Review Summary: Many metalheads loathe the genre of deathcore. "Day of Mourning" is definitely not one of the reasons for this.
The phenomenon known as deathcore in its relatively short life has spawned lots of controversy and confusion. Most people seem to perceive deathcore as just a "watered down version of death metal with uninventive riffs and breakdown abuse". One honestly cannot blame these people, as what deathcore has become these days is rarely what it is supposed to be by definition. The definition itself hasn't been agreed upon either - some argue that it's a fusion of metalcore and death metal (does that make it 2/3 metal and 1/3 hardcore or what?), others settle upon believing that it's just metalcore where the overall metal is replaced the death metal. Whatever you choose to believe, deathcore can be treated as a subgenre of both metalcore and death metal, generally being death metal with hardcore punk styling. And Despised Icon fit that very well.
Their last album before disbanding, "Day of Mourning", is definitely a strong incentive to start having second thoughts about hating on the genre of deathcore. You listen to it and you experience a catharsis of sorts - all the bitterness and disappointment with "what those faggy scene kids have done to your metal" vanish entirely, as your face widens in a smile of satisfaction. This is good, you think. This is what deathcore was supposed to be in the first place - a fusion of two fully serious and respectable genres: death metal and hardcore punk, and not a pathetic, teenager-directed, watered down excuse for death metal aimed at making money. You accept that this music is deathcore and you accept that it's good. Catharsis.
Despised Icon's music on this album is pretty similar to that from their penultimate effort, "The Ills of Modern Man", but better in every way. The compositions are extremely elaborate and interesting. They never attain the four minute mark (the last track being an exception, but it's another story), yet so much happens in each of them that you feel like each lasts for five minutes at least. The vocals are awesome this time, with Steve Marois ditching the annoying and pointless inward pig squeal technique. The squeals were one of the reasons I started hating deathcore in the first place, before I realized they're not a defining characteristic of the genre, and that they originated in grindcore (where still they're not a mandatory or defining technique). Nevertheless, the band did employ the squeals on their previous records, which has accurately prevented me from being able to get into them at all - on "Day of Mourning" this problem is gone, and in fact the other vocal styles employed sound better than ever. In general, all the songs are much less formulaic than before, and make extensive use of Alex Pelletier's insane drumming, and the guitarist tandem shred riffing.
Some songs display blatant hardcore influences (like All For Nothing), some mix hxc and death metal feel evenly (e.g. Day of Mourning), and some go for death metal all the way (Made of Glass). All is embellished by a slight industrial feel or borderline Meshuggah-like technicality at times and intensified by touches of grindcore that have always been sneaking into the band's sound. Long story short, this album is so good because it eliminates all the negative stereotypes plaguing deathcore: no boring chug chug riffs all the time, no downtempo berserk, the breakdowns are placed cleverly and written very well, plus there are even tasteful guitar leads. This album does everything right and demonstrates the band's growth, since their previous releases did fall prey to some or all of the aforementioned stereotypes. This album does not, yet it still clearly remains deathcore. And it's one of the scarce reasons why you can say "I like deathcore" and be fully proud of it.
Recommended tracks:
"Eulogy" - has a lead and a very interesting transition to the breakdown
"Made of Glass" - the best song on the record with awesome death metal riffs
"Black Lungs" - similar to Made of Glass
"Sleepless" - a beautiful emotional ballad
Truth be told, each of the other songs has something interesing in them
Pros:
- free of the bree
- inventive riffing patterns
- creative breakdowns
- an overall feel of musicality
- quality guitar leads
- great vocals
- extremely heavy
- denies the stereotypes of deathcore
Cons:
- wigger lyrics in "MVP"
