What does "Icon" sound like? I have seen them mentioned on this board and other places for years and I'm curious now. What's their best effort? http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6485#msg-6485Fri, 24 May 2013 21:02:42 +1000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6599#msg-6599 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6599#msg-6599 capt.solo NoticeboardMon, 02 Oct 2000 02:07:09 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6584#msg-6584 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6584#msg-6584 Kilzer NoticeboardSun, 01 Oct 2000 18:01:35 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6580#msg-6580 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6580#msg-6580
This band gets asked about so often that about a year or so ago, I actually saved my answer to someone's question regarding their sound. I figured it'd save me from re-writing the same post every 4-6 months, LOL! Anyways, below is the post that I came up with in regards to Icon and their sound...


Wow! These guys get mentioned quite often on
this board. Here's my typical reply:

I have the first two albums (self-titled and
"Night of the Crime"). Stephen Clifford does
lead vocals on both of these albums. The
first album is a great hard rock album in the
vein of stuff like Crue, W.A.S.P., Tesla, etc.
That's not to say that it necessarily sounds like
any of these bands, but in terms of heaviness
and having a singer with a raspy voice, etc.,
that's kind of where I would place it/them (and
I've seen others make similar comparisons). I
would have to say, though, that IMO, they have
a lot of class compared to a lot of the higher
profile bands from that realm (Motley Crue, for
example). When I first got the album, I was quite
happy and it's done nothing but grow on me in the
15 years since. In my mind, it's actually quite a
classy piece of hard rock history (like King
Kobra's "Ready to Strike").

Initially, I was less impressed with "Night of the
Crime." Looking back, I now know why. See, it's
sound/direction was quite different from the debut,
and it simply wasn't what I was expecting. I also
realize now that I never gave it a fair shake. There
are people who post on this board (and the other one
as well) who consider it to be pretty spectacular. At
this point in time, I think I'd pretty much have to agree.
But it's far more AOR than the debut. Again, I'm not
saying that it necessarily sounds like these bands,
but in terms of its overall sound and in terms of
heaviness, etc., I'd lump it in with albums by
bands such as Europe, House of Lords, McAuley
Schenker Group, etc. Stephen Clifford seemed to
have really grown as a singer between Icon's
debut and this release: particularly in
terms of being able to tone down the raspiness
which was almost his signature on the debut.
Keyboards were also a lot more prevalent in the
songs on this album. In a nutshell, this stuff
that should have gotten TONS of airplay!!! And
this album should have made Icon HUGE.

So, all in all, I'd have to say that both of these
albums are extremely worthwhile, depending, of course,
on what your musical taste is. They are both
available for reasonable prices from Impulse music
(around $16.99-$18.99, I believe). I'm not sure,
someone else might be able to steer you toward an
even better price. Hope this helps.
Don
]]> Don NoticeboardSun, 01 Oct 2000 16:26:56 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6492#msg-6492 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6492#msg-6492Track down at ALL costs!]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardSat, 30 Sep 2000 08:30:35 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6488#msg-6488 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6488#msg-6488
Gav]]> Gav NoticeboardSat, 30 Sep 2000 07:12:28 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6485#msg-6485 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6485,6485#msg-6485

]]> Kilzer NoticeboardSat, 30 Sep 2000 06:34:32 +1100