Vocalist Andy Masson and his bassist brother Alex meet drummer Mike “Quilly” Mcquillan at school in Brackley, where the three begin playing together and rehearse in a friend’s garage. They play covers of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith before moving to Guildford and studying at the Academy of Contemporary Music. There they meet guitarist Steve Balkwill and recruit him into the band.

Style

The band starts with a classic rock and blues focus, then folds in Balkwill’s stoner rock influences, shaped by listening to Kyuss and Orange Goblin. Their sound is described as straight-ahead hard rock with a heavy, riff-driven approach.

Career highlights

Sons of Icarus win Marshall Amplifiers’ Ultimate Band Contest in December 2010, beating hundreds of other groups. The win brings major management representation and opening slots at Download and Sonisphere in 2011. They also play support dates around London with Vintage Trouble, Black Spiders, Rival Sons, Hayseed Dixie, The Answer and Orange Goblin.

Recorded work

The band records a debut four-track EP titled You Want It All. It follows the group’s early development and marks their first release as Sons of Icarus.