Icon (Paradise Lost album)
Icon is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Paradise Lost in 1993. It marked a departure from the death-doom sound of their early work, and was the last album to feature Matthew Archer on drums.
| Icon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 September 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Jacobs Studios, Surrey and Townhouse Studios in June–July 1993 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:32 | |||
| Label | Music for Nations | |||
| Producer | Simon Efemey | |||
| Paradise Lost chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Sputnikmusic |  |
| Allmusic |  |
| Metal Storm | (9.8/10)[3] |
In February 2018, Icon was inducted into the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame, becoming the second Paradise Lost album to be featured in the Decibel Hall of Fame (alongside Gothic), with the magazine naming it influential to the development of the gothic metal sub-genre.[4]
Style
In 2008, speaking to Kerrang! about the album's music, Nick Holmes remembered:
We were pretty much the first band to coin the phrase 'gothic metal' so I don't have a problem with that label. We've actually done gothier albums than Icon, but if people want to say that it sums up something that's fine with me. At the time there was also black metal, thrash metal and everyone wanted to describe what type of something was so we went 'Okay, we've got The Sisters of Mercy elements in our music, let's call it goth metal'. We were getting better as musicians as well and I was hopefully getting better as a vocalist. When that happens you want to fine-tune what you're doing. It's also about not wanting to get stuck or pigeonholed into one particular musical place. We've kept the whole gothic thing going right throughout our career, but we did want to do something a little different. With the vocals, a lot of it was kind of shouting in key as opposed to just shouting, it's okay singing like Beelzebub, but your voice can get into trouble if you have a big tour.[5]
Track listing
All songs written by Nick Holmes and Gregor Mackintosh.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Embers Fire" | 4:44 |
| 2. | "Remembrance" | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Forging Sympathy" | 4:44 |
| 4. | "Joys of the Emptiness" | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Dying Freedom" | 3:44 |
| 6. | "Widow" | 3:04 |
| 7. | "Colossal Rains" | 4:36 |
| 8. | "Weeping Words" | 3:51 |
| 9. | "Poison" | 3:00 |
| 10. | "True Belief" | 4:30 |
| 11. | "Shallow Seasons" | 4:55 |
| 12. | "Christendom" | 4:31 |
| 13. | "Deus Misereatur" | 1:58 |
| 14. | "Sweetness" (2007 re-release bonus track) | 5:34 |
| 15. | "Your Hand in Mine" (live, 2007 re-release bonus track) | 6:40 |
| Total length: | 62:46 | |
Personnel
- Nick Holmes - vocals
- Matthew Archer - drums
- Stephen Edmondson - bass
- Aaron Aedy - guitars
- Gregor Mackintosh - guitars
Guest musicians
- Denise Bernard - female vocals
- Andrew Holdsworth - keyboards
Production
- Matt Anker - photography
- Geoff Pesche - mastering
- Pete Coleman - mixing
- Simon Efemey - producer mixing
Charts
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] | 80 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] | 31 |
References
- --->Icon review Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2012-04-29.
- Anderson, Christopher. Paradise Lost - Icon at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- Deadmeat --->Icon review. Metal Storm Retrieved on 2012-04-29.
- Dick, Chris. "Paradise Lost - "Icon"". Decibel. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- Paul Travers, Kerrang! #1225, August 30, 2008. Treasure Chest. An Intimate Portrait of a Life in Rock. Nick Holmes. P. 54
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Paradise Lost – Icon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
- "Officialcharts.de – Paradise Lost – Icon". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 26, 2014.