A promising album
Canadian band Despised Icon was formed in 2002 and in the same year the band released their first record titled Consumed by Your Poison, then in 2005 their record The Healing Process was released. In 2007 the band released the album The Ills of Modern Man and in 2009 the band released their album titled Day of Mourning. In 2010 the band made a statement saying that they will be disbanding due to how the band members were reaching new points in their lives as musicians and in their families, though they played some reunion shows together in 2014. Then in 2016, Despised Icon announced they would get back together to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their album Day of Mourning and later that year the band announced that they had signed with the record label Nuclear Blast, where they released their album titled Beast.
Now, Despised Icon is back with a brand new album titled Purgatory. This record displays the creativity the band has for creating new music and the album is filled with the right touch of heavy and death metal. The vocals by Alex Erian and Steve Marois blend well together on each track because it is unique to hear a loud voice of authority while another voice shouts or shrieks out the lyrics. This record shows how both Erian and Marois work together to craft a unique vocal style that blends in well with the music. Eric Jarrin and Ben Landreville’s guitar sounds are well done on this record because it takes talent to create cutting edge guitar music that fills the whole album with pure and raw energy. Also, Sebastien Piché’s bass guitar sounds great on this record because when listening to the album the vibrations from the deep rumbles can be felt, while Alex Pelletier’s drumming skills are great as well because each drumbeat is being played on a fast tempo. Finally, Yannick St-Amand does a great job of providing the sound/samples on the record because it blends in well with the rest of the music.
On Purgatory there is a song titled “Snake In The Grass” and it is a rather neat track due to the meaning behind the song. In some ways, listeners can relate to this song because the lyrics are about knowing a person who was thought highly of, but then they start to realize not only is the person evil, this person is also misleading others to think highly of him or her. Most listeners can relate to the situation in the song because we all have dealt with a misleading person in our lives. The musical structure in the song is spot on because the band does a great job of creating wild and fast-paced metal music. Pinché does a great job playing the bass guitar because throughout the song he can be heard rumbling in pure harmony. Meanwhile, Jarrin and Laderville’s guitar skills are great because both men do a fine job of creating grungy and loud guitar notes, Pelletier’s drumming is basic on this track because he maintains steady drum beats which contribute to a steady musical tempo, Amand’s sounds/samples are great on this record because the creative sounds add more energy to the song and both Erian’s and Marois’ vocals are raw filled with power and authority. Overall this song is a great track and if listeners want to hear grungy metal, “Snake In The Grass” will satisfy their musical needs.
Also the song “Predator” is a great tune because of the musical structure. The musical composition is pretty wild because Pelletier’s drumming is great on this track as the drum beats help create the erratic sounds that listeners yearn for. Jarrin’s and Laderville’s guitar skills shine on this track because both men are able to create raw and electrifying guitar notes within the deep metal sound and the guitar solo toward the end of the song is filled with vibrant notes and Pinché’s bass guitar deeply rumbles in the background and helps contribute to the energy on the song. Also, Amand’s sounds/samples are low key in this song but when listening, they can be heard creating different tempos in the background and both Erian’s and Marois’ vocals accompany the song well because both men are able to use their vocals to create loud and grungy noises which match the theme of the song. Overall this song is great because it shows how much Despised Icon has grown with their music and listeners will appreciate the creativity the band put into this song.
Also the song title “Slow Burning ” is another great song on Purgatory because of the meaning behind the song and how well the music is composed. The meaning of the song is a rather dark reflection of how violence is destroying our society and when listening, it truly does seem like the band tries to give hope to those who have questions regarding the violence. The musical structure in this song is great because of how well the music blends in together to create the loud musical sound of metal. Piché’s bass guitar notes are outstanding in this song because the sound from his bass guitar sounds like a deep heartbeat beating in the background, the drumming by Pelletier is well done on this tack since his drum beats are being played on a fast tempo which contributes to the grungy sound on the song and both Jarrin’s and Laderville’s guitars light up the track by creating loud and grungy guitar music which helps shape the song. Meanwhile, Erian’s and Marois’ vocals are great because their voices are filled with raw and grungy sounds which helps create the metal music fans and listeners want to hear. Overall this track is a great example of how well the band performs together.
Purgatory is a fantastic album because it shows how Despised Icon has musically grown as a band, showing that Despised Icon is not going anywhere anytime soon.
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