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Icon > Right Between the Eyes > Reviews > thrashtildeath22
Icon - Right Between the Eyes

Not Bad for what it Is - 65%

thrashtildeath22, July 27th, 2009

Icon is your run of the mill American 80s metal band: they permed their hair, put out a handful of albums during that decade, and fizzled out before the 90s could kill them. And although they seem to be a long-forgotten band among the horde of throwaway 80s acts, they were surprisingly good at what they did.

Their style is straight-forward 80s heavy metal, bordering on glam at times, but more ballsy and tolerable than the likes of Poiston, Warrant, etc. They've got a heavier guitar tone, they're vocalist hits some impressive, metallic high notes, and they never slow down for a ballad. Granted, you've got some keyboards here and there, and songs about love and raunchy sex, with the emphasis placed on the anthemic choruses, but it actually manages to work quite well. Icon were obviously shooting for radio hits -- some of this stuff is really fuckin catchy, and you've got all the clean sound and overproduction -- but it's still cool in a way and manages to maintain some genuine metal appeal. They didn't pussy out completely.

But all in all, this is an 80s metal record, no more, and no less. It's not bad, but it doesn't really stand out from the pack that much, which explains why these guys disappeared 20 years ago and were never heard from again. I'd say that if you're a fan of the gutsier 80s metal bands such as Loudness and Dokken, you could probably rock out to this. It won't blow you away, but if you find this for cheap, it won't kill ya to pick it up.

Trivia: Long-time metal radio host, journalist, etc. Ed Trunk produced this record.

Standout Tracks: Two for the Road and Far Cry are pretty good.