Stephen Icon was unlucky to have to compete with giants like Dokken or Motley Crue back in 1984, and lack of huge promotion from the label, Icon was pretty much estranged from the herd, if not forgotten. I consider them as among the second wave of glam metal, bringing up classic heavy metal hooks with some melodic touch, some of us call it melodic metal. To simplify thing, imagine a combination of early Dokken, Keel, WASP, and Scorpions, and that could be a good definition of Icon's music.

There are four superb tracks inside. "Killer Machine" has the stampeding rhythm with gorgeous Verse/Chorus composition; "On Your Feet" is a real deal of heavy metal and the solo guitar is just stunning; "World War" is melodic and heavy at the same time; "Under My Gun" is a blast, the roaring guitars with Clifford's furious vocal is perfectly blended, this is Icon at their best. Now, the reason why they can't compete with Crue or Dokken is because the rest of the tracks aren’t as strong as these four. Take a look at "Hot Desert Night", "Iconoclast", or "It's Up To You", they're totally disposable. Luckily, the opening track, "Through The Night" and "Rock And Roll Maniac" are accessible and quite good.

I'd say, Icon's debut might not be the really important release of 84, but for hardcore fans of glam, melodic metal, or even traditional heavy metal, at least they had something good to offer inside. The production isn't satisfying and that's a shame, probably if they release the remastered version with upgrade in audio quality, the whole disc can be rated better, but for the music alone, I guess 4-stars is acceptable.

Stephen In the midst of 80s, after releasing "Night of the crime", the lead singer and founding member, Stephen Clifford, left the band and replaced by Jerry Harrison. Atlantic offered them a deal and released this album in 1989. One of the track here, "Taking My Breath Away" was occasionally got aired on MTV. Although many fans preferred Clifford over Harrison, I think Jerry got his own strength and also a very good singer.

If I want to draw a rough sketch of how Icon sounded here then I will draw David Coverdale fronting a band consisted of Stryper and Dokken. This album featured the important aspects of the three icons mentioned above. My most favourite tracks are the trio "A Far Cry", "In Your Eyes", and "Holy Man's War" (also featured Alice Cooper as the backsinger). You may recognize this band from the power ballad "Forever Young" which I also think is a good track.

There are still a few dull moments here such as the forgettable "Peace & Love" but I don't think they lessen the value of the entire disc. For a bunch of not-very-popular musicians, I guess they have done a pretty good job with this powerful record. Recommended for fans of gritty screaming vocal with flashy harmonic solos and a touch of early 80s glam metal influence.