Biography
Echoing the ferocious rock & roll spirit sparked by Black Flag and the Stooges, the Icarus Line delivered a piercing jolt to the West Coast underground toward the end of the 1990s. Formed in Los Angeles after several aggressive punk outfits dissolved, the initial lineup of vocalist Joe Cardamone, bassist Lance Arnao, and guitarists Alvin DeGuzman and Aaron North cycled through multiple drummers until Jeff Watson joined roughly twelve months later. Always appearing in their trademark attire of black shirts, black pants, and slim red ties, the group adopted the self-applied tag Red and Black Attack to capture the violent chaos that routinely concluded their concerts.
Stylistically aligned with the Murder City Devils and At the Drive-In, the Icarus Line reached a wider national audience while still in their teens by supporting the goth underground legends Ink & Dagger on tour. Steady West Coast road work combined with early singles issued on the Los Angeles street-punk imprint Hellcat and the fledgling Buddyhead label fueled mounting excitement, their frenzied stage presence and controversial image amplifying the growing national attention. Following the New American Dream EP, California’s Crank! Records took interest; although the label had previously championed ’90s emo acts such as Mineral and Boys Life, it nevertheless backed the Icarus Line’s debut album Mono despite the stylistic mismatch and scheduled the release for spring 2001.
Originally slated to be produced and engineered by indie heavyweight Mark Trombino, the sessions stalled amid creative clashes, prompting Trombino’s departure midway through; Alex Newport, whose résumé included At the Drive-In, Knapsack, Godheadsilo, and Sepultura, stepped in to finish the record. Issued in May 2001, Mono was promoted through exhaustive touring that further cemented the band’s reputation, most notably at South by Southwest in Austin in 2002, where guitarist North shattered a display case to “liberate” Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar. Persistent distribution shortcomings with the album soon became problematic, leading Buddyhead to step forward.
Although primarily recognized for its online music-gossip hub and caustic pranks, Buddyhead also operated as a label and reissued Mono in April 2003, expanding both critical notice and listenership. The band subsequently signed with V2 and commenced work on its follow-up. When Penance Soiree arrived in May 2004, the rhythm section had been reshaped: former Ink & Dagger bassist Don Devore had supplanted Arnao, while Jeff Watson, after a brief absence, rejoined the lineup. Shortly afterward, guitarist Aaron North departed to join Nine Inch Nails, and the remaining members withdrew from public view.
In 2007 the Icarus Line resurfaced to perform select dates supporting the Jesus and Mary Chain and simultaneously issued Black Lives at the Golden Coast. The album’s sessions, conducted largely at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, found DeGuzman handling bass duties and Devore on guitar until Devore exited just before the record’s release. By the time Wildlife appeared in 2011, founding vocalist Cardamone had assumed primary responsibility for production, engineering, and mixing, yielding a raw, unrefined sound. A worldwide tour in 2012 brought Arnao back into the fold and introduced Londoner Ben Hallett in place of Watson; this revised rhythm section appeared on that year’s Live in London and remained intact for 2013’s Slave Vows and its 2014 companion EP Avowed Slavery.
The sprawling, heavily fuzzed eighth album All Things Under Heaven surfaced in 2015, evoking the Doors, Velvet Underground, and the Stooges. That same year DeGuzman received a diagnosis of a rare and aggressive bone cancer. After the Icarus Line, performing without DeGuzman, opened several shows for Scott Weiland on the tour during which Weiland died, a shaken Cardamone dissolved the group and launched a solo career in 2016. DeGuzman passed away on October 4, 2017, at age 38.
Stylistically aligned with the Murder City Devils and At the Drive-In, the Icarus Line reached a wider national audience while still in their teens by supporting the goth underground legends Ink & Dagger on tour. Steady West Coast road work combined with early singles issued on the Los Angeles street-punk imprint Hellcat and the fledgling Buddyhead label fueled mounting excitement, their frenzied stage presence and controversial image amplifying the growing national attention. Following the New American Dream EP, California’s Crank! Records took interest; although the label had previously championed ’90s emo acts such as Mineral and Boys Life, it nevertheless backed the Icarus Line’s debut album Mono despite the stylistic mismatch and scheduled the release for spring 2001.
Originally slated to be produced and engineered by indie heavyweight Mark Trombino, the sessions stalled amid creative clashes, prompting Trombino’s departure midway through; Alex Newport, whose résumé included At the Drive-In, Knapsack, Godheadsilo, and Sepultura, stepped in to finish the record. Issued in May 2001, Mono was promoted through exhaustive touring that further cemented the band’s reputation, most notably at South by Southwest in Austin in 2002, where guitarist North shattered a display case to “liberate” Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar. Persistent distribution shortcomings with the album soon became problematic, leading Buddyhead to step forward.
Although primarily recognized for its online music-gossip hub and caustic pranks, Buddyhead also operated as a label and reissued Mono in April 2003, expanding both critical notice and listenership. The band subsequently signed with V2 and commenced work on its follow-up. When Penance Soiree arrived in May 2004, the rhythm section had been reshaped: former Ink & Dagger bassist Don Devore had supplanted Arnao, while Jeff Watson, after a brief absence, rejoined the lineup. Shortly afterward, guitarist Aaron North departed to join Nine Inch Nails, and the remaining members withdrew from public view.
In 2007 the Icarus Line resurfaced to perform select dates supporting the Jesus and Mary Chain and simultaneously issued Black Lives at the Golden Coast. The album’s sessions, conducted largely at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, found DeGuzman handling bass duties and Devore on guitar until Devore exited just before the record’s release. By the time Wildlife appeared in 2011, founding vocalist Cardamone had assumed primary responsibility for production, engineering, and mixing, yielding a raw, unrefined sound. A worldwide tour in 2012 brought Arnao back into the fold and introduced Londoner Ben Hallett in place of Watson; this revised rhythm section appeared on that year’s Live in London and remained intact for 2013’s Slave Vows and its 2014 companion EP Avowed Slavery.
The sprawling, heavily fuzzed eighth album All Things Under Heaven surfaced in 2015, evoking the Doors, Velvet Underground, and the Stooges. That same year DeGuzman received a diagnosis of a rare and aggressive bone cancer. After the Icarus Line, performing without DeGuzman, opened several shows for Scott Weiland on the tour during which Weiland died, a shaken Cardamone dissolved the group and launched a solo career in 2016. DeGuzman passed away on October 4, 2017, at age 38.
Albums
