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Sometimes in order to live, first, we must die. Truly reckoning with the past may require erasing the person the world knew. When broken, vulnerable, confused, and alone, the only way out is through. Alex Varkatzas found himself at such a crossroads when his tenure as vocalist for Atreyu, the band he fronted for over two decades, ended abruptly. DEAD ICARUS sounds both fresh and familiar for the legions of metalheads who revere the unapologetic aggression of Pantera or the dynamic metalcore of Killswitch Engage. “I have an artist’s brain. I have to create compulsively,” Varkatzas says. “Whether it’s painting, building guitars, or making music, I have to get the things inside of me out there. I thought I would be done when everything stopped with my old band. But I realized I still have a lot of things to say.” A staple of Ozzfest in the mid-2000s with two gold albums, Atreyu is one of the defining bands of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, alongside groups like Avenged Sevenfold and Lamb Of God. Alex’s distinctive scream powers metalcore classics like The Curse and A Death-Grip on Yesterday. “I believe in blessings in disguise. Sometimes you have to go through something; you need to be alone,” Alex offers. “It reignited my artistic spark. I only want to make things that are true to who I am. I have to make the music that I want to make. And that is what DEAD ICARUS is all about.”