Album Rating: 5.0

Yes. The original Icon was well written but amateurish in execution. Off-key vocals, guitar solos in the wrong key half the time, overall sloppy musicianship. The re-recording fixed most of that.

Album Rating: 4.5

Most bands that played this kind of music back then favoured feeling over musicianship, and Icon has plenty of it. I'd guess the solo on Weeping Words is an example that fits your description but to me it works beautifully.



The re-recording on the other hand sounds lifeless and overproduced as hell to me.

Album Rating: 5.0

Yeah I understand the "passion over precision" argument, and I agree somewhat. There's more energy in the original. But in any case like this, I'm always going to prefer the more polished release. That's just my taste.



And I don't consider either version to be peak Paradise Lost. Draconian Times is far better.

Album Rating: 3.8 | Sound Off

-- The re-recording on the other hand sounds lifeless and overproduced as hell to me.



So does 90% of all metal sound work, irrespective of genre, during the last ten years.



It's sad that the younger generations of fans have access only to compressed sound versions of albums for the most part, and that goes even for original '90s recordings that have been maimed during their transfer to digital platforms.

Album Rating: 4.5

Pretty harsh Voivod but I get it. When even symphonic and "pop" metal bands are going all djenty with their 7 string guitars (most of the times using only the lowest string) you realize that something is wrong with the metal scene.



@Ocean of Noise: To each his own man.

Album Rating: 3.8 | Sound Off

^^I'm not talking about arrangement decisions such as the one you mentioned (use of the lowest string), but sound work decisions.



Recently, I re-listened to a '90s progressive metal album in several digital platforms - for the history, it was Headquake by Eldritch - and I discovered in dismay, that the online versions have butchered the singer's excellent vibrato at the time, in at least one song.



I had to listen to the CD I own and purchased in the '90s, to verify the incident, because prior to verification, I remembered quite well that in the place of flat deliveries, there were excellent vibratos. I'm sure that there are more cases like the one I just described...

I’m with ya mate

Album Rating: 5.0

Just re-listened to the original Icon. Now re-listening to the re-recording. My thoughts:



Vocals and guitar solos on the original still suck.



Everything is better on the re-recording, including the production. It's not overproduced at all. It's a nice, meaty, heavy recording.



And most importantly, the vocals and guitar are both much improved.

Album Rating: 4.0

But does it have the soul of the original?

Album Rating: 5.0

does doom metal have a soul