DESPISED ICON

There are certain, unavoidable consequences to being a humble, unpretentious band. DESPISED ICON could, if their Canadian identities would allow it, be extremely arrogant about their position in deathcore's unwritten hierarchy. Whether or not they were the first to fully express the genre is a moot point at this stage because regardless of record sales, social media hits, or indeed anything else, DESPISED ICON are the unofficial kings of this shit. Other bands have flashier facades, more overblown productions, and a more obvious desire to be commercially successful, but the Montreal sextet have a rock-solid sound and deathcore credentials that are manifestly not to be sneered at.

From early classics like second album "The Healing Process" (2005),through to recent barnstormers "Beast" (2016) and "Purgatory" (2019),they have proven themselves to be pure of intent and impervious to the stylistic laziness that their genre has often been criticized for. This, unfortunately, has not led to world domination, but there has long been a sense that DESPISED ICON are perfectly happy to have a vexed relationship with the limelight. While many of the bands that they helped to spawn are vigorously pursuing glory, the Canadians simply keep on keepin' on, largely because music this brutal does not require regular pats on the back from the mainstream. Instead, "Shadow Work" is an album aimed squarely at the purists, the lifers and anyone else that simply wants to hear extreme metal in its true, undiluted state.

On their seventh studio album, DESPISED ICON flex their muscles like the laser-focused badasses they have always been. Anyone that has enjoyed the band's music over the last two-and-a-bit decades will find themselves on familiarly visceral ground here, albeit with levels of sonic power and an intuitive production that conspire to blow their early releases out of the water. "Shadow Work" sounds fantastic: brutal, heavy, supremely focused and laudably bereft of gimmicks. But the most important thing to recognize is that DESPISED ICON continue to be the best songwriters deathcore has to offer. There are no orchestral embellishments to muddy the waters, nor any other symphonic extravagance, and from shocking start to ruthless finish, "Shadow Work" concerns itself only with smashing people's faces in. The opening title track is the perfect entry point: nimble, unpredictable and admirably vicious, it sums up the way DESPISED ICON have operated throughout their career, with originality and verve coursing through their collective, creative veins. Recent single "Over My Dead Body" is a gem, too. Driven ecstatically along on hulking, mutant grooves, with ferocious blasts and merciless breakdowns included as standard procedure, it thrums with gritty energy.

"Death Of An Artist" is a more adventurous creation, with atmospheric asides that offset the outright savagery with dreamy precision and riffs that slice and scythe with bona fide death metal intensity. A bullish furor, brimming with gang vocals and concrete-coated riffs, "Corpse Pose" is a surefire live favorite with a snarling, bad attitude, truly wicked breakdowns and a clear, unashamed debt to CANNIBAL CORPSE and SUFFOCATION. The dual vocal attack of Alex Erian and Steve Marois has never been more potent or deranged, and on another recent single, "The Apparition", the duo's spit-spraying chemistry is a dark-hearted joy to witness. A feast of black metal echoes and deathly dynamics, it strikes an exquisite balance between chaos and control, as DESPISED ICON whizz through the gears, blasting away at insane speeds and curb-stomping along at a monstrous mid-pace en route to an almost comically dangerous beatdown. Once again, a more cynical band might shy away from such expertly presented meat 'n' potatoes, but this band have authenticity flowing through everything they do, and whether it's the slow-motion grind that turns "Reaper" into a gruesome, lobotomized ambush, or the sparing use of haunted house strings that ushers in the scowling, dark metal squall of "In Memoriam", "Shadow Work" never cheapens itself by trying too hard to please.

The remaining tracks rattle by in a thrilling blur. "Omen Of Misfortune" is schizophrenic, furious and ugly; "Obsessive Compulsive Disaster" is absurdly fast, deeply entrenched in iron-plated hardcore tropes, yobbish gang vocals included, and the most satisfyingly rowdy DESPISED ICON tune since "Bad Vibes"; and the sub-two-minute "ContreCoeur" is the musical equivalent of a backstreet mugging. The whole, 37-minute shebang concludes with "Fallen Ones": a gloomy, hard-as-nails riot of riffs, gutturals, fluid Spanish guitar and skewed death metal dynamics that make a mockery of the idea that deathcore is one-dimensional by design. "Shadow Work" is effective proof that the genre has outlived any reservations that the naysayers might have offered 20 years ago. DESPISED ICON are still the kings of this shit.