This Is Doom Metal

Review Score: (8/10)
If you were to look up "doom metal" in the Headbangers' Illustrated Dictionary, you might just see a picture of Icon. Slower and heavier than the masterpiece that followed it (Draconian Times), Icon is a powerful album that takes several listens before you really begin to appreciate it. But once you've digested its subtleties, you'll find yourself returning to it again and again for years to come.

Listening to Paradise Lost is all about letting the euphoric melancholia that only they can create take over your senses. And nowhere is this melancholia more in effect than on Icon. Just seconds into the gorgeous orchestral synth introduction to the first track, "Embers Fire", you'll sense that feeling creeping over you - you're pleasantly depressed. Don't worry, you'll snap out of it in, oh, about 50 minutes. Your only job is to enjoy it while it lasts.

The songs flow seamlessly one into the next with the highlights being "Embers Fire", "Dying Freedom", "Widow", "Poison", and "True Belief". "Christendom" incorporates female vocals to fine effect. As in most middle-era Paradise Lost, there are some great melodic guitar solos on Icon. By album's end, you're drained but ready to resume normal life again.

If you are into Paradise Lost at all, you need to have this album. If you are new to Paradise Lost and curious to try them out, I recommend you start out with the more accessible classics, Draconian Times and One Second, then work your way back to Icon. Icon is an album for true Paradise Lost aficionados.

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