"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
Regret
Icon of Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A cup of poison will always join us, for a while
And we'll laugh for a while
And we'll die, for a while
And then we'll blame us self for a wild routine
Ground zero, we're back to one
We can't combine
Happy with the life they gave us, from day one
What disappears without a trace, reappears and we just approve
What we need, is a waist, solutions dissolves in our hands
We won't except that we understand
Destruction completes the man
No matter what time will give us
No matter if it slips away
You should have burned me blind
Now I'm shining through
We can't combine
This city laws regret with time,
This splintered doors even if fear remains tomorrow
Or if everything goes away
We can't combine
We can't combine
Shadows merging
People laughing
The sun shines threatening
Concrete tasting
Steel avoiding
Love exploiting
Hate awakening
Missing, can't hide
We can't combine
This city laws regret with time,
This splintered doors even if fear remains tomorrow
Or if everything goes away
We can't combine
This city laws regret with time,
This splintered doors even if fear remains tomorrow
Or if everything goes away
We can't combine
We can't combine
We can't combine
This city laws regret with time,
This splintered doors even if fear remains tomorrow
Or if everything goes away
We can't combine
The lyrics of Icon of Coil's song "Regret" talk about the inevitability of certain events in life that we can't control. The opening lyrics, "Whatever truth will reveal tomorrow, it's a lie. A cup of poison will always join us, for a while" suggest that no matter what we do or how much we plan, some things will always turn out differently from our expectations, whether it be for better or worse. The lines "And we'll laugh for a while and we'll die, for a while" further emphasize the temporary nature of life and the idea that we must make the most of what we have.
The song goes on to talk about the human tendency to be content with the status quo, even if it means ignoring or accepting things that are not right. "Happy with the life they gave us, from day one. What disappears without a trace, reappears and we just approve. What we need, is a waist, solutions dissolve in our hands" hints at the societal conditioning that keeps us from breaking out of our comfort zones, leading to stagnation and a lack of progress. Finally, the repeated refrain "We can't combine" hints at the struggle to unite as human beings and overcome our individual differences and beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
Whatever truth will reveal tomorrow, it's a lie
No matter what we learn tomorrow, it won't change the fact that everything we know now could be false.
A cup of poison will always join us, for a while
Every once in a while, we'll have experiences that are harmful to us, but we'll still go through them.
And we'll laugh for a while
We'll have moments of joy amidst the chaos of life.
And we'll die, for a while
Even though we'll eventually die, life is only temporary.
And then we'll blame ourselves for a wild routine
We'll fall into a pattern of repeating our mistakes, and we'll be disappointed in ourselves for it.
Ground zero, we're back to one
Every time we start over or try something new, we're back at the beginning.
We can't combine
We can't get on the same page or agree with each other.
Happy with the life they gave us, from day one
We're content with the life we've been given since birth.
What disappears without a trace, reappears and we just approve
We're used to things coming and going without explanation, so we don't question them when they return.
What we need, is a waist, solutions dissolve in our hands
We desperately need a way out of our situation, but any solutions we come up with ultimately fail.
We won't accept that we understand
We refuse to acknowledge that we might have a grasp on the situation.
Destruction completes the man
Destruction is sometimes necessary for personal growth and development.
No matter what time will give us
Regardless of how much time passes,
No matter if it slips away
Even if time seems to go by faster and faster,
You should have burned me blind
It would have been better to have never seen or known the truth.
Now I'm shining through
Now that I know the truth, I'm better equipped to handle the world.
Shadows merging
The lines between what's real and what's imagined begin to blur.
People laughing
People will continue to find humor in life's struggles.
The sun shines threatening
The world might seem beautiful, but it's also a source of danger and potential harm.
Concrete tasting
The world can be cold and unforgiving.
Steel avoiding
We might try to avoid situations that test our strength and resolve.
Love exploiting
Love can sometimes be used to manipulate us or take advantage of us.
Hate awakening
Hatred can be a powerful motivator to action.
Missing, can't hide
There will always be things missing from our lives, and we can't ignore them.
This city laws regret with time,
Our experiences in this city will eventually lead to feelings of regret.
This splintered doors even if fear remains tomorrow
Our world might be broken and chaotic, but we have to face our fears and move forward regardless.
Or if everything goes away
Even if everything in our lives falls apart,
We can't combine
We still won't be able to agree or come together.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OLE ANDERS OLSEN, SEBASTIAN R. KOMOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind