The word deathcore is sometimes enough to make you shudder as I would say the vast majority of it now is, how do I put it politely?
As expected, it starts with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer to the gonads with title track Shadow Work which is a brutal onslaught of thundering blastbeats form Alex Pelletier showing exactly what he is capable of and some unbelievable guitar work from Eric Jarrin and Ben Landerville all cloaked with the feral vocals we have come to love and expect and you instantly hear that even all these years into their career there is no slowing down or mellowing the trademark breakdowns are there and as disgustingly heavy as always and put all the modern bands to shame.
Over My Dead Body dials back the pace slightly but is once again chock full of massive distorted riffs and a more subdued but still potent drum track and we also get the pig squeals introduced and they sound as epic as ever, and the thunderous guitars just keep coming and the way Steve Marois and Alex Erian bounce off each other vocally is just a pleasure to hear, it does also have the Kublai Khan vocalist on there for some reason as he is not needed really but it’s a minor gripe.
Death Of An Artist is just relentless and punishing from second one right through till the very last note rings out and in these 3 tracks so far Despised Icon have sounded better than almost every deathcore album I have heard put together so far this year, why can’t all bands of this genre just sound like this because if they did deathcore would rule the world.
Corpse Pose starts off as chaotic and brutal as you would want and then manages to unleash some of the most groove filled heavy riffs you are likely to hear for a very long time and also manages to still retain all the unrelenting savagery you could ever want and the breakdowns at the end of this song will leave you destroyed. The Apparition actually manages to throw is some harmony, with a melo-death-esque intro before that is swiftly kicked to the curb and in its place is another full blown attack, no pleasantness, no soppy parts midway to allow you to gather your thoughts just a non-stop assault and that’s exactly why I like it so much!
Onto the next track and on Reaper we also get more guest appearances from Scott Ian Lewis of Carnifex and Tom Barber of Chelsea Grin which is a nice touch to include some of the better vocalists from the genre in a sort of past meets present type of homage, my only gripe is that it might be the most meat and potatoes track on the album which is a shame, don’t get me wrong it is still a good track but just not as breath-taking as the rest!
In Memoriam does the melodic intro again and actually carries it on slightly longer then before and the way the song flows feels slightly different also, its full of chunky beatdowns and the riffs flow freely and there is some atmospherics running through bits of it but there are some cleanish vocals that I’m not a massive fan of, not sure about most of this track but the last minute sort of pulls it back musically. Omen Of Misfortune gets us back on course and takes me back to what I want, savage brutality! After a couple of tracks that haven’t completely hit the mark here, I get everything I want again! It’s always a pleasure to be able to review something by a band that has been doing their thing for ages and genuinely not be disappointed or bored by their output.
With Obsessive Compulsive Disaster we finally get to hear the bass of Sebastien Piché shine through and he gets to really drive forward the song and create something that has such a body to it and when the guitars follow the rhythm you just get lost in it, we get gang chants to bring in the hardcore element of the sound the swagger is there in abundance and of course the death metal influence drip royally from every note an absolutely unbelievable track so far into an album!
With Obsessive Compulsive Disaster we finally get to hear the bass of Sebastien Piché shine through and he gets to really drive forward the song and create something that has such a body to it and when the guitars follow the rhythm you just get lost in it, we get gang chants to bring in the hardcore element of the sound the swagger is there in abundance and of course the death metal influence drip royally from every note an absolutely unbelievable track so far into an album!
ContreCour is an 1:32 riot starter that is pure hardcore but with the unmistakable death grind sound also thrown in for good measure, God only knows what the vocals are going on about as they are all in French, but it does sound pretty cool to be honest! So just like that we are onto last track Fallen Ones and as expected it has a slightly more epic feel to is musically with open ended riffs that collide with a gang vocal heavy approach but the way they mix in the groove with everything else is just wonderfully executed and is honestly a perfect way to end this wonderful album.
This was one of those that I already really knew the score before I pressed play, I have heard the songs that were released before the album and I loved them all, Despised Icon were one of the first deathcore bands that really made me interested in the genre before it became a bit over populated by bands that are nowhere near as good as Despised Icon and never will be. This band are icons (yes, I said it) of this scene and with Shadow Work they have delivered another masterful showing of what they can do and how deathcore should sound.
