Released in September 1993, Icon was Paradise Lost's fourth studio album and a record that helped define the gothic metal genre. It was one of their first major international chart successes, cementing their growing reputation worldwide and paving the way for the commercial breakthrough of Draconian Times (1995). In February 2019 Icon was inducted into the Deibel Magazine Hall of Fame and for the National Album Day 2026 pressed on Bloody Mary Red vinyl.