DESPISED ICON: The Ills Of Modern Man

Cover	Release	Style
	2007-05-21	death / metalcore
	Label
	www.centurymedia.com
	Website
	www.despisedicon.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	39:47	CM 77642-2P
	Review by / Translated by	Rating
	Vera	8/10
nederlands	Review
Despised Icon is a young Canadian band with a success story. Their ponderous death metal with quite a few grindcore and hardcore influences is pretty popular over the last years. The six-piece-band hailing from Montreal could be seen on European stages more than once. On their third CD ‘The Ills Of Modern Man’ one can find forty minutes raucous, technical skilled deathcore that sounds very mechanical, almost inhuman I would say. Vocalists Alexandre Erian (who was initially the drummer of the band) and Steve Marois roar, scream and grunt their way through the angular riffs, rattling drums (that are triggered sometimes), ear-deafening blastbeats and strident guitar runs. It all started in 2002 when members of Neuraxis, In Dying Days and Heaven’s Cry decided to form a band they baptized Despised Icon. They soon created a fuss with a first album in extreme underground metal scenes. In 2005 they got signed by Century Media and the second album ‘The Healing Process’ got rave reviews. Now they could start touring on a serious level and Despised Icon appeared on worldwide stages with other rigorous bands such as Vader, Deicide, Cryptopsy, Suffocation and Aborted. A hectic tour schedule was achieved in 2006 as well, followed by entering the studio at the beginning of 2007 to record this next extreme piece of work. A positive point is that the album has an ultra chunky sound. The tormenting avalanche of gritty riffs and the sometimes distorted gang vocals of any guest musicians come to master you as a tsunami. This rules for forty minutes long without worth mentioning time to breathe. Or it should be the melodic final part of the last track ‘Fainted Blue Ornaments’. ‘The Ills Of Modern Man’ has an overwhelming sound on score of the production of their former guitarist Yannick St-Amand (Beneath The Massacre, Ion Dissonance (a band with quite a few links with Despised Icon) and Neuraxis). Yannick still plays on this album, but he is now replaced by Al Glassman. The mix was done by the famous Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Opeth). Soon Despised Icon will further establish its name as one of the most devastating bands in a live situation, for a European tour with Unearth and Job For A Cowboy is planned later on this year.
Musicians
Alexandre Erian: vocals Steve Marois: vocals Eric Jarrin: guitars Yannick St-Amand: guitars Sebastien Piche: bass Alexandre Pelletier: drums
Tracklist
In The Arms Of Perdition (4:24) Furtive Monologue (3:22) Quarantine (4:07) The Ills Of Modern Man (3:50) A Fractured Hand (4:35) Sheltered Reminiscence (3:12) Nameless (3:01) Tears Of The Blameless (4:13) Oval Shaped Incisions (4:02) Fainted Blue Ornaments (5:01)
Discography


Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium