iCE KiNG
Belgium's Bravest Bard
iCE KiNG is the musical solo project of Bas Verdin, in the sense that all music is composed, performed, produced and managed by himself. Bas Verdin was born in the Belgian town of Leuven on October the 28th of the year 1980, but suffers remarkably little determination by either that time or place on the artistic level. Instruments are mainly electric six string guitar in B, combined with natural high range vocals. Although the style is often being related to metal music, distorted guitar and unclean vocals are absent most of the time (not that those features are strictly necessary for the genre - contrary to popular belief) and after all it's a one-man band and a unique band. Undoubtedly, the music is highly epic, powerful, intense and edgy. The main sources of inspiration come from pre-20th century history and celtic culture, apart from iCE KiNG's home-made mead of course. The lyrics are mostly transcriptions of poems from the Romantic era in Scotland and its surroundings.
Bas Verdin had played in a variety of crossover and metal bands (Fuzzball, Excess Of Cruelty, Keltgar, Re:Creation, Pilotfish) quite renowned in the national underground, until he started to focus on his very personal musical adventure - or should we say statement. He first called it "iCE KiNG" in the late 2003, on the occasion of a show he was to give on the local university festival on behalf of the faculty he was studying at. The response to this was grand, and dozens and dozens of other concerts and press appearances followed in the years to come. So he did pass master courses in philosophy and political sciences in between, but never took any music classes after he was expelled from the music academy only at the age of 9 due to insubordinate - say artistic - behaviour.
In 2006, iCE KiNG released his first album KINGDOM OF FIFE. By doing so, his awakening reputation of an uncompromising and industrious musician guided by his vision of beauty and transcendence alone, came to anchor. Also, it made it easier to reach the particular cross-border audience that he saught. And that is how things went, 'cause in 2007 he had a slot across the North Sea on the Metieval Festival in East Riding of Yorkshire (UK). Knowing that "metieval" is a contraction of "medieval" and "metal" and knowing that the culture of bards is far more developed over there than in Belgium, it shouldn't surprise that the audience was the most promising he had witnessed so far. The performance must have been convincing too, since he was taken for a Scotsman by many an Englishman.
In 2008, the "iCE KiNGDOM" was born: a practise room by and for iCE KiNG (and for other bands in the area). Here he found more space and time to elaborate his ideas as it fits them best: in "splendid isolation". This resulted in the next studio album SECOND SAILING, released by the end of the very same year. The sound had become even more melodic, rhythmically diverse and technically challenging. The atmosphere had become even less familiar, taking the listener to places where no one that we know of has actually been before. With this album in his pocket, he was in for another series of shows in 2009. In his homeland, where the name of iCE KiNG was by now far better known than that the popular circuit was ready for it, but also in the United Kingdom again, where a loyal and extended fan clan was met ...second sailing indeed.
In 2010, the song WOWAYN from SECOND SAILING made it to the Celtic Dreams compilation by Quickstar Productions in the USA. Thus both iCE KiNG and the old epic of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight were introduced to the "New World". Also by this time, iCE KiNG had another full-length record ready in his head. The whole process of materialising would last till the end of 2011 though. Not only beacause the production itself was to become yet another leap forward, but mainly because he had little time as a commencing manager of his own record store (by the name of Metalzone Antwerp) - as with iCE KiNG: a tough business, but at least an authentic and an interesting one (both being scarce enough nowadays).
In 2012, there it is: the long awaited third album EPIC CENTRE. In iCE KiNG's own words: "I'm not sure whether life has any meaning, but I don't mind as this surely sounds like one to me". To be continued...
http://www.youtube.com/belgiumsbravestbard
http://www.myspace.com/belgiumsbravestbard
http://www.facebook.com/basverdin
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iCE-KiNG/159179234118429
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iCE-KiNGDOM/185145241505117