False Icons released their debut CD,
God Complex, on
November 11th, 2009 on
13th Planet Records. The band features industrial rock veteran
John Bechdel on vocals, guitar and keyboards;
Brian Broadt ..boards, vocals and guitars;
Mark Panek on drums; and
Dave Brown on bass. Mixed and produced by
Ministry’s Al Jourgensen God Complex combines elegantly layered keyboards, heavy guitars, deep bass, sophisticated atmospheric touches and John’s unique vocal style.
Dark and powerful, God Complex is an inspirational journey of imagery and emotion that is sure to capture the attention of fans of powerful, extreme music the world over. Each track on God Complex creates its own separate world - a synthetic landscape of sounds, rhythms and dark, airy melodies. Bechdel’s descriptive lyrics and unique vocal style deliver an intriguing series of futuristic visions, life’s journeys and mysteries. His eloquent guitar lines swirl through Broadt’s hard-charging electronic beats and occasional heroic vocal rants, carving their way through plethoras of synthesizers. God Complex is a dense, layered and kaleidoscopic collection of songs created by a quartet of adept musicians and more importantly, music fans with an unbridled zeal and enthusiasm for creating adventurous music.
John Bechdel is one of the great behind-the-scenes figures on the international industrial rock scene. Though his name might not be immediately recognizeable to your average rock fan, a short perusal of his resume shows he is one of the great unsung heroes of the genre. From playing organ in the family funeral home as a young man to unleashing sonic keyboard assaults for 50,000 sweaty European festival goers, Bechdel is no stranger to musical performance. Bechdel has recorded and toured the world for over twenty years with an impressive array of seminal artists including Ministry, Fear Factory, Prong, Killing Joke, Murder Inc. and Ascension of The Watchers. Through it all however, he always had a vision of leading his own band and this dream was fulfilled when he and Brian Broadt formed False Icons in 2002.
The roots of False Icons were planted in Central Pennsylvania in the late ‘90’s. Bechdel had been composing his own music throughout his career as a supporting musician and was looking for the right people to bring his artistic vision to life. He moved from the city to a rural-but-progressive area nestled in central Pennsylvania and met Broadt, a songwriter, guitar player and vocalist with the regionally prominent indie rock band Deckard. Broadt was also an adept computer technician able to apply his tech skills to create richly textured electronically-rooted compositions. This pair realized they had similar musical styles and visions, and began composing music which wove together electronica and industrial rock, resulting in the sound that would define False Icons.
Having already established his impressive credentials as a keyboardist and sound programmer, Bechdel stepped out from behind his keyboard to showcase his vocal and guitar work in the new unit, and his songwriting skills matured and really came into their own. With their conceptualization of the False Icons aesthetic crystallized, Bechdel and Broadt began building the perfect live band to perform this music and make their sound still darker and heavier. False Icons’ first recruit was Mark Panek, a professional touring drummer conversant with a full-range of musical styles after 20 years of roadwork who joined their ranks in 2004. From the very first time they played together it was apparent that Panek was perfect for the False Icons’ sound and shared John and Brian's musical vision. Mark’s solid, polished rhythms and tribal tom work proved the perfect complement for FI’s electronics-driven rhythms. In 2006, they completed the group’s line-up with Blues/funk bassist Dave Brown. Panek and Brown’s contributions took False Icons’ music to a whole new level, fully fleshing out the band’s live presentation.
In their live performances complemented by interactive real-time computer-generated visuals, False Icons offers a sensual and visceral sonic and visual experience, incorporating tribal tom rhythms, rock and dance beats, fast electro-pulsating sequencers, samples, loops, deep bass grooves and early punk/metal influenced guitar creating a dynamic full-spectrum tapestry of sound.
In addition to putting the finishing touches to God Complex this past year Bechdel brought his musical expertise to Numinosum, the full-length debut of Burton C. Bell’s Ascension of The Watchers, and was touring keyboardist for Ministry’s phenomenal 2008 “CuLaTour.”
