Customer Reviews

In the Shadow of the Angel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a classic example of an efficient dark pop album. Michael Carrodus' vocals have an Ian Curtis appeal and fit the songs well. The lyrics and keyboards keep the whole thing firmly ensconced in eighties new wave/goth. Half of these songs would do well on college radio.

Their cover of Death In June's "Fall Apart" breathes new life into the song. "Black Roses" strikes the best balance among my-woman-is-heartless lyrics, 80s-era synth drums, and Mission UK melodies. "Suicide" is the standout mood piece, slow and dirgy though the singing and lyrics are weak. If you haven't eaten a bullet after that song, "Love Is Colder Than Death" is actually a pretty peppy tune.

After Carrodus left to seek new heights of obscurity, Ikon went in a more electronic direction. "In The Shadow of The Angel" is a good introduction, and a solid "B" in goth pop.

When I first heard this album, my impression was that it was just another gothic rock band trying to emulate The Sisters of Mercy. I found it average in every way at the time, but with each subsequent listen, I found myself liking "In the Shadow of the Angel" more. Now that I think about it, it's not that surprising; That's how it progressed for me with Nosferatu, and even The Sisters.

Anyway, the album is immensely catchy all the way, starting with the sacrilegious opener "Condemnation", and carrying right into "Lord of Darkness", whose chorus "As I walk into the darkness, I turn and walk away" will be hammering through your brain for days on end. The same can be said for "Hallowed Ground". Next is the angst-ridden "Secrets Within" which bares a nice touch of emotion. "Black Roses" is a definite favorite of the album (which is saying something, because they're all great); it could easily become a goth club anthem. The album progresses quite nicely, and tracks flow together perfectly. Ikon managed to keep plenty of variety between each song, while keeping their signature sound present. While the band do bear a similarity to the Sisters of Mercy (what goth band doesn't anyway?), it's not near as bad as I once thought. They draw from them as influences, but have far evolved with it. It's what they add to the tired old sound that makes the music such a breath of fresh air.

This album represents Ikon as they finally crafted skill, both musically and atmospherically. The songs shimmer with warmth and coldness. One will find many images come to mind durring the listening and soul enhancement.
Jangly Guitars, Pounding Drums, Driving Bass, along with a Deep Resonating Voice--everything goth music is defined by(worry not this album is techno free!). Nice mid-tempos to set the mood. Everything here is crisp and polished.
The lyrics are a tad on the simplistic side, but Michael Alliani gets to the point with ruthless vindication and focus, straight to the heart of the matter...

Ikon is considered 'goth' I guess, and I picked this up years after it appeared, but it's decent enough dark rock. This was the first singer, Michael C, about the most truly depressed man in rock history. Sounding 100% like Ian Curtis, he goes through some lyrics that sound significantly less than anything Curtis penned, and yet the music saves the band again.

The production is good, most of the songs have a nice, fat heavy bass, a pounding drum machine (though they used a real drummer sometimes) and a lot of it sounds like a very early, very depressed U2.

The guy just finally gets on with it and actually writes a song called 'Suicide'. As if the previous 20 or so songs weren't about how unhappy he is, he just flat tells us. He later split with the band; one wonders why.

I think A Moment in Time is a much stronger disc than this, but this is pretty close in sound and tone. The singer is very depressed, yet the music never is--it's actually driving, sometimes...hopeful.

"Black Roses," "Fall Apart," "Hallowed Ground," and the title track are the best songs on this album that follows every goth trend to the letter, and yet somehow makes a good collection of music that is heavy both in emotion and in subject matter. The dirge rhythms are there, as well as the dirty bass (a la Peter Hook's ground-breaking style), and the dark vocals (a la the late great Ian Curtis). Basically, it is nothing new or ground-breaking, but it is a good listen that angers as well as soothes. Just as goth music should...

The mayority of the people assume that IKON took only influences from Joy Division, I think this band worships Dead in June's work. Two examples "Fall Apart" and "Distant Memory".

I'd love to listen this songs with a real drummer.