Stephen Clifford sings with a powerful voice that is tough and melodic at the same time. These ingredients are part of the recipe of Icon’s amazing sound.

A bright wondrous synth intro leads the band into "Missing" where Stephen Clifford tells the story of someone killing his or her best friend when the love is missing. After listening to "Danger Calling" more than once you will sing right along with Stephen Clifford. The chorus is so damn catchy you won’t be able to stop yourself from joining in. The double guitar work weaves in-between the words. I can’t say enough about the massive bottom Tracey Wallach creates on bass and Pat Dixon punctuates with drums.

In "Shot At My Heart" Dan Wexler plays a funky guitar synth rhythm that leads to John Aquilino’s complementary heavy distorted guitar. These two distinct guitar parts ignite the setting for Stephen Clifford to make his vocals memorable once again.

Wexler’s Arizona desert clean guitar synth is the background for Wexler and Alquilino to rip out shredding, tapping guitar that matches a high pitch voice like synthesizer in the opening of "Out For Blood." This hard rocking tune is heavy on melody and crunch.

Icon slows things down just a bit with "Raise the Hammer." The sixth track gives you a little breather in comparison to energy of the previous song but you will join the band to sing the anthem. Wexler and Alquilino provide a brief, beautiful solo.

"Frozen Tears" is really the only true ballad on ‘NOTC.’ It isn’t the typical formulaic song most melodic hard rock bands play. Icon infuses Clifford’s brilliant vocals with equally impressive backing vocals, moody guitar rhythm parts and a heart searing guitar solo tradeoff. "Frozen Tears" is heartfelt.

You will be banging your head and stomping your foot to "The Whites of Their Eyes." The crunchy guitars bite while Stephen Clifford leads the charge with his voice. Pat Dixon’s beat is infectious and Tracy Wallach’s bass is what will get your head moving.

Calm before the storm, Icon sets up "Hungry For Love" soft and slow before the massive heavy guitar and thunderous drums & bass take over. Icon had real talent for creating heavy slow grooves that work better than almost any other band I can think of.

"Rock My Radio" is lyrically the simplest song on the album but the music says everything about Icon. The musical bridge to the chorus is heavy and once you are in the grip of the groove you will not be able to escape its clutch.

From top to bottom there is not a weak song on the album. The arrangement of hard rocking tunes mixed with melody is awesome. It’s hard to tell the difference of what Producer Eddie Kramer captured versus Ron Nevison’s mix. From the linear notes it would make most sense that Kramer got the power of the band, while Nevison gave the album the translucent polish. All I can say is their work put together equals a powerhouse of an album.

Speaking of linear notes, Derek Oliver’s comprehensive 16-page booklet written in May of 2005 is the most thoroughly researched, passionate account of a single album that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Oliver’s words blew me away and I was one of the few that have championed this album since it first came out in 1985.

If you read the back of the CD it will give you a small dose of the obstacles the band faced while making ‘NOTC’: "What makes this 1985 effort even more remarkable is the fact that it was recorded & released under the most difficult of circumstances. It’s not often that a producer barricades himself inside a studio, or that a singer quits a band just when all of the odds seem stacked in their favour, but the Icon tale is pack to the brim with all of these elements and more."