Icon of Coil is a Norwegian

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by

Andy LaPlegua Ole Anders Olsen (born 15 September 1975), known professionally as Andy LaPlegua, is a Norwegian singer, originally known for being founder and lead vocalist of futurepop band Icon of Coil. He also gained fame in the aggrotech and electro-indust ...

who was joined by former Sector 9 (now Moonitor and

Zombie Girl Zombie Girl is a Canadian electro-industrial/industrial rock project started in 2005. Initially composed of Renee Cooper and producer Sebastian Komor, the group now consists exclusively of Cooper, who uses live musicians. The band's lyrics and t ...

) bandmate

Sebastian Komor Sebastian R. Komor (born 7 May 1976) is a Polish-born, Norwegian-raised electronic musician, best known for his collaborative work in Icon of Coil and Zombie Girl. A prolific artist, Komor has also released electronic music under a variety of sol ...

to perform live. With the release of ''Shallow Nation'', the band's first single, Komor joined full-time. In 2000, Christian Lund joined the live lineup. Later that year, the band's first full-length album, '' Serenity is the Devil'', was released, which climbed to number one on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. Shortly thereafter, Lund became a full-time band member.

History

Formation

In 1997, Andy LaPlegua established the project, Icon of Coil, which was primarily a concept built around a 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 IOC’s first single, "Shallow Nation", Seb became a full-time member.

''Shallow Nation'' (2000)

''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 Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian band that produces a style of electro rock, industrial rock, synth-pop and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene as "futurepop". Apoptygm ...

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. 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.

''Serenity is the Devil'' (2000–2001)

The year 2000 saw IOC's first full-length release, '' Serenity is the Devil'', in November 2000. The album peaked at number three on the DAC-chart and was ranked #16 on the DAC Top 50 Albums of 2000. After the album's release, the band went to tour Germany together with

Beborn Beton Beborn Beton is a German synthpop band founded in 1989, with their first album release in 1993. Their debut named ''Tybalt'' is a compilation of the best tracks written in the first three years of their band history and was very well received in ...

. 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. The EP ''One Nation Under Beat'' was also released in 2000 and ranked #47 on the DAC Top 100 Singles chart for 2000. Shortly afterward, the album crossed the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and was released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania ...

. On March 29, 2001, the band itself followed and boarded a plane to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The song ''Situations Like These'' from the (then) forthcoming ''Seren'' EP was played live for the first time to an American audience. The summer started with a successful show in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, at

Wave-Gotik-Treffen The (WGT; German for "Wave Gothic Meeting") is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, Electronic body music, EBM, Industrial music, indust ...

. The following festivals included CSD,

Zillo Festival ''Zillo'' (or ''Zillostrierte'') was a German alternative music magazine, published monthly, originally edited by Rainer "Easy" Ettler. It was in circulation between 1989 and 2014. The headquarters of ''Zillo'' were in Lübeck. History The magaz ...

, Xtreaktor Festival, Eurorock,

Infest Infest may refer to: *Infest, wild animal overpopulation, much in the same way that cockroaches do * ''Infest'' (album), a 2000 hard rock album by Papa Roach *Infest (band), American hardcore band *Infest (festival), an alternative electronic mu ...

and ended at

M'era Luna The M'era Luna is a gothic festival that encompasses a number of different styles such as metal, future pop, aggrotech, synthpop, gothic rock, dark wave, and EBM. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, ...

. ''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 VNV Nation, also known as Victory Not Vengeance, are a British-Irish electronic music group formed in London and led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter and producer, with live members being keyboardists Mike Wimer and David Ger ...

. The leg began in Chicago on the 16th of November. Icon of Coil,

and the rest of the crew continued up to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, down the east coast to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, through

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to the West coast and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, where they did their 15th show. The four-week tour ended in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, Canada.

''The Soul is in the Software'' (2002)

During their tours, the band found the time to write material for their second album, '' The Soul is in the Software'', which was released in April 2002 and stayed at number one on the DAC for several weeks. IOC then performed at two more festivals: The Dark Jubilee Festival in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and later as the Sunday headliner for Synthpop Goes the World in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada.

''Machines Are Us'' (2004) and ''Uploaded And Remixed'' (2004)

In 2004, their third album, '' Machines Are Us'', was released. Icon of Coil then released their remix album '' Uploaded And Remixed'' at the tail end of 2004, which featured new mixes of songs from their first two records and two exclusive tracks.

Present

Icon of Coil have been reuniting sporadically for live performances. They announced at their recent Sydney show that they would be writing new material. On August 6, 2012, Icon of Coil released a new song, "PerfectSex", as a pay-what-you-want download on Bandcamp. The single release preceded a North American tour and started rumors of a new album. Most recently, in November 2015 IOC performed on the main stage at the Orus Fest in Mexico City. In December 2018, Icon of Coil performed dates across Germany.

Discography

* ''Shallow Nation'' (MCD) (2000) * ''One Nation Under Beat'' (MCD) (2000) * ''Serenity Is the Devil'' (2000) * ''Seren EP'' (2001) * ''Access and Amplify'' (MCD) (2002) * '' The Soul Is in the Software'' (2002) * ''Android'' (MCD) (2003) * '' Machines Are Us'' (2004) * ''Machines Are Us'' (2CD) Limited edition (2004) * '' Uploaded and Remixed'' (2004) * ''Uploaded and Remixed / Shelter Ep'' (2CD) Limited edition (2004) * '' I-II-III'' (2006)

Related bands

Combichrist Combichrist is an American Electro-industrial, aggrotech / industrial metal band formed in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua, who also founded the bands Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, Scandinavian Cock and Scandy. Combichrist was formed in Atlan ...

Panzer AG Panzer AG is the name of an aggrotech/industrial rock side-project by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua, the founder of futurepop band Icon of Coil. Formed in 2004, Panzer AG's sound combines Power noise, Industrial, Trance, Rock and other genres to creat ...

References

External links

*
Icon Of Coil Gallery Page

Label
*https://www.slugmag.com/music/national-music-reviews/review-icon-of-coil-uploaded-and-remixed/ {{Authority control Electronic body music groups Norwegian electronic music groups Norwegian industrial music groups Musical groups established in 1997 1997 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing Metropolis Records artists