by MacKenzie Wilson
Talented musician Andy LaPlegua is no stranger to the music circuit, for he's a veteran of the Detroit hip-hop band LAW, the industrial band Devils Into Crime, and the punk-metal outfits My Right Choice and Lash Out. LaPlegua, who is a native of Norway, has also had his hand in the trance market, collaborating with Sector 9 and Plastic Life. But Icon of Coil, founded in 1998, was a long time coming for this perfectionist in search of yet another musical region and this time an experimental industrial route. Christian Lund and Melt's Sebastian Komor joined the band in early 2000 and Icon of Coil was official. Having inked a deal with the European label Tatra Records, Icon of Coil's debut single "Shallow Nation" sold out its 1,000 pressings during the first month of release. Several remixes followed, as well as an EP One Nation Under Beat, which also led to a sufficient package with the electro-industrial label Metropolis Records. The full-length The synth-pop oriented Serenity of the Devil appeared in fall 2001.