ICON Discography

Icon 1984 Capitol Records


Released July 7, 1984
Produced by Mike Varney

Stephen Clifford - Vocals
Dan Wexler - Guitars
John Aquilino - Guitars
Tracy Wallach - Bass, Vocals
Pat Dixon - Drums

Once known as The Schoolboys and had an image more akin to Poison than the traditional metal sounds found on this release. Icon blew onto the scene with one of the better guitar duos of the time (IMHDO) They played very melodic with occasional harmonies, but could take off on a dime without it seeming overbearing like alot of players of that era had tendacies to do. My favorite 80's tandem this side of Tesla's amazing Skeoch and Hannon.

1."(Rock On) Through the Night" -(Dan Wexler, Stephen Clifford, John Aquilino) - 3:31
2."Killer Machine" - (Aquilino, Wexler) - 3:31
3."On Your Feet" - (Aquilino, Clifford) - 3:22
4."World War" - (Wexler, Tracy Wallach, Clifford) - 4:30
5."Hot Desert Night" - (Wexler, Clifford) - 3:49
6."Under My Gun" - (Wexler) - 3:30
7."Iconoclast" - (Wexler, Aquilino) - 1:26
8."Rock n' Roll Maniac" - (Wexler, Clifford, Aquilino, Wallach, Pat Dixon) - 3:58
9."I'm Alive" - (Wexler) - 4:08
10."It's Up to You" - (Wexler, Clifford, Wallach) - 5:05

The songs rock pretty hard and have quite the Priest vibe to them. The lone exception is the final track (and obligatory ballad) which has a major cheese factor that would make any Green Bay fan proud. I like the singers delivery which has this Lawless/DuBrow thang kicking off. The gang backing vocals on alot of the choruses don't take away from hooks in the melodies and the lead work plays off those melodies and compliment whats going on. Like already mentioned, not overplayed by any means but still very, very metal. The guitar tones are great as well.

Here is a video of the only song that they made one for with this album


You can easily hear everything attributed in my above paragraph in this song and it represents the music on the album.

The following clips are just audio of my favorite tunes on the album...



and my favorite song on the album...


This is an instrumental that is right before the song "Rock n' Roll Maniac"


Anybody who knows me and my Schenker "blind fanatacism" can easily understand how that lil instrumental gives me that warm fuzzy feeling.

In closing, a band that came out kicking some serious booty and IMHDO is one of the better debuts of the early/mid 1980's.

9/10

Love the album, though never dug deeper into this band. Very melodic without forgetting about being heavy enough, I'd love to see hair metal going with that kind of sound back in the days tbh. Favorite track would be World War. Also dig the cover art.

BearOnUnicycle wrote:

Love the album, though never dug deeper into this band. Very melodic without forgetting about being heavy enough, I'd love to see hair metal going with that kind of sound back in the days tbh. Favorite track would be World War. Also dig the cover art.

I have a conundrum of sorts

Is the term "hair metal" a reference to "sound" or "image" or both

If it's "sound" ? Icon at least on this album is not "hair metal" or if they are than so is Judas Priest.
If it's "image" ? Icon, on this album were "hair metal" but not on the next one which sounds like what most consider to be "hair metal". That harder edged pop style.

They never were both at the same time. Odd isn't it

I saw the video for "On Your Feet" once on MTV back in the day, thought they sounded pretty decent but never got around to checking out the album. Sounds like good stuff, perhaps it's finally time to investigate further. Hey, better late than never.

Thanx J.

Love this album, very underrated. One of those I picked up on a whim at Tower and was surprised it wasn't on radio at the time.

This album is sadly missing in my collection. It's getting hard to obtain too, I believe.

Very underrated band!

Icon-Night of The Crime


1985 Capitol Records
Produced By Eddie Kramer
Released Sept. 20, 1985

1."Naked Eyes" (Bob Halligan Jr, John Aquillino) - 4:04
2."Missing" (B. Halligan Jr) - 4:30
3."Danger Calling" (B. Halligan Jr, Dan Wexler) - 3:39
4."(Take Another) Shot at My Heart" (D. Wexler, Stephen Clifford) - 3:23
5."Out for Blood" (D. Wexler, J. Aquillino) - 5:40
6."Raise the Hammer" (B. Halligan Jr) - 3:33
7."Frozen Tears" (B. Halligan Jr) - 4:00
8."Whites of Their Eyes" (B. Halligan Jr, D. Wexler) - 3:43
9."Hungry for Love" (D. Wexler, S. Clifford) - 4:17
10."Rock My Radio" (D. Wexler, S. Clifford, Mike Varney) - 4:14

Stephen Clifford - vocals
Dan Wexler - guitars
Tracy Wallach - bass, vocals
John Aquillino - guitars
Pat Dixon - drums


Gone is the over the top image and so was the "metal"
1rst album image (1984)

1985


This is one of the 1rst albums I came across that Ron Nevison got ahold of and did what he has the tendacy to do, remove any semblence of "balls" a band may have had before. He did only remix the songs, and I've never heard the original Eddie Kramer versions. But....I did hear some of the songs on this album performed live before they went in the studio and agian just after it was released before the singer quit.


