Red Bee - Ictus

 

Red Bee are a Sydney three piece.  The guitarist and bassist are brothers, much like Mark of Cain but the similarity ends there.  Without going into ridiculous labels like Mathcore, etc, let’s just say they are very technical with melodic vocals, and there are no slouches in this group.  We are talking blistering guitar and bass with precision drum work. 

 

Opening with Road Kill, the stop start timings work well to create a very tense feel with unpredictable changes.  Dark Daze starts with machine gun guitar and drums; there’s no room for error on this stuff.  10-4 is more of a power metal groove.  Through to you is my fave and it just smoulders away, never quite releasing the pressure but maintaining the intensity.  Poetic Equation is the dark horse; it’s just a little different, as it slinks along, but still very, very good.  The various bio's I have seen on them claim comparisons to Mr Bungle and Dillinger Escape plan.  I can hear a bit of the Dillinger thing, but those incisive riffs with the softer vocals create a quite different and I believe a more accessible sound.  I guess if you like those bands you will probably like this, but then again, I have not met anyone yet who does not like these guys.

 

Odd time signatures abound and when they are playing the POW in November 13, I am definitely going to be there to see how the hell they pull this off live.

 

They have also just supported US band Flyleaf.  And as a bonus, they have a free track on soundcloud at least at the moment, so you should download it while you can  https://soundcloud.com/red-bee/confess-conform-collapse

 

Australia does not do a lot of this sort of thing, and when it's done so well, it's worth paying attention.  I hope they reach the much wider audience they deserve.

 

-- Toole