Despised Icon

Quebec grind/metalcore act Despised Icon have really upped the ante on their Century Media debut. After releasing an album on Galy Records and a split CD earlier this year with Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus on Relapse, the sextet has changed singers and intensified their attack for their sophomoric full-length release. Mixed by J-F Dagenais (Misery Index, Kataklysm) and mastered by Alan Douches (Shadows Fall, the Dillinger Escape Plan), the nine-song album captures their sound to maximum effect, showcasing the ease by which they are able to switch from mid-paced gallops to brutal grind and back. There is also a very technical side to the album — just listen to the insane riffage of "Harvesting the Deceased" for all the proof needed. The album will appeal to both fans of extreme hyper metalcore as well as those who are into more brutal death/grind stylings of bands such as Dying Fetus. It is also one of the more exciting Canadian metal releases in some time.