Chris McCarter (vocals, guitar, programming) and Dino Molinaro (bass) began to write songs as high school students in 1988, inspired by their love of alternative music.

The band’s original singer Michael Carrodus joined them in creating the first two albums In the Shadow of the Angel (1994) and Flowers for the Gathering (1996), which drew IKON to the attention of goth music fans in Europe and America through their signing to Apollyon and Metropolis.

Drummer David Burns and guitarist Anthony Griffiths (both of whom joined the band in late-1998) were integral to the development of the album, which abandoned the electronic experimentation of This Quiet Earth and returned to IKON’s rock roots.

After this successful tour, the band was invited to play at the M'era Luna festival in 2002, with billing alongside The Sisters of Mercy, HIM, Soft Cell and London After Midnight and then their first of three appearances at Wave Gotik Treffen in 2003.

The band released the highly acclaimed Psychic Vampire EP (2004), which became the biggest-selling IKON single to date and marked a transition to a powerful, aggressive rock sound and is a testament to the growth in McCarter’s evolving songwriting, honed during years of touring the world.