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In 1997 Andy
established his own project, Icon Of Coil, which was primarily a
concept built around the logo, graphic design and music. Soon after
the inception, the music soon turned out to be the most important
part of the concept and LaPlegua invited Sebastian Komor, who he
had worked with before on the project Sector 9, (now called Moonitor)
in 1996, to work with him on the project as a live member. After
just a couple of gigs and the release of their first single, Shallow
Nation, where Seb did some additional programming, Seb became a
full-time member of IOC.
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 same
time Tatra Records released the compilation Sex, Goth & Electronics,
to which IOC contributed an exclusive version of their song "Repeat
It".
Before they started working on their second release IOC did programming
for the Apoptygma Berzerk track "Starsign". Soon afterwards, they
traveled to Germany, with live member Jon Holm, to support Apoptygma
on their Welcome to Earth tour 2000 at their 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) 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 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 has come a long way in a short amount of time. Now
they are set to release their third album (in as many years), Machines
Are Us, which is poised to set dance floors ablaze! Pummeling beats,
sympathetic vocals, anthem-like melodies, and sweeping synths are
just a few of the reasons that no speaker is safe from Icon of Coil's
bombastic onslaught.
>>ICON
OF COIL
>>METROPOLIS RECORDS |
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One of the most
popular Darkwave bands on the planet, the Crüxshadows started in
the early 1990's in a little town in North Florida. Numerous lineup
changes over the years have not slowed down the quartet. Touring
the United States extensively from Coast to Coast, they have played
hundreds of shows to American Audiences in the last few years. In
the Spring of 2001, the Crüxshadows began touring Europe and have
since played over 75 shows abroad, in countries like Norway, Scotland,
Ireland, England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, and Spain. In the Spring of 2002, the Crüxshadows saw
the single Tears camp at #2 on the Deutsch Alternative Charts, and
their European festival shows have drawn audiences as large as 10,000
people to a Crüxshadows performance.
ThE summer 2002 they release their 5th full length recording, Wishfire.
A blend of new wave, gothic, and electronica, the bands unique and
often catchy songs have become staples of the darkwave, ebm, and
electro-alternative scene. Their song Leave Me Alone is the all
time highest charting "goth" song on mp3.com, having moved into
the mainstream top 10 for a short time. Eurydice, has spent over
2 years in the top 40 New Wave charts of mp3.com. Their song Deception,
originally part of the Vampire the masquerade, Music from the Succubus
club disc, has been recorded in both English and German, and joins
Marilyn, My Bitterness as one of the bands most popular songs. Collaberations
with other artists like Apoptygma Berzerk, Fictional, and many others,
have only served to maintain a strong club presence.
But the bands sound transcends the realm of dance or club music.
The rich and romantic flavor of the electric violin played by Rachel
McDonnell, and the crunchy and sometimes biting guitar playing of
Stacey Campbell, give the Crüxshadows a wide berth of musical possibilities.
This juxtaposed with the cold digital world of textures created
by Chris Brantley, and the moody musings of frontman, founder, and
lead singer Rogue, guarantee that this band is anything but typical.
With 5 albums, 2 eps, and more compilation appearences than you
can shake a stick at, the Crüxshadows have made themselves synonymous
with a new breed of electro-goth music, currently becoming popular.
Their energy and intensity on stage led them to be called "the best
live band in Europe today" by the host of Hamburg's Crazy Clip Show.
If you have an opportunity to see them live, don't pass it up. In
2002 the band recieved tour sponsorship from XtraX fashions, Zillo
Magazine, and Orkus Magazine, and continues to make their presence
known. They have won the 2001 best "revelations" band award, and
have been played in heavy rotation on college and internet radio.
The Crüxshadows have performed with bands like The Cure, Apoptygma
Berzerk, VNV Nation, Mesh, Das Ich, Icon of Coil, Psyche, Clan of
Xymox, Project Pitchfork, The Mission, Bella Morte, and many, many
more. With no signs of slowing, expect to see the Crüxshadows dominate
the planet before it's gone. Members and former members include:
Rogue (vocals, songwriting), Chris Brantley (Keyboards), Rachel
McDonnell (violin and keyboards), Stacey Campbell (guitars), Sean
Flanagan (former keyboard player), Tim curry (former guitar player),
Trevor Brown (former keyboard player), and Kevin Page (former guitar
player).
>>CRUXSHADOWS
>>DANCING
FERRET DISCS |
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