"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
Sleep
Icon of Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're building now
Fear an anger
Feel so sweet
It's hard to hear your voice
When its only in my head
It's a part of you
In everyone I meet
Your screams still haunt me down
I'm on my knees
Trying to imagine
How it must have been
The soil is still crying
The rust on the leafs
Will never fade away
From the pictures in my head
Tell me that you're here
That you never went
That its all a dream
This has never been
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
Though I know its real
But still it try
Cause in my world
You've never died
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
Every night
Sleepless
How I want a second chance
For what it's worth
To say I'm sorry
And to say a last goodbye
How I regret that I didn't stay
To hear your laughter
One last time
When you haunt the dreams
Of those who stole your breath
Ask them
How they possibly can sleep at night
Send them my regards
That I'll be waiting
Here in front of your grave
I'll be waiting
Tell me that you're here
That you never went
That its all a dream
This has never been
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
Though I know its real
But still it try
Cause in my world
You've never died
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
The lyrics of Icon of coil's "Sleep" are quite powerful and emotional. The song describes the grief and regret that the singer feels after losing someone close to them. The song starts with a request to see the world that the deceased had created for others. But in the same breath, the singer mentions that fear and anger feel sweet, which shows that they are still grappling with the feelings of loss and cannot make sense of them. The singer cannot hear the voice of their loved one anymore, but they feel that a part of them lives on in every person they meet. The screams of the deceased still haunt the singer, and they are trying to imagine the pain that the deceased might have gone through.
The singer then asks their loved one to answer their call and come back to life. They want to believe that it was all a dream and that the loved one never really went away. The singer knows that this is not true, but they are still hoping against hope. The song evokes the feeling of helplessness that one feels after losing a loved one. We see that the singer is unable to sleep and is perhaps night after night, struggling to come to terms with their loss. The lines "when you haunt the dreams of those who stole your breath, ask them how they possibly can sleep at night, send them my regards that I'll be waiting" are an interesting twist. It suggests that the singer holds someone responsible for the death of their loved one and is seeking retribution.
Overall, the song is a powerful ode to the pain of losing someone close and the regret that one feels afterwards. It speaks about the struggle to come to terms with loss and the desire to hold on to the memories of a loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me see the world
You're building now
I want to see the world that you're creating, the reality that you're shaping.
Fear an anger
Feel so sweet
Even though fear and anger are unpleasant emotions, they can still feel satisfying in their own twisted way.
It's hard to hear your voice
When its only in my head
I struggle to hear your voice when the only place I can hear it is in my own mind.
It's a part of you
In everyone I meet
I see a part of you in every person that I encounter and interact with.
Your screams still haunt me down
I'm on my knees
Your screams continue to torment me and I feel powerless to do anything about it.
Trying to imagine
How it must have been
I'm struggling to comprehend the full extent of what you went through and how it must have felt.
The soil is still crying
The rust on the leafs
Will never fade away
From the pictures in my head
The soil and the rust will always remind me of the pain and suffering that you experienced, and these images will never disappear from my mind.
Tell me that you're here
That you never went
That its all a dream
This has never been
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
Though I know its real
But still it try
Cause in my world
You've never died
Why don't you answer me?
Don't leave us empty handed
I am desperately seeking reassurance that you are still with us and that your death is just a bad dream. Even though I know it's real, I still try to convince myself otherwise because I can't bear the thought of a world without you in it. Please don't leave us without some kind of meaningful answer or closure.
Every night
Sleepless
Every night I struggle to sleep, plagued by the memories and unanswered questions that keep me awake.
How I want a second chance
For what it's worth
To say I'm sorry
And to say a last goodbye
How I regret that I didn't stay
To hear your laughter
One last time
I wish I could have a second chance to make things right and apologize for any wrongs I've done. I regret not being able to hear your laughter one last time before you were taken from us.
When you haunt the dreams
Of those who stole your breath
Ask them
How they possibly can sleep at night
Send them my regards
That I'll be waiting
When you visit the dreams of those responsible for your death, ask them how they can live with themselves and sleep at night. Let them know that I am waiting for justice to be served.
Here in front of your grave
I'll be waiting
I will wait here in front of your grave, paying my respects and waiting for a sense of closure and understanding.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OLE ANDERS OLSEN, SEBASTIAN R. KOMOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joy Bravo
Как же хорошо, отличная песня !!!
Laura Aguilar
I listen to this song for my brother! Took his life 5-2-17. I miss you Stephen! She will have her day......
José Andrés Echeverría
hang in there!!! best wishes for you and ur family!
poetofending
I’m sorry. It is also for my brother. He took his life 9-12-19.
Damián Echeverría
Awesome album #MachinesAreUs #EBM. Excellent structure of the song, memorable lyrics & synths 🎹🖤👏🏻
Evelyn Strange
One of the closest people in my life took their own life a long time in my past. This song always reminds me of that. It's such a good song and so impact full to me... I just can't stand the memories it always brings back.
I both love and hate this song.
weeral1
Blasting on my JBL 4311's and feeling tingles up my spine ... every time. So.. good.
ClickClack_Bam
This is such a really good song.
Don Nerone Martín
this is dope!
Laura Aguilar
I was the last one he called....i was going to go up north to see him, but i didnt.....
I regret that day every single day! I miss you brother!