I was disappointed when I first heard this album, but it remains one of my favorite harder edged AOR albums ever. The songs are great and pretty catchy. The lead work on this album is probably what makes it stand out from other albums of similar style. This is the best example of a band doing a 180 that I can give. Below are some audio clips cause I don't think they ever made a proper MTV style video for this release.



The only song close to being

I spotted that first album at the record store and snagged it. For $1.99 LP, I'll give it a try!

Fat Freddy wrote:

I saw the video for "On Your Feet" once on MTV back in the day, thought they sounded pretty decent but never got around to checking out the album. Sounds like good stuff, perhaps it's finally time to investigate further. Hey, better late than never.

Thanx J.

I need to do the same!

James B. wrote:

Icon-Night of The Crime


1985 Capitol Records
Produced By Eddie Kramer
Released Sept. 20, 1985

1."Naked Eyes" (Bob Halligan Jr, John Aquillino) - 4:04
2."Missing" (B. Halligan Jr) - 4:30
3."Danger Calling" (B. Halligan Jr, Dan Wexler) - 3:39
4."(Take Another) Shot at My Heart" (D. Wexler, Stephen Clifford) - 3:23
5."Out for Blood" (D. Wexler, J. Aquillino) - 5:40
6."Raise the Hammer" (B. Halligan Jr) - 3:33
7."Frozen Tears" (B. Halligan Jr) - 4:00
8."Whites of Their Eyes" (B. Halligan Jr, D. Wexler) - 3:43
9."Hungry for Love" (D. Wexler, S. Clifford) - 4:17
10."Rock My Radio" (D. Wexler, S. Clifford, Mike Varney) - 4:14

Stephen Clifford - vocals
Dan Wexler - guitars
Tracy Wallach - bass, vocals
John Aquillino - guitars
Pat Dixon - drums




This is one of the 1rst albums I came across that Ron Nevison got ahold of and did what he has the tendacy to do, remove any semblence of "balls" a band may have had before. He did only remix the songs, and I've never heard the original Eddie Kramer versions. But....I did hear some of the songs on this album performed live before they went in the studio and agian just after it was released before the singer quit.

I have never actually heard this album, but after listening to the samples I agree that Nevison did his usual "cut the balls off" thing to the tracks. Would love to hear the Eddie Kramer mix.

Also noticed that Bob Halligan, Jr (Rick Cua, 'Take These Chains" from Priest's Screamin') wrote half the album, which I am sure pushed the album into "radio friendly" territory.

Had the cassette but haven't upgraded yet. Might if I could get it cheap but not something i'll search much for.

James B. wrote:

BearOnUnicycle wrote:

Love the album, though never dug deeper into this band. Very melodic without forgetting about being heavy enough, I'd love to see hair metal going with that kind of sound back in the days tbh. Favorite track would be World War. Also dig the cover art.

I have a conundrum of sorts

Is the term "hair metal" a reference to "sound" or "image" or both

If it's "sound" ? Icon at least on this album is not "hair metal" or if they are than so is Judas Priest.
If it's "image" ? Icon, on this album were "hair metal" but not on the next one which sounds like what most consider to be "hair metal". That harder edged pop style.

They never were both at the same time. Odd isn't it

I wanted to say that Icon along with say Ratt, Motley Crue started out as ballsy heavy metal bands, and later evolved into hair/glam/pop or whatever the genre is called. I would've been much more satisfied if they kept the sound captured on first releases - melodic, catchy, sing-alongish but without sugary sweet approach -rather than moving into MTV power ballad category. Not sure if this fits Icon since I've never heard the material past the 1984 though.

There is an awesome Axe Killer box set with the s/t & Night Of The Crime that I believe can be found for fairly cheap. The one I'm always on the look out for is An Even More Perfect Union. Sucker is a tough find.

I don't own this one either. :-(

jstate wrote:

The one I'm always on the look out for is An Even More Perfect Union. Sucker is a tough find.

I got a copy of "More Perfect Union" (cassette) from this girl who used to date the singer on the tape, Jerry Harrison. He is from the same area I grew up in and auditioned once for the band I was in but as a guitar player and not a singer (go figure) I got my copy (CD) of "An Even More Perfect Union" from a friend who knew I was an Icon fanboy. His band played in Arizona a few years ago and a reformed Icon opend for them.

I will have reviews of both up shortly

I had never heard anything from these guys before this thread, but my interest is somewhat piqued. Their first two (and a live bootleg) are on Spotify, so whenever I get around to it I'll definitely give them a listen.

