Ice Vinland | en

Ice Vinland

In June 1997 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the band Ice Vinland was born, consisting of Damien Leif (vocals/keyboards), Richie Blacksmith (guitar), Mark Erickson (guitar), Chris Lang (drums) and Jon Ian Adams (bass). Although they claim to be influenced by the Progressive Metal movement (they call "The New Power Age") and often classified as "Power Metal", their sound is more like the traditional NWOBHM movement with influences of Saxon and Iron Maiden faring prominently. Their originality comes mainly from their vanguardian lyrics, guitar synthesizer, atmospheric keyboards, the guitar rhythms and versatile vocals. At times, Damian Leif's vocals just soar, bringing to mind Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest's Rob Halford.

Contemporary stories about history dominated their music; which was made very clear with their 1998 debut, Masters Of The Sea. The saga, the band's name and concept, was based on the arrival of the Vikings to North America. The band's arrival on the music scene was a timely one (most likely planned) for, if historians got their sums right, it was 1,000 years earlier when Leif Erickson, the Viking explorer, arrived on the shores of what is now the island province of Newfoundland, the eastern most territory of Canada (and North America), to create a settlement known today as I'Anse aux Meadows, and explored what is now the eastern coast of Canada and the St. Lawrence Valley. (Europeans landed on the shores of North America some 500 years before the famed Columbus). They dubbed the region "Vinland". The settlement didn't survive, the local Native population saw to that, but their place in history was written. The band pays tribute to this event as well as selected other events from their local history, such as the orphaned children of the Duplessis era, fears of the approaching new millenium, etc. They also feature a remake of Queensryche's Take Hold Of The Flame. It was a great concept, but the album's production fell short of expectations for the new millenium, lack of press coverage and the '80s feel of the release seemed a bit dated. After the release, Sven Raudi (drums) replaced Lang on drums, while Hodr departed making room for Loiss Darkstrom on guitars.


Discography:
Masters of the Sea 1998 Full-length
Vinland Saga 2007 Full-length
Masters of the Sea 2011 Full-length Vinyl re-issue with new artwork
Only 330 are being pressed. .