Deathcore with Dimension: Despised Icon’s Shadow Work Reviewed

“Shadow Work” has a run time of 36 minutes 26 seconds and features a total of 11 tracks. It brings an onslaught of brutality, guitars that scream from the depths of hell with precision chaos, rapid-fire drumming that drives and highlights the albums intensity and aggression, the sort of level that you feel after you've had one too many drinks and wake up feeling better for ware on a Sunday morning... no? Just me? Well... damn.

Despised Icon’s signature two-frontman setup adds dynamic range and intensity and is still something that to this day is not very common. I can only think of a few bands who run two "vocalists" in their dynamic, I mean sure you get bands which have back up vocals or multiple vocal elements but to have two sole vocalists is still something that is yet to be fully embraced in composition. 

Highlighted tracks from the recent release of "Shadow Work" include “Over My Dead Body”(Featuring Matt Honeycutt of Kublai Khan TX), “Reaper” ( Featuring Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin) and Scott Ian Lewis (Carnifex)) and “In Memoriam,” each showcasing Despised Icon's titanic presence that still remains strong after two decades. The incorporation of guest appearances on the album from Matt Honeycutt (Kublai Khan TX), Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin), and Scott Ian Lewis (Carnifex) not only shows the collaborative spirit of the metal community but adds additional credibility to the release. I would say this is an absolute win for fans of deathcore.

I would have to say “Shadow Work” is not an album that brings anything different from Despised Icon, there’s no space to say “this album is anything different to previous releases” but in a way, I don’t mean this negatively it is just a polished production that shows why Despised Icon are at the top of their game. The album leans more into hardcore than previous releases to date but once again, I wouldn't say this is a negative. It's a refreshing yet satisfying direction. Is it something new that's not been no? Of course not... I would be lying if I said it was. 

I’ve always been a fan of the band since the release of “Consumed By Your Poison” back in 2002 and let it be known that I have never been let down by any of their discography to date. This release changes nothing, I am still yet to be disappointed. This album is definitely one for fans of Carnifex, Job For A Cowboy, Thy Art Is Murder, Annotations of An Autopsy and any other early pioneers of deathcore.