Cool thread, James.

even though this is my favorite genre of metal I am just now appreciating this band. I recently bought their 2 albums.

Keep blasting "World War" everytime I'm reminded of the thread. This song is insanely great..

My copy (cassette) of "more perfect union" just got ate in my tapedeck:( and I cannot find the "an even more perfect union" cd for the life of me. Did find "right between the eyes" and will spin it a few times before offering up some words on it. Been awhile since I've heard it.

Icon-Right between The Eyes


1989 Atlantic/Megaforce Records
Released August 20 something or another
Produced by Dan Wexler, Eddie Trunk and some other guy

01. Right Between The Eyes
02. Two For The Road
03. Taking My Breath Away
04. A Far Cry
05. In Your Eyes
06. Holy Mans War
07. Bad Times
08. Double Life
09. Forever Young
10. Running Under Fire
11. Peace And Love

Jerry Harrison - vocals
Dan Wexler - guitar
Drew Bollman - guitar (credited but not on album)
Tracy Wallach - bass and background vocals
Pat Dixon - drums

additional musicians-Alice Cooper - guest vocals track (2),Kevin Stroller - keyboards,Mark Prentice - keyboards track (9)


Here is the MTV song for the album


Pretty much the vibe of the album. Well written, catchy hard rock, with above average vocals, keyboards, and metal guitar solos. First off, not too many bands get a second shot at a major label record deal. I feel that the over saturation of the market in 1989 had alot to do with that. Moreso than anything else. Not that this is bad, it's not. You could just interchange band names and nobody would even notice, much less care. If Icon still had that lethal twin guitar punch instead of a lone gun with keys filling in the spaces, This could of been so much better. Jerry Harrison gives them a Y & T ish Paul Shortino type delivery/style without the dynamics of either. Still has a nice set of pipes. My favorite tunes are "In Your Eyes", "A Far Cry", "Holy Man's War", "Double Life", and the title track. Like this better now than I remember ever liking it before. Saw part of a gig for this tour but didn't give em a fair shake due to my fanboy attitude of the old twin guitar line up. Two songs on this were also on "More perfect Union"...."In Your Eyes" and "Forever Young"

If/when I ever find my cd of "An Even More Perfect Union", some words will be written about that. If not, the thread is over and done with. You can find on Ebay every once in a while a dvd copy of an old VHS concert video they recorded between the first two albums. I have the VHS tape. Poor quality in both video and audio department, but....the band kicks some serious @$$.

I like this for nostalgia's sake as much as anything, quality melodic hard rock.

Stephen Clifford lead vocals
Dan Wexler guitar, backing vocals
John Aquilino guitar
Tracy Wallach bass, backing vocals
Pat Dixon drums, backing vocals
Recorded December 30, 1984 at Graham Central Station in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1.   Under My Gun
2.   Killer Machine l
3.   Burning
4.   Rock On Through the Night
5.   Rock and Roll Maniac
6.   Hang Tough
7.   Hold Your Head Up     Cover: Argent
8.   Hungry For Love  
9.   Rock My Radio
10.   World War
11.   Raise the Hammer
12.   Dancing With Danger
13.   On Your Feet  
14.   Out For Blood  
15.   Hold On Me  
16.   Hot Desert Night  

Did some research and apparently they released a live cd of the VHS I have.   As stated, I've seen the DVD on Ebay for reasonable money.  Wonder if they cleaned it up ?

It was a hot July when I bought the first lp - listened to it on my grand parents record player in Cape Cod.
They were outside on the porch reading the newspaper quietly, I was inside with the door open -
Those first two songs go so great together - The opening riff for "Killer Machine" - even now - within my car -
I love it when he sings, " She's the fastest - the fastest ride in towwwwwnnnn " Then the mournful lead guitar work -
" Hot Desert Night " is metal classic - dark - brooding - dangerous -
Then - in the winter of that same year - " Out For Blood " was played over the late Sunday night college airwaves -
that innocent guitar riff opening - to almost vampire-like celebration - and what a voice - like KEEL's -
' Been up all night - gonna raise a little hell - you better hold on tight ' - you just have to blast it in your car !!
" Dangers Calling " ( I feel it in my heart - it's got to be danger calling )
Many of the other songs are strong heart break songs - like Heaven's 'Knockin' on Heavens Door' lp
Saw em in concert   with the new singer - was shocked it wasn't Clifford - singer saw me shocked -
and was singing 'under my gun ' at me -
I heard Clifford became a born again Christian, dropped the band, married - etc -
The live cd was ok - but NOTHING - captures the mood of those first two releases.

The first two albums are solid, but very different. They went from a Metal band to an AOR band in 1 album. The albums after that are not very good IMO.

I really like this band..they kinda remind me of another top ten favorite of mine...Keel...