Out 31 October, 2025
Via Nuclear Blast Records
Words by: dothefknreview
Two decades on from shaping the face of deathcore, Montreal’s Despised Icon have returned with Shadow Work, their seventh full length and first new material in six long years. Known for balancing sheer brutality with calculated precision, the band deliver a record that feels both devastatingly heavy and strikingly purposeful. An achievement that only veterans of their calibre could pull off.
Opening with the pulverising title track, Shadow Work sets the tone with an unrelenting barrage of blast beats, seismic riffs, and the iconic dual vocal interplay of Alex Erian and Steve Marois. Their back and forth roars and snarls remain unmatched, giving each track a dynamic edge that keeps the listener hooked. Lyrically, the album digs into themes of resilience, healing, and confronting the darkest parts of the psyche. It’s not just music for breaking necks in the pit, it’s music for breaking through personal walls.
Over My Dead Body, featuring Matt Honeycutt of Kublai Khan TX, is an immediate standout. Crushingly aggressive yet layered with eerie atmosphere, it’s as much a statement of defiance as it is a sonic assault. Death of an Artist and Obsessive Compulsive Disaster highlight the band’s death metal backbone, showcasing intricate riffing and drumming that borders on inhuman. Meanwhile, tracks like Corpse Pose and The Apparition balance the chaos with haunting undertones, proving that Despised Icon aren’t afraid to evolve their sound while staying grounded in their origins.
Production by Erian and Eric Jarrin, with mixing/mastering by Christian Donaldson, ensures every punch lands with clarity and venom. The low end is thunderous, the breakdowns feel like tectonic shifts, and yet the record never sacrifices nuance. Add guest features from Scott Ian Lewis (Carnifex) and Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin, Darko US), and Shadow Work feels like a celebration of the genre’s present and its enduring legacy.
At its core, this is an album about confronting shadows and walking through the fire. Ferocious, introspective, and uncompromising. Despised Icon haven’t just returned, they’ve reasserted themselves as leaders of the movement they helped create. And for anyone wondering if the wait was worth it, yes, it bloody well was.
