Brutally intense, unrelenting and outright savage are just a few ways the metal community will describe the new offering from Montreal’s hottest export DESPISED ICON as their new full-length effort, Day of Mourning, is a true lesson in violence. The material contained on this disc should come bearing a caution label stating “Is known to evoke extreme erratic and violent tendencies coupled with a desire to kill.” The dichotomy of the dual vocal assault of Alex Erian and Steve Marois adds the depth and dynamic that few bands can attempt to replicate. The addition of new bassist Max Lavelle quickly proved his skills keeping up with the maniacal drumming of Alexandre Pelletier who delivers his most impressive performance yet, raising the bar for his peers within the genre. Longtime guitarist Eric Jarrin and newcomer Ben Landreville round everything out with a blistering, frenetic barrage of cut-throat riffs.
Erian states: “The record sounds like a beast! This was by far the smoothest and quickest it’s ever been for us in the studio. This is without a doubt our strongest effort to date. All these years of playing and touring have made us better musicians and songwriters. We started this band before the deathcore trend and this fourth record is proof that we’ll always be a step ahead of the pack.
DESPISED ICON brought on board an all-star team for the Day of Mourning recording process. They joined back up with longtime producer (and former guitar player) Yannick St-Amand for all tracking duties with renowned producer Andreas Magnusson (Haste The Day, Born of Osiris) entering the fold to mix the effort, with mastering being handled by Alan Douches (Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nile). The group kicks off the worldwide touring cycle for the new album by heading to Europe this summer for festivals sharing the stage with The Black Dahlia Murder, Parkway Drive and Whitechapel. After that, they return to North America as part of the 2009 Thrash and Burn tour with Devildriver and Emmure.
Erian further comments: “Yannick St-Amand, Andreas Magnusson and Alan Douches did an amazing job producing, mixing and mastering the whole thing. We also spent a lot of time in pre-production improving our song structures and vocal arrangements and added a few extra drum fills, guitar solos, melodies and death metal riffs on this record. We even wrote two songs in French, our native language, and invited our buddies in Ion Dissonance, Beneath The Massacre and more to scream a part of their own on one of the tracks. In addition to our upcoming European summer festivals tour, we’ve just been announced on this year’s ‘Thrash and Burn’ and ‘Never Say Die’ tours. We’ll be sharing the stage with a bunch of awesome bands.”
DESPISED ICON were formed in 2002 by members of Neuraxis, In Dying Days and Heaven’s Cry and released their first album, Consumed By Your Poison, the same year on the Canadian-based Galy Records (Century Media later reissued the album in 2006). In 2003, DESPISED ICON made a career defining decision as original drummer Alex Erian took on the lead vocal duties next to Marios. Alexandre Pelletier was brought in on drums and the band quickly returned to the studio to record the Syndicated Murderers EP. 2004 proved to be a turning point in the young band’s career, as it marked the release of their split CD with Bodies In The Gears Of The Apparatus on Relapse Records and later a worldwide deal with Century Media. The Healing Process, was released in 2005, which was supported by numerous tours, Behemoth, Hatebreed, Morbid Angel and Napalm Death, to name just a few. They followed that up with 2007’s The Ills of Modern Man, which saw them greatly expand their fanbase from North America to Europe, heading over there three times on that touring cycle. Stateside saw them touring with Job For A Cowboy, The Faceless, The Acacia Strain and quite a few others. Most recently, the band brought their intense live show to venues across the nation as part of the 2008 Summer Slaughter Tour, which was followed by a very successful headliner in support of their first-ever DVD release, Montreal Assault. Supporting the band during this tour came from Beneath The Massacre, Carnifex, Neuraxis and The Plasma Rifle.
In 2009, the Montreal metal titans, DESPISED ICON, look to redefine the genre they pioneered. You have been warned.