ICON OF COIL THE SOUL IS IN THE SOFTWARE ALBUM TATRA RELEASE: APRIL 29, 2002 REVIEW: MAY 31, 2002

"The Soul Is in the Software" has less of the pleasant Overlords vibe that surrounded "Serenity Is the Devil". Aside from that rather disappointing fact, things have remained basically the same for the Norwegian combo. Icon of Coil still moves through familiar future pop territory with mandatory fat base drums, driving rhythms and energetic techno melodies. Apoptygma Berzerk is still what they remind me most of, but "The Soul Is in the Software" has more visible classic EBM roots and less of a dance techno edge.
Their debut, the aforementioned "Serenity Is the Devil", worked me into a dancing frenzy pretty much every time I put it on, but this one is not as strong. Maybe they've taken the Icon of Coil concept to the limit? I still enjoy most of the tracks on "The Soul Is in the Software", but the future pop sound is beginning to bore even me. The single "Access & Amplify" and the poppy "Other Half of Me" still sways me in favour of the Norwegians, but on the whole this disc lacks innovation and imagination.
Maybe the future pop main frame needs an upgrade after all?

NIKLAS FORSBERG