JOEL HOEKSTRA On ICONIC's Upcoming Debut Album - "Everyone Had Input, No One Steered The Ship"; Video

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the signing of an absolutely monstrous new hard rock group, Iconic. Featuring Michael Sweet (guitars), Joel Hoekstra (guitars), Marco Mendoza (bass), Tommy Aldridge (drums), and Nathan James (vocals), Iconic is primed to set the hard rock world on fire with the release of their debut album, Second Skin, on June 17.

Sonic Perspectives correspondent, Robert Cavuoto, interviewed Joel Hoekstra about the formation of Iconic, the creation of the songs for Second Skin, the notion of a possible Iconic tour, and the status of the Whitesnake farewell tour. Check out their conversation below:

Pre-order/save Second Skin on CD/LP/Digital here.

"This was a very refreshing and unique experience. Musically, very different from Stryper, which is of course very different from all the other projects I am involved with. This is more of a throwback to the past and it felt good to do that. It reminded me of how great the music of the past really is," says Michael Sweet. "Once the songs were arranged, I booked a studio and recorded my guitar parts, which is always the funnest part for me. I’m not sure why, but I guess because I’m a guitar player first and foremost and it’s just one of the most creative and fun parts of the process for me. To be able to get the right tone and play the right parts and hear it all come together....it’s very rewarding," he adds.

"The riffs were all very comfortable to me because I wrote most of them.