Top 10: Icon Songs

Of all the cult ’80s acts who have been embraced by the Hell’s Heroes TikTok generation, Icon are perhaps the most surprising of the bunch. Unlike W.A.S.P. and Dokken, who achieved a solid level of success in their heyday, selling millions of albums and gracing MTV regularly, Icon flew completely under the radar during their initial ’80s run. The band released two albums on Capitol that sold virtually no units, both of which are revered today as classics. Personnel changes and label shakeups laid to a final album on Megaforce in 1989, before the band folded for good in 1990. In the years since, we’ve heard talks of an alleged new album and tour featuring all original members, but at this point, I’m convinced a new King Diamond or Mercyful Fate album will drop first. Until then, take a trip down memory lane with us as we countdown our Top 10 Icon Songs!

10. “A Far Cry” (Right Between the Eyes, 1989)

By the time Icon’s third album, Right Between the Eyes, hit shelves in 1989, the writing was on the wall. While the band’s brand of hard rocking AOR was certainly more in line with the glam metal of the era than its thrash counterparts, when situated next to newcomers like Poison, Warrant, and Winger, Icon seemed out of place. Nevertheless, Eyes is filled with no shortage of hidden of gems, the shiniest of the bunch being “A Far Cry”. If any of the bands I just namedropped had released this song, it would’ve been a #1 hit on rock radio. Yet in the case of Icon, it remains a forgotten obscurity. That said, so do the remaining 9 songs on this list.

9. “Naked Eyes” (Night of the Crime, 1985)

For the few who did pick up Icon’s eponymous 1984 debut upon its release, some must’ve thought there had been a mistake when dropping the needle upon its follow up, 1985’s Night of the Crime. Gone was the party-hearty, fists to the sky, loud and proud metal band of just a year earlier. In their place, a slick, polished, ultra-melodic AOR act tailormade for mass consumption. Light guitars? Slow tempos? Lush synths? Many a headbanger cringed at first…and then that chorus hit. Metal or not, “Naked Eyes” is a hell of an earworm on an album made up exclusively of earworms, but we’ll talk about that more in a little bit.

8. “Killer Machine” (Icon, 1984)

While there was nothing necessarily revolutionary about what Icon was doing on their debut album, one thing was certain: The songs rocked and they rocked hard! Look no further than “Killer Machine”. It’s quite a simple formula. You’ve got Priest-inspired chug riffs, hard rock swagger, booming arena metal drums, and a gang vocal chorus. Put them all together and you’ve got a bonafide killer in “Killer Machine”. Much like the female protagonist of the song (Or is it a car like Van Halen’s “Panama”?), this one is “hard, fast, and mean”.

7. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Maniac” (Icon, 1984)

Hear what a difference a year makes? If we jump back just 12 months to ’84, we hear the band that some (looking at you, King Fowley) consider to be the TRUE Icon. Sure, the melodies are prevalent as ever, but there ain’t nothing AOR about this headbanger. Frontman Stephen Clifford reaches the tippy top of his vocal range, sounding reminiscent of Accept shrieker Udo Dirkschneider in tone and delivery. Ironically, the opening riff of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Maniac” does sound similar to that on Accept’s “Screaming for a Love-Bite”. Perhaps Wolf Hoffmann was listening? I wouldn’t be surprised!

6. “Frozen Tears” (Night of the Crime, 1985)

The biggest culprit to blame for Icon’s musical 180? One Mr. Bob Halligan, Jr. Having been tapped as a hitmaker for fellow major label metallers, Judas Priest, Capitol must’ve felt he could work some of his magic on Icon, and he did. Well, not commercially speaking, but man, Halligan really penned the best songs of his career for Icon’s sophomore affair. Mind you, this is a man who wrote Judas Priest’s “(Take These) Chains”, Kix’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes”, and so forth. Yet it’s a song like “Frozen Lyrics”, with its otherworldly synths and passionate lyricism, that define its era, standing toe to toe with the best Foreigner and Survivor ballads of the day.

5. “(Rock On) Through the Night” (Icon, 1984)

Off the heels of the colossal success that was Quiet Riot’s Metal Health (1983), it was seemingly baked into the contracts of every major label metal act that each subsequent album needed at least one “Rah, rah, we’re metal and proud!” anthem. “(Rock On) Through the Night” is Icon’s take on such an anthem. Formulaic and predictable as it is for the era, it hits that sweet spot within every old school headbanger. Furthermore, how could you NOT singalong to that chorus? Even your tried and true, arms folded, no-fun, kvltist dork can’t deny the totally tubular trad metal power of this certified classic!

4. “Missing” (Night of the Crime, 1985)

What makes a perfect AOR song? There are a lot of factors, and if I tackled them all, we’d be here until next Tuesday. One trait, however, that I feel isn’t discussed enough is drama. Perhaps it’s thanks to my hometown boys in Styx, but I’ve always felt an effective AOR tune needs a healthy dose of pomp and circumstance. “Missing” is a masterclass in such musical maneuvers. Written by Halligan Jr. and executed by Icon, “Missing” sounds like the audio manifestation of a neon-drenched midnight, fusing the intensity of euro metal with an American AOR framework. These traits shouldn’t compliment each other, and yet they do masterfully.

3. “World War” (Icon, 1984)

Although Icon fell squarely into a realm of band whose lyrics centered around bodacious babes, wasted parties, and heavy metal turned to 11, they too could be serious when a song called for such. Look, for example, at “World War”. At the time, tensions between the States and Russia were at an all time high, and there was legitimate fear that this ongoing cold war could turn hot at any given moment. Icon must’ve channeled some of these fears into the lyrics of “World War”, which reimagine the US of A as a post-apocalyptic, war-torn wasteland, set to take place in 1994. Of course, this didn’t happen, but Icon do a hell of a job presenting the hypothetical.

2. “Under My Gun” (Icon, 1984)

Something I’ve always loved about first wave of glam metal albums is how, amidst the more radio-oriented cuts and textbook arena shout-alongs, there’d be glimmers of NWOBHM-inspired aggression and fury, which would put these acts in line with the burgeoning USPM and speed metal crop, if only for a song or two. Mötley Crüe had “Bastard”. Ratt had “I’m Insane”. And Icon? They had “Under My Gun”. This fast and ferocious headbanger wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Metal Massacre compilation of the day, sandwiched in between the likes of Slayer and Armored Saint. I selfishly wish they had more moments like this in their catalog, but perhaps is this exclusivity that makes “Under My Gun” so special.

1. “Danger Calling” (Night of the Crime, 1985)

Topping our list of greatest Icon songs, yet another Halligan, Jr. composition. Purists might crucify me for such a controversial move, but can you really blame me? Just get a load of that chorus. The buildup. The riffs. The twin guitar harmonies. This is the greatest Dokken song never made, and there is no reason whatsoever why this shouldn’t have been a chart-topping smash from coast to coast. I can hear Casey Kasem introducing it now, and he’s been dead for like a decade! Alas, such is life. “Danger Calling” might not have topped the Billboard Top 40, or even the rock charts, but it does top this here list and is the greatest Icon song of all time.