This was one of those that I already really knew the score before I pressed play, I have heard the songs that were released before the album and I loved them all, Despised Icon were one of the first deathcore bands that really made me interested in the genre before it became a bit over populated by bands that are nowhere near as good as Despised Icon and never will be. This band are icons (yes, I said it) of this scene and with Shadow Work they have delivered another masterful showing of what they can do and how deathcore should sound.
An absolutely phenomenal album that you really need to make it your business to hear. 10/10
Unprocessed – Angel (Self-Released) [Spike]
Unprocessed – Angel (Self-Released) [Spike]
Let's be clear: listening to Unprocessed is not a recreational activity. It’s an evaluation. This German quartet operates with a surgical, almost clinical precision that makes other progressive metal acts sound like they’re still tuning their guitars. Their fifth album, Angel, is less a collection of songs and more a hyper-futuristic blueprint for sonic dominance. This is the sound of a flawless cyborg assassination.
The production here is so clean it’s unsettling. Every note snaps into place, every rhythm guitar groove cuts with the sterile precision of a laser scalpel. This sound demands perfection. Opener Angel sets the tone immediately. It doesn't build; it activates, dropping a flawless, stuttering rhythm straight into your cranium. The drumming is a marvel of calculated aggression, complex without ever descending into mere technical overindulgence. This is what happens when you substitute human error for code.
The core of their sound is the way the guitars function. They aren’t just generating riffs; they’re executing elaborate technical manoeuvres that defy physics. On tracks like Vertigo and Die Young, the lead guitar work is fast and fluid, but the underlying structures, all polyrhythms and razor-sharp syncopation are relentless. It’s a rhythmic attack that feels simultaneously alien and organic. While the vocals occasionally drift into a cleaner, almost ethereal space, the band always pulls back to that central, crushing groove. This ensures the aggression never dissipates, it just gets refracted through complex patterns.
Unprocessed shines when they lean into the technical chaos. Abyss is a track built on calculated dissonance, showing that even when they’re striving for atmosphere, they’re still using a calculator to figure out the exact point of emotional collapse. It’s a demanding listen that requires multiple passes just to understand the entry and exit points of the rhythm, but that’s the point. It rewards scrutiny. Angel is a study in precision engineered metal. It’s cold, it’s flawless, and it serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes, the future of metal is built not on filth, but on terrifying, inhuman dexterity. 8/10
Archaic Thorn - Malicious Spears (High Roller Records) [Mark Young]
Back on track as we head into the spookiest week of the year, Archaic Thorn enters the fray with Malicious Spears, with their second full length offering via High Roller Records.
From the off its death metal with a decidedly European twist, in so much that you recognise that particular flavour in the same way you would recognise metal from the Scandinavian countries. With this in mind, your appreciation of Malicious Spears will depend on how you find metal from the EU. What you will find is an old school, heavy vibe that isn’t as polished as other bands and is also a little bit stodgy.
Lord Of Tombs is an example of something that should have started like it was on fire, announcing the band as something to behold. Instead, there is a ponderous opening before it starts to properly move its feet. Remember I mentioned about that distinct style, well it comes flying in with blasts and speedy guitars and vocals that feel that they are on the verge of tripping over themselves. It feels crammed in some sections, sparse in others and runs a little too long. If anything, it reminds me of 80’s goth in the way it plays out.
Lord Of Tombs is an example of something that should have started like it was on fire, announcing the band as something to behold. Instead, there is a ponderous opening before it starts to properly move its feet. Remember I mentioned about that distinct style, well it comes flying in with blasts and speedy guitars and vocals that feel that they are on the verge of tripping over themselves. It feels crammed in some sections, sparse in others and runs a little too long. If anything, it reminds me of 80’s goth in the way it plays out.
Coming in at a different angle is A Blessed Ground Remains, which starts off with more zip to it and develops nicely into one of those tracks that has a slow measure but has a feel of movement to it. It still feels as though they have shoehorned a little too much into it again instead of being a little more efficient with it. To be honest it is a minor complaint, because the material here isn’t bad or poorly realised.
