Icon

There are some albums that just have "classic" written all over them. For some, Paradise Lost's Gothic is one such album: an innovative, unsettling exploration into dark doom territories. For others, Draconian Times is PL's magnum opus: a towering, morbidly hit-heavy platter. For me, Icon is the album with that extra something that makes it bigger and bad-asser (not a real word - the true influence of great music) than the others. The opening rumble of violin on 'Embers Fire' and those massive, cocky one-chord riffs that Gregor Mackintosh pulls off in both verse and chorus are both signs of a band high on confidence and creativity, not to mention the traditionally shredding solo that gets the tone just close enough to face-melting to turn the slower tempos into something exciting.

There are 13 songs on Icon. Did you notice that? That seems like a lot, but the bad ones are...on other albums. The band rectified the slight error of Shades of God, where songs tended to meander and drag, by cutting all the fat out of the writing and leaving an average length of barely 4 minutes, even if one excuses the clear presence of an outro track. Every song has a fresh idea and, for a band who play predominantly at mid-pace or slower, everything feels up-tempo and energetic, aside from a few cast-iron doom parts, such as the incredibly oppressive yet melodic signature riff on 'Joys of the Emptiness'. The balance is absolutely superb and makes the album feel effortlessly light: there are little orchestral parts, big riffs, memorable vocals, belting choruses, inventive melodies, and a sense of band unity that takes everything to another level.

The "hits" on Icon were ostensibly 'Embers Fire' and 'True Belief', but the band didn't release singles in the way that they would over the following few years. 'True Belief' is an odd one, since it became PL's anthem in a sense, though it has neither stomping riffs (in the way that some of the material at this time was compared to Metallica's self-titled) or a huge chorus, instead flowing by in a shimmer of feedback and elegant timing, especially the guitar solo at the end that just lifts itself out of the chorus riff and rises to elegant heights. Any of these songs could have been picked as a single though, such is the great depth and catchiness of the set. Of the less obvious cuts, I particularly enjoy 'Widow' with its impossibly simple yet effective rising scales in the chorus, 'Poison', which does everything the band tried to do on the epics of Shades of God but in 3 minutes, while 'Christendom' is perhaps the first clear sign of where the gothic metal genre was headed, with its mixture of clean chords, male/female vocals, and a distinct religious preoccupation.

Star of this show is far and away Gregor Mackintosh. If an album has ever been so completely shaped by the manoeuvres of its lead guitarist, I think I've yet to hear it. He soars and shreds over his more stable bandmates, giving each song so much detail and intricacy that there is always a little more to extract on each listening experience. There's also the fact that he plays melody like no one else: plus, because some of his ideas on Icon are so simple, they sound completely extraordinary as well as instantly catchy or haunting. Nick Holmes is not as front and centre as he would become, but his subtlety (he also refuses to give in to the obvious or clichéd) is his appeal and his minimalist lyrics are singularly memorable. The rhythm players have some interesting parts to play as well, such as the breakdown in 'Poison', though the bass is rarely distinct in the mix. The guitar riffs have a great tone and alternate between chugs that are reminiscent of '90s Metallica - though I prefer the guitar tone here - and more crushing, doomier trips, best experienced by listening to the mix of styles on 'Shallow Seasons'. Production is the best PL had had up to this point and emphasises the strengths of the band very well, but does sound like a product of its time.

There are very few albums that satisfy from top to tail for 50 minutes, and Icon is still streets ahead of most of the softer gothic metal bands that it influenced, both in skill and ability to captivate. Weirdly neglected owing to the more commercially successful Draconian Times, Icon is the sound of a band with the wind in their sails, going wherever their imagination takes them.