So I've been listening to Iconoclast a lot this week. I hadn't really touched it since the month it came out. The album certainly still doesn't hold a candle to works from the Damnation Game-Odyssey period, but it sounds a lot better than it used to. I guess the months of thinking it was trash has changed my perspective and allowed to me to enjoy it for what it is. This is a list of what I enjoy from each song:
Iconoclast: Very good song all around. One of the album's highlights.
The End of Innocence: Decent song. Nothing really stands out as spectacular though.
Dehumanized: I love the pre-chorus. The chorus riff is pretty cool too. The guitar solo is fantastic. I think it's the best on this album and it's right up there with the older material.
Bastards: Uh. The best section is from the keyboard/guitar harmonized part until the little bass solo leads back into the chorus.
Heretic: I love the throwbacks to Church of the Machine here. There's the intro/pre-verse riffs being very similar. The lyrics in the pre-choruses ending with "On your knees!" and "faceless masses falling to their knees." And then there's "counterfeit's the kingdom you devise" sort of paralleling the "my empires rise / artificially devised" part. Overall, the riffs are just pretty sick. Russell's vocals definitely work with this style.
Children: "All I aaaaam / I give to YOU" sounds kinda cool.
When All Is Lost: Great melodies, etc. If nothing else, almost everyone tends to enjoy this song.
Electric Messiah: Another highlight. This one has some of the best vocal/instrumental sections. What I mean by that is there are actually decent melodies on top of the cool riffs in the verse and chorus.
Prometheus: The intro is nice. Very unique sounding. So is the pre-chorus. Also, the chorus is has a nice feel. I especially like the ending - the "within you I..." bit.
Light Up the Night: The guitar solo is good.
The Lords of Chaos: I like that the intro guitar sort of has a different tone from everything else on the album. The riffs are alright too.
Reign in Madness: Best song. This is probably the only thing that hasn't changed since my first listen. It's only marred slightly by the "from shore to shore" bit.
