Icarus Witch Pulling Double Duty with Paul DiAnno

It was a long time coming, but Icarus Witch finally set out on what can only be described as a dream tour. The Pennsylvania classic metal band has the opening slot on former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno's first U.S. tour in almost two decades. But better still, Icarus Witch are pulling double duty as DiAnno's backing band, too.

"It's an honor every night. He's one of the creators of the genre that inspired us to do what we do 30 years later. We don't take that lightly," bassist Jason Myers tells Noisecreep. "Every night we give 100 percent as Icarus Witch, then we have the unique opportunity to be back on half an hour later and play as Paul's backing band. It's a pretty crazy tour."

The tour, which began Jan. 25 and continues through Feb. 28, was first offered to the band two years ago. However, visa problems delayed the U.K.-based Di'Anno's arrival time and time again. "There were some legal snafus that prevented him getting in. It kept getting delayed and delayed. Then, finally, we were supposed to do some dates last year, and right at the last minute his visa did get cleared, but it was too late for him to get here at that point. Long story short, he got cleared and got into the country, and we're making the most of it now."

The timing is perfect, too; Icarus Witch released their third album, 'Draw Down the Moon,' on Feb. 9. "When we were first approached to do it, we were pretty flabbergasted," he continues. "We said yes immediately. Then the reality set in, and we thought, 'Can we do this? How do we do this?' We just figured it out as we went along. It's a challenging and unique situation. One that I'm really glad that we took the initiative to undergo."