Icon is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Paradise Lost, released 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 | ||||
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Studio album by Paradise Lost | ||||
Released | 28 September 1993 | |||
Recorded | June–July 1993 | |||
Studio | Jacobs Studios, Surrey, England, and Townhouse Studios | |||
Genre |
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Length | 50:32 | |||
Label | Music for Nations | |||
Producer | Simon Efemey | |||
Paradise Lost chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Storm | (9.8/10)[2] |
Rock Hard | (10/10)[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 subgenre.[4]
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]
All songs written by Nick Holmes and Gregor Mackintosh.
No. | Title | Length |
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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" (instrumental) | 1:58 |
Total length: | 50:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "Sweetness" | 5:34 |
15. | "Your Hand in Mine" | 6:40 |
Total length: | 62:46 |
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
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Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] | 80 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] | 31 |
Paradise Lost | |
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Studio albums | |
Extended plays | |
Compilations/Live | |
Related articles |
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