Review Summary: A shining effort in the dull genre of deathcore.
Before I start, this album completely blew away any expectation of a "traditional Despised Icon" sound or feel. This is the first record to feature Max Lavelle on bass and Ben Landreville on guitar. Seeing them on their "Montreal Assault Tour" gave me an idea how the new guys stacked up, and let me say they didn't disappoint live. The show left me in good spirits and excited for things to come.
The artwork however, did not give me high hopes for the record. It looks very cheesy and edited. The Ills Of Modern Man had a very dark and real feel to it. This time around. DI has created a depraved poop-man piece of artwork. With the title of "Day Of Mourning," I was expecting something a little more, epic? The first song on the record, entitled "Les Temps Changent," or "The Times Change," should sound familiar to anyone who kept up to date with the band's studio updates. It starts off with a "Fractured Hand" type of high backing riff, then leads into the familiar breakdown. One thing I will say, there is absolutely nothing ground-breakingly new with the vocal performances. Alex keeps the same "HXC" mid-range tone throughout the album. Steve, however, completely ditched his inward pig squeals on this new attempt. Throughout the record, the very few pig squeals he does aren't really pig squeals. They are exhaled lows with a hint of "EEE." I was instantly attracted to this new style of screaming for him, even though I did miss the inhales performed on "The Ills Of Modern Man." Steve's highs sound even more screechingly high, and his lows have really improved in terms of strength and pitch. I am not ruling out that it may just be the production though.
Love deathcore or not, the production value is stunning. This may turn off fans who like a more "raw" sound, but if you liked Despised Icon in the first place, you would know all of their albums are insanely well-produced. The drums all sound amazing, and the guitar work is crisp and clear. There aren't too many vocal effects as well. For being produced very well, this album still comes off as very straightforward.
"Les Temps Changent" is one of the strongest tracks on the album. There is the all too familiar, but very hard-hitting breakdown, along with an astoundingly great drumming performance by AlexGrind. This song makes use of their "gang vocals" almost excessively, however. The song has a hardcore sound.
The next track is "Day Of Mourning." One of the weakest songs on the album, the riffing is nothing original, and the song ends with a GASP* breakdown. To make it worse, they drag it out for what seems an eternity.
The next track is the ever famous "MVP." One of the fastest songs I have ever heard, this is straight brutality. Even a non-fan of the band would be blown away by this track. The breakdown at the end sounds original and heavy-hitting, but once again, they drag it out for way too long. And no, adding a tempo-keeping bass riff behind the muted guitars for the last 40 seconds does not make you original. The lyrics for the track are extremely vain and pointless as well.
The next song "All For Nothing," starts off with ANOTHER GASP* gang vocals. This song really picks up after a short-while. One of the few songs that reminds me of "The Healing Process." At 1:50, this song gets really interesting. An extremely chaotic breakdown fuels it, followed by the songs' opening riff. A solid song, not too great, not too poor.
"Eulogy" is next. At this point, a song structure should become apparent in your mind. Insanely-fast opening riff/HXC part/breakdown/same opening riff/optional end breakdown. This song breaks this mold. It has a guitar solo. A damn good one too, not in terms of technicality, but how it fits the song. Above average song.
"Made Of Glass" instantly reminded me of "Day Of Mourning." The song follows the same insanely-fast riff/HXC part/breakdown/another fast riff/breakdown formula. A pretty brutal ending to the song, but ONCE AGAIN, it is dragged out way too long. Average song.
"Black Lungs" follows the same formula. Great drumming. Same vocals. Same song structure. This does not make the song bad, however. There is another well-executed guitar solo, and the drums on this track are nothing short of pummeling.
"Diva Of Disgust" has a pretty sweet title. Sometimes, titles give me different expectations to songs, and this was no different. The song actually has a 2-step part! I was surprised. This band definitely does not overuse them, and it was a nice change of pace. Any drummer out there will be amazed at Alex's kick drum technicality as he blasts away at the snare. He is one of the most original drummers out there, and sometimes single-handedly keeps songs from getting stale. There is a pretty damn-memorable fast riff to close up the song.
"Entre Le Bien Et Le Mal," or "Between The Good And Evil" starts off with a breakdown that reminded me of "A Fractured Hand," from their last album. There is a great deal of atmosphere to this song, which this band lacks most of the time. Songs like this keep the genre from getting old. It's fast, full of depth, and still slow and heavy at parts. Numerous guitar solos litter this great song.
The last track is well, different. Quite boring at first listen as well. For the first 2 minutes, I wondered if this song was an instrumental. As soon as I wondered however, Steve started to screech. This song has a great deal of passion behind it. Steve has always been way better than Alex at having a personality when he screams. His highs sound tortured. Towards the end of the song, there is a nice melodic riff being played over the horrifying screaming. A short-lived song. Once it picks up, it's over. "Sleepless" is portrayed very well. It sounds sad, tortured, and full of passion, something the dual vocalists wanted.
This band has made good strides from "The Ills Of Modern Man." However, their songs lack a certain amount of flavor. Song after song sounds similar. But, Despised Icon proves that songs can sound similar, but still be great and very enjoyable to listen to. This album sets the bar for new age heavy music.
Pros:
-Legendary drumming
-Good amount of technicality and shredding
-Intense and fast.
Cons:
-Vocal work gets stale
-SLOW IT DOWN FOR ONCE
-Similar song structures
Recommended Tracks:
Les Temps Changent
MVP
All For Nothing
I hate most -core crap.
