With Icon Paradise Lost justify a genre

With "Icon" deliver Paradise Lost from a milestone that helps to shape the genre gothic metal. On the previous album "Shades of God" already touched upon, PL reached by "Icon" their actual maturity that they henceforth keep at a high level and gradually to "host" to expand.

"Icon" has certainly compared to subsequent albums the band even more significant traces of the band early stage, but in contrast to these 3 CDs this album has a much higher self-reliance, from today's perspective a timelessness and for example with "True Belief" and "Embers Fire "two absolute Hits ... Experimental and ME good there also with the track" Christendom "to hear, would have been even if to get even more out of the piece.
Icon provides a good production, tough, yet clear guitars, hits and no real failures. Nick Holmes' voice is in later years mature, but is here already at a good level.