Exclusive Q&A: Icarus Lives (Melodic Metal, Perth)

Bassist Chris Ayling rates his top five albums:

Doing these types of lists are always daunting to me. As a person who loves music it is always hard to rank any of my albums in some form of order. These 5 are ones I’ve been going back to for over the last decade.

Behemoth – Demigod.
This was my introduction to Behemoth many years ago and it is still one of the most played records in my house. This album has so much energy and aggression that I was hooked from the first time. This album to me was just perfect to me. The lyrics, instrumental work and awesome guest solo from Karl from Nile are just amazing.

Avantasia – The Scarecrow.
This album is by far one of the greatest albums I know when it comes to storytelling. The music has so much drive and passion which kept me wanting more and more from them. Hearing the combination of Tobias Sammet and his entourage of other vocalists throughout the album. The back and forth in the title track still gives me a shiver down my spine. Plus, hearing Alice Cooper lend his voice to one of the songs just made it so much more exciting.

Trivium – In Waves.
Trivium is a band I have been listening too since my high school days. This album stood out for me from their catalogue. It had slightly different elements compared to their previous work which I found to be very appealing. The mixture of Matts clean and aggressive vocals on these songs and the guitar melodies through this album are just amazing.

Amorphis – Queen of Time.
I stumbled on this by completely by accident. I had gone on a YouTube spiral with new music and The Bee came on. The song had me hooked in the first 10 seconds. The rise in volume and clean intro followed by long drawn-out growl and catchy riffs were just amazing. I had to go out and get the album the same day. I love that this band puts so much folklore and history into every album.

Lacuna Coil – Broken Crown Halo.
I first heard Lacuna Coil 10 years prior to this album with Heaven’s a Lie on a late-night episode of Rage. I love the mixture of vocals between Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro through out the album. The album is full of dark themes and hooks that just kept bringing me back for more. The use of synth through the album adds so much atmosphere to the music that it fills in the empty spaces.