{"id":120326,"date":"2025-11-04T00:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/120326\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T00:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:48:10","slug":"despised-icon-shadow-work-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/120326\/","title":{"rendered":"Despised Icon – Shadow Work Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Widely regarded as one of the original architects of deathcore, Canada\u2019s Despised Icon hardly needs an introduction. But just in case you\u2019ve been living under a rock for the past two decades, here\u2019s a brief introduction: back in 2002, when MySpace was all the rage and everyone had a friend named Tom, five dudes from Montreal dropped their debut LP, Consumed by Your Poison. Heavily influenced by the likes of Suffocation and Dying Fetus, these Canadians continued to hone their crushing sound on 2005\u2019s The Healing Process by injecting metalcore and hardcore elements into their deathly framework. This unique formula culminated with their third LP, The Ills of Modern Man (2007)\u2014the crown jewel of their discography that made Despised Icon deathcore royalty. The rest, they say, is history. Fast forward 18 years and, following a hiatus and three subsequent albums, the group has now readied their seventh LP, Shadow Work. So, dust off that windbreaker and lace up your best pair of New Balance kicks; it\u2019s time to dive into Shadow Work.<\/p>\n

In typical Despised Icon fashion, the opening title track instantly rips one\u2019s jaw from its joints with a strong, technical launch. Leading the assault is \u00c9ric Jarrin and Ben Landreville\u2019s signature pitch-shifted guitar squeals (a staple since 2019\u2019s Purgatory), which, alongside rapid-fire tremolo scales, synchronize perfectly with Alex Pelletier\u2019s blistering rhythms and Sebastien Pich\u00e9\u2019s grinding bass to fuel the album\u2019s heavy, frenetic passages. The dual-headed vocal attack from Alex Erian and Steve Marois sounds as strong as ever, alternating raspy screams, slam-style pig squeals and hardcore chants that add a sharp, aggressive edge. Guest spots from Matthew Honeycutt (Kublai Khan TX), Scott Ian Lewis (Carnifex) and Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin) compliment Erian and Marois\u2019 delivery but ultimately land with mixed results. Shadow Work\u2019s powerful first half (\u201cShadow Work\u201d through \u201cThe Apparition\u201d) proves Despised Icon can still execute with the same ferocity as on past efforts. Conversely, Shadow Work\u2019s energy wanes toward the end with formulaic pit anthems (\u201cObsessive Compulsive Disaster,\u201d \u201cFallen Ones\u201d) settling into a clich\u00e9 hardcore spirit, though the record\u2019s strongest material warrants repeat listens.<\/p>\n

The first half of Shadow Work delivers a powerful blend of technical proficiency and a dash of genre experimentation before the album settles into a more formulaic hardcore groove. \u201cDeath Of An Artist\u201d is a straight-up, drum-driven banger that introduces new wrinkles like clean vocals, dissonant high leads and a tasteful thrash and death eeriness that adds fresh flavor to Despised Icon\u2019s well-known formula. Similarly, \u201cThe Apparition\u201d is a relentless burner, injecting elements of symphonic death and black metal while maintaining the group\u2019s core sound. Across the album\u2019s succinct 37 minutes, monolithic breakdowns are plentiful\u2014tense builds frequently give way to gut-punching beatdowns replete with fret slides (\u201cShadow Work\u201d), air raid sirens (\u201cThe Apparition\u201d) and stutter-step riffing (\u201cDeath of an Artist\u201d), delivering a seismic release and an irresistible urge to pit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, Shadow Work hits a predictable wall at its midpoint, slumping into an over-reliance on tropey, Hatebreed-adjacent, inspirational anthems. Characterized by pervasive gang vocals, two-step riffs, and cheesy lyrical themes, tracks like \u201cFallen Ones,\u201d \u201cObsessive Compulsive Disaster,\u201d and \u201cReaper\u201d feel less about pushing Despised Icon\u2019s established deathcore boundaries and more about catering to the masses, thereby detracting from Shadow Work\u2019s initial aggression. While Scott Ian Lewis\u2019 gruff, thrashy vocal textures on \u201cIn Memoriam\u201d effectively add a new element and the raucous \u201cOmen of Misfortune\u201d or \u201cContreCoeur\u201d offer relief, Despised Icon\u2019s heavy reliance on clich\u00e9d, tough-guy hardcore vocal cadences and themes holds Shadow Work back. For instance, lines like \u201cFrom the ground up, never gave up, from the gutter to the surface\u201d (\u201cReaper\u201d) leans too far into its hardcore roots. Even the otherwise stronger early track \u201cOver My Dead Body\u201d is hampered by a cheesy hardcore\/nu-metal feel in its bridge, its jarring cadence and Honeycutt\u2019s yelling of \u201cbitch\u201d further exposing Shadow Work\u2019s central weakness.<\/p>\n

Shadow Work is a good record marred by frustrating dualities. The first half unleashes the punishing, technical ferocity and syncopated slams that cement Despised Icon\u2019s legacy as godfathers of deathcore. Yet, Shadow Work\u2019s potential is sacrificed in the latter half, by leaning too hard on formulaic, predictable hardcore anthems. By repeatedly prioritizing comfortable clich\u00e9s over their trademark sound, Despised Icon ultimately delivers an uneven album that only teases at the complete savagery fans know these legends are still more than capable of delivering.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast<\/a>
Websites: despisedicon.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/despisedicon<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Widely regarded as one of the original architects of deathcore, Canada\u2019s Despised Icon hardly needs an introduction. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[5808,5809,33134,71785,71786,48051,71787,71788,71789,93,71790,61,60,71791,278,71792,37128,563,564,71793,45906],"class_list":{"0":"post-120326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-5808","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-canadian-metal","11":"tag-carnifex","12":"tag-chelsea-grin","13":"tag-deathcore","14":"tag-despised-icon","15":"tag-devourment","16":"tag-dying-fetus","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-hatebreed","19":"tag-ie","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-kublai-khan-tx","22":"tag-music","23":"tag-nuclear-blast","24":"tag-oct25","25":"tag-review","26":"tag-reviews","27":"tag-shadow-work","28":"tag-suffocation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}