UMUR "Purgatory" is the sixth full-length studio album by Canada, Montreal based deathcore act Despised Icon. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in November 2019. It´s the successor to "Beast" from July 2016.

Stylistically the material on "Purgatory" continue the deathcore style of "Beast" although I´d say "Purgatory" is a slightly more brutal release. "Beast" had a more immedate and simple hardcore influence to it, which "Purgatory" doesn´t possess (a song like "Vies D´Anges" features some of those elements, but it´s only a partial influence on that track). This is brutal, energetic, and crushingly heavy and groove laden deathcore with both death metal growling and ultra aggressive hardcore shouting (and the rare effect laden piggy squealing moment).

"Purgatory" features a powerful, clear sounding, and meaty sound production, which ensures that Despised Icon´s heavy riffs and beats hit as hard as possible. It´s a sound production which effectively increases the impact of the band´s already brutal and heavy music. Everything is delivered with militant precision and superiour technical skill, and there´s nothing to complain about in terms of the delivery of the music.

The songwriting is a bit more standard for the genre, but again it´s obvious that Despised Icon are veterans of the scene, and if anyone has the right to release a deathcore album which is somewhat generic in the songwriting department (and in the elements which the album are composed of), it´s them. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Beast" is the 5th full-length studio album by Canada, Montreal based deathcore act Despised Icon. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in July 2016. Despised Icon was formed in 2002 and released four full-length studio albums before disbanding in December 2010. They reunited in 2014 to play concerts in Europe and North America, and apparently whatever made them split-up was solved, because they opted to record "Beast". It´s their first album in 7 years since the release of "Day of Mourning (2009)". There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Max Lavelle has been replaced by Sebastien Piché.

Stylistically the music on "Beast" is a technically well played type of deathcore with strong hardcore leanings (the riot gang vocals are great) and the occasional deathgrind part. It´s incredibly powerful and packed with brutal grooves, tempo changes, and aggressive raw vocals. There´s good variation between tracks on the 10 track, 29:02 minutes long album, which helps ensure that "Beast" is an entertaining release throughout. The high level musicianship is another great asset. Hard edged precision playing and two lead vocalists who compliment each other well. A deep intelligible semi-growling/raw hardcore shouting vocalist and a slightly higher pitched snarling aggressive one (there are a few pig grunts/squeals on the album too, but they are not the dominant vocal style). "Beast" is definitely a proper title for this vicious animal of an album.

Highligths include the powerful opening track "The Aftermath", "Inner Demons" (the closing minute is absolutely Scorching), the melodeath/deathgrind attack of "Drapeau noir", and the raw hardcore attitude driven "Bad Vibes". The remaining part of the album is also filled with quality material though.

"Beast" is one of those releases that are bound to leave you breathless because of the high level of brutality and aggression on display. It could have been a one-dimensional listen, but the variation between tracks and a clever tracklist selection, ensure that it never happens. Add to that high level musicianship and an incredibly well sounding production job, and you have a high quality release on your hands. "Beast" is overall a great comeback release by Despised Icon and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Day of Mourning" is the 4th full-length studio album by Canadian deathcore act Despised Icon. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2009. A couple of lineup changes have taken place since the release of "The Ills of Modern Man (2007)" as guitarist Al Glassman (who only played on "The Ills of Modern Man (2007)") has been replaced by Ben Landreville and bassist Sebastien Piché has been replaced by Max Lavelle. Former guitarist Yannick St-Amand is once again credited for the production.

...and once again he has created a massive, clear, and powerful sounding production, which suits the clinically excecuted music well. In terms of musical style "Day of Mourning" pretty much continue down the same deathcore path as heard on "The Ills of Modern Man (2007)". There is one thing that´s different on "Day of Mourning" though and that´s the absence of piggy squeals. The two lead vocalists now only use death metal type growling and aggressive hardcore shouting as vocal styles. The instrumental part of the music is intense, technical and groove laden. While the album features both fast and mid-paced parts, there are also extensive use of ultra heavy breakdowns.

That recipe works very well for the most part, even though the music isn´t the most original sounding nor memorable. The tracks are catchy enough while they play though and are bound to blow you to pieces. "Day of Mourning" is all in all a quality release by Despised Icon and while I still feel (like I´ve felt about every previous release) that the band could work on incorporating more memorable or hook laden sections to their tracks to make a full album´s worth of their music a varied listen, "Day of Mourning" is probably their most listenable release up until now. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Ills of Modern Man" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Canadian deathcore act Despised Icon. The album was released through Century Media Records in May 2007. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "The Healing Process (2005)" as guitarist Yannick St-Amand has been replaced by Al Glassman. Yannick St-Amand still acts as producer on "The Ills of Modern Man" though (Andy Sneap is credited for mastering and mixing the album), which he also did on "The Healing Process (2005)".

...and regarding the sound production, it´s a powerful beast. Clear, brutal, and packing a ton of punch. If you´re looking for gritty and murky sound productions, look elsewhere. Musically Despised Icon more or less continue where they left off on "The Healing Process (2005)". Which means brutal, technical, and groove laden deathcore featuring breakdowns and three vocal styles: Brutal growling, an aggressive hardcore vocal style, and piggy squeals. Fans of the genre probably love the latter type vocals, but to more casual listeners they are most likely an aquired taste. If you can get through a track like "Furtive Monologue" and not be slightly annoyed by the piggy squeal vocals, this is an album for you.

The band are very well playing, and everything is delivered with fierce conviction and clinical precision (any track will do, but just check out the incredible playing on the opening track "In the Arms of Perdition"). The two vocalists in the band compliment each other well, and the vocal part of the music features nice variation. The material is generally well written although there isn´t enough variation between tracks or catchy hooks for the album to be memorable beyond it´s playing time. This is first and foremost a technical, brutal, and groovy listen, which will leave you breathless while it´s playing. It´s certainly effective in that regard. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Healing Process" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian deathcore act Despised Icon. Despised Icon released their debut full-length studio album "Consumed by Your Poison" through Galy Records in 2002 and received a lot of praise for that album, which must have ignited the interest of Century Media Records who signed the band for the release of "The Healing Process" in April 2005 (and re-released "Consumed by Your Poison" in 2006).

The music on "The Healing Process" pretty much continues down the same brutal and groove based deathcore sound as was the case on "Consumed by Your Poison". Everything is just a notch better on "The Healing Process". The sound production is professional, clear and powerful, the musicianship is on a high level and the songwriting has also matured, which combined make "The Healing Process" quite the enjoyable deathcore album. With what seems almost effortlessly the band deliver a brutal punch in the face but at the same time understand how to vary their music and entertain their listeners, so that the album doesn´t become too one-dimensionally brutal. They´ve simply added more details and hooklines to the music, which were features I felt weren´t focused on enough on the debut album.

It´s pretty much deathcore by the book, with faster technical parts and crushingly heavy and groove based breakdowns, but these guys do it better than most other acts on the genre. Their brutal grooves are especially strong and headbanger friendly. The two lead vocalists in the band vary their vocals from brutal deep growling, to raw shouting, to higher pitched aggressive screaming, to piggy squeals. The latter vocal style is kept to a minimum on this album compared to how much it was used on the debut album.

At 32:08 minutes "The Healing Process" isn´t a very long album, but I´ll take quality over quantity any day and Despised Icon delivers quality deathcore during the full playing time, so there´s nothing to complain about there. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.