"Shallow Nation", released early in 2000, sold out the first thousand copies after only two weeks in the stores, which resulted in a deal with the Norwegian record label Tatra Records. Around that time Tatra Records released the compilation "Sex, Goth & Electronics", to which IoC contributed an exclusive version of their song "Repeat It".
Before they started work on their second release IoC did programming for the "Apoptygma Berzerk" track "Starsign". Soon afterwards, they travelled to Germany, with live member Jon Holm, to support Apoptygma on their "Welcome to Earth tour 2000" at gigs in Frankfurt, Cottbus and Leipzig before going back to Norway to play together at Rockefeller in Oslo.
Audiences seemed to enjoy Icon of Coil's energetic and melodious sound fused with Andy's hypnotic voice and the band's success grew. "One Nation Under Beat" debuted in the top 20 on the DAC-chart (Deutsch Alternative Chart), stayed on the chart for eight weeks and peaked at number three.
In late spring of 2000 at a gig in Uddevalla, Sweden, Christian Lund joined the band as a live-member and went on stage with Andy and Seb for the first time. Along with being the vocalist for his "En Route" project, Christian had a background from a melodious EBM Fredrikstad-band called "Elected By Fear" where he played together with Fredrik Hansen from "Echo Image" (who also played at that gig) and Marius Johnsen from "Centravibe".
After the release of IoC's first full-length "Serenity Is The Devil" in November 2000, which reached number three on the DAC-chart, the band went to Germany together with "Beborn Beton". With nine gigs, positive feedback from the audience and very good reviews on the debut album, IoC gained a substantial following in the synth/industrial scene.
Shortly afterward, the album crossed the Atlantic and was released in North America by Metropolis Records. On March 29th, 2001, the band itself followed and boarded a plane to Chicago. They were on their own in a foreign country and on a tight budget. The band flew from city to city, slept in hotels and sometimes even in the homes of their promoters. The song "Situations Like These" from the (then) forthcoming "Seren EP" was played live for the first time to an incredibly enthusiastic and energetic American audience, which made the tour a big success. Then after playing at "Slimelight" and "Astoria II" (Electrofest) in London, the guys had a short break before they faced a festival-filled summer in Europe.
The summer kicked off with a successful show in Leipzig, Germany, at "Wave-Gothic Treffen". The following festivals included "CSD", "Zillo Festival", "Xtreaktor Festival", "Eurorock", "Infest" and ended at "M'era Luna" where the trio did a hard-hitting performance in the Hangar.
"Situations Like These" became a big club hit and the band was ready for a second tour (this time in a Nightliner touring bus) of North America with "VNV Nation". The leg began in Chicago on the 16th of November at a packed Vic Theatre, which set the standard for the rest of the 19 shows. Icon of Coil, VNV Nation and the rest of the crew continued up to Canada, down the east coast to Florida, through Texas to the West coast and Hollywood, where they did their 15th show in front of about 900 people at the Palace. The four-week tour ended in Edmonton, Canada with a great show and a huge after-party.
During their tours, the band found the time to write material for their April 2002 sophomore album, "The Soul Is In The Software", which stayed at number one on the DAC for a several weeks. IoC then performed at two more festivals: "The Dark Jubilee Festival" in London; and later as the Sunday-headliner for "Synthpop Goes The World" in Toronto, Canada, which turned out to be a very good but warm weekend and concert.
Icon of Coil came a long way in a short amount of time. For 2004 their third album, "Machines Are Us", continued the trend with pummeling beats, sympathetic vocals, anthem-like melodies, and sweeping synths. Careful not to be outdone or forgotten, Icon of Coil released "Uploaded And Remixed", which featured brand new mixes of songs from their first two records and two exclusive tracks, at the tail end of 2004.
Since then the band has been on indefinite hiatus, only performing a handful of live shows around the world, as Andy has been concentrating on his new band "Combichrist".
On a short reunion tour of Australia in November, 2011 the 3 members rekindled old friendships and the creative chemistry from the past came raging back. The single "PerfectSex" was released in August 2012, together with the announcement that the band is working on a new album.
Official MySpace page: www.myspace.com/officialiconofcoil
Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IconOfCoilOfficial
In Absence
Icon of Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dry away, my tears of glass,
You'll hear my screams, when they stop
Death is, the final silence, absence, of final sound
Tension, weakens my nerves, absence of your touch
Hate me, love me, kill me, hold me, feel me,
Destroy me, taste me, save me
The lyrics of Icon of Coil's "In Absence" are about the pain of being apart from the person you love. The song speaks of the emptiness that is left in someone's life when that person is absent, creating a void that is difficult to fill. The first stanza mentions the absence of one's own life, representing the feeling of solitude and emptiness that comes with losing touch with one's own emotions.
The second stanza speaks to the pain of missing someone's touch and the inner turmoil that comes along with it. The lyrics mention wanting to be held and loved, but also feeling like the only way to feel something is to be destroyed. There's a push-and-pull dynamic at play in these lines, where the singer is torn between wanting to feel loved and wanting to feel pain. The final line of the stanza references the absence of the other person, which heightens the sense of longing and loneliness.
Overall, the lyrics of "In Absence" evoke a sense of desperation and heartache, with the singer grappling with the pain of being separated from the person they love.
Line by Line Meaning
Absence, of my life, absence, of myself
The feeling of emptiness and lack is overwhelming and all-consuming. I am not just missing a part of me, but my entire life.
Dry away, my tears of glass,
My tears are fragile like glass, and I wish they could just disappear and not remind me of my pain.
You'll hear my screams, when they stop
My anguish is so intense that I don't have the energy to scream anymore. But if I could, you would hear it loud and clear.
Death is, the final silence, absence, of final sound
When I am gone, there will be no more sound, no more expression, no more pain. Death is the ultimate silence.
Tension, weakens my nerves, absence of your touch
The tension and anxiety is too much to bear, and the only thing that can calm me is your soothing touch. But you're not here.
Hate me, love me, kill me, hold me, feel me,
I am so desperate for any type of attention or human interaction, that I'll take any form of emotion - even hatred or death.
Destroy me, taste me, save me
I am willing to be completely vulnerable and let someone consume me, so I can feel anything other than this emptiness.
In absence, of you
All of these overwhelming emotions and sensations are a result of your absence in my life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OLE ANDERS OLSEN, SEBASTIAN R. KOMOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rick Schweitzer
whatever year this album was released was a huge year for darkwave. there was so much great music coming from metropols records.
Branden Lucero
this has a similar "drum" effect of "The Beautiful People/God is Dead/Disposable Teens". you'd be stupid not to see the similarity in it.