Take the frenzied introduction to Conquering Spirits, it sprints along before it drops off into a more traditional composition that sees the blasts come in. Its like there is a slight timing issue between the vocals and the music behind it, and it returns that feel of trying to put too much into one space. It harks back to a simpler time for both death and black metal when the eye was drawn more to the intent than the playing.
Where they do land is on Advancing Without Mercy, which has a more concise and focused attack. It still shares that common goal that the others have but works better because of its slightly reduced run time. I suppose how you will take this is purely dependent upon how you take your metal. If its uber polished, shined to an inch of its life and possessing that ‘modern’ sound then you could be forgiven for thinking this is slightly old hat. But if you dig into this and give it chance you might find this engaging.
As they move into the later stages, the upward swing displayed on Advancing... is manifested on the others. They really start to motor, moving beyond the now leaden opening track with Massgrave Transformation blasting along in a classic death metal way. Its surprising because after tracks 1 and 2 I’d settled for maybe having to give this a lower score. Massgrave picks up that baton and starts to put its feet down and is soon giving way to Angel Of Havaz.
Yes, its not saying anything new but it’s done with a vigour which is half the battle. It sees a return to the longer track length but its done better than before. This time the build avoids that cramming, instead letting it develop more naturally and as a result works so much better. You actually get a handle on the riffs they are dropping and there are some belters in here.
We wrap with the title track; Malicious Spears and it lives up to the maxim of leaving the best until last. For me it is like the companion piece to Angel Of Havaz, two sides of the same coin and it follows the great work displayed on the former. It still keeps in with that frantic approach but now its focused on where it needs to be. A great example of this is the lead break that comes in towards the end. It is purpose built to do that job and it does it very well.
So, what do we have? Well, it’s an album that manages to shake off that stodgy start and blossom into a decent set of songs. Again, how you like your metal will decide how you like this but its worth you giving it a chance because you might just like it. 7/10
Alpha Destroyer - Fast Lane (Necromantic Press Records) [Simon Black]
Side projects and Supergroups can be funny things…
The reasons they come into being varies enormously – from the need for something to do whilst the more established acts that spawned them are taking a break (Avantasia), or rising from the ashes of bands that have bitten the dust and not got around to the inevitable reunion (Velvet Revolver), or from members of such bands wanting to do something stylistically different (The Night Flight Orchestra) or even, as in this instance.
From the passing of time on the road (or sea) and the recognition that there was something here worth sharing with a wider audience. Sometimes these things are just a flash in the pan studio project, sometimes they tour in between other commitments and sometimes they become more successful than the acts that spawned them (which is definitely the case with Avantasia).
But it’s early days for Alpha Destroyer, an act that was spawned when Martin Sweet from Crashdïet, Buckcherry‘s Kelly LeMieux and Eric Sexton-Dorsett and Kevin Hahn of Sleepless who over the course of four years of jamming and shenanigans abord the Monsters of Rock Cruise decided to take things a step further. Musically this project is an odd mix.
But it’s early days for Alpha Destroyer, an act that was spawned when Martin Sweet from Crashdïet, Buckcherry‘s Kelly LeMieux and Eric Sexton-Dorsett and Kevin Hahn of Sleepless who over the course of four years of jamming and shenanigans abord the Monsters of Rock Cruise decided to take things a step further. Musically this project is an odd mix.
Given the amount of sleazy rock ‘n’ roll in the bloodstreams of the core contributors, there is predictably a lot of this in the mix, particularly with guitar sound and vocal delivery. There’s also a lot of traditional Metal welly to all this, and some nice technical and progressive twists that stop this being a run of the mill sleazy piece, and in mood and tone I’m reminded in places of Alice In Chains, as there’s some vocal melody lines in there that could have fallen straight off of Dirt.
Somehow, they manage to take all these disparate elements and roll them up into some anthemic fist punchers (Manic Messiah being the strongest example). Add in a down and dirty production that still manages to be almost Doom heavy in places (Conspiracy), and we have a very interesting project indeed. Time will tell if this goes as far as touring, but maybe at the very least the Monsters of Rock Cruise that spawned them can allow a set or two next time round, and who knows what may happen next. 7/10
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