ICON OF COIL – Serenity is the devil  

A great deal of attention has been circulating around this Norwegian band, particularly since Metropolis' licensing of their this, their debut release. A solid club-oriented 10 tracks make good on the promises given by their earlier EP's, Shallow Nation and One Nation Under Beat; hard-hitting and energetic beats, racing synthlines, epic sound layers and extremely refined and graceful vocals singing songs with ultra-addictive choruses. Icon Of Coil are making dead certain their songs won't leave your head for days, as the closing track Floorkiller perfectly illustrates with the "Now I'm hunting the Demon" chorus lyric. Every track on Serenity is ideal club material; Regret spins around on an XMTP-styled synthline and Covenant-like song structure and chorus. A determinedly insidious groove and matching beat propel You Just Died with a dangerous glamour, and vocalist Andy LePlegua poetically compliment the band's shadowy dance routines. Icon Of Coil know how to write a song and fill each track with vocal and musical hooks, saturating gargantuan strength into the choruses, making ideal club-oriented electro music. Serenity Is The Devil is likely going to elevate Icon Of Coil to the same level as Covenant, VNV Nation and fellow Norwegians Apoptygma Berzerk (LePlegua actually did the programming on Starsign, from Welcome To Earth, and Apoptygma in turn remixed Icon Of Coil's Repeat It) in North America. There is often a danger with glaringly dancefloor oriented material such as this becoming quickly tired and loses interest; Icon Of Coil have guarded against this with intricate programming and textures that get under the skin. A greater attempt to give longevity to dance music could not have been made, and with this album, the band seems set to dominate.

 

review by: Phosphor

p+c 2000.
Label: Tatra

Icon Of Coil Website
2000. Elektronski Zvuk