Despised Icon - Shadow Work - review
Despised Icon - Shadow Work - review
Tracklist
01. Shadow Work02. Over My Dead Body
03. Death Of An Artist
04. Corpse Pose
05. The Apparition
06. Reaper
07. In Memoriam
08. Omen Of Misfortune
09. Obsessive Compulsive Disaster
10. ContreCoeur
11. Fallen Ones
A review by
omne metallum November 18, 2025
Thryce: So, I don’t want to open my guest appearance on this review with any dramatic over-the-top proclamations, but let’s be real: anyone ridiculing Despised Icon should probably be put on trial at The Hague... (alright, maybe that was a tad dramatic).
Since reuniting, they’ve mostly stuck to the lane they practically paved themselves, and kept doing what they do best on steady cruise control: nasty grooves, bone-cracking breakdowns, and that trademark tough-guy grit that never needed much reinventing in the first place.
omne metallum: Where Purgatory largely stuck to the band's roots, Shadow Work sees the band opting to evolve rather than die, expanding their sound while retaining much of their original aura. "Over My Dead Body" is a great example of this, mixing breakdowns and groove in equal measure. This evolution was necessary, don't you think?
Thryce: You’re not wrong. Pinpointing exactly what they’ve evolved into is tricky, but it’s unmistakably a step forward rather than another lap around the old block. The first half of Shadow Work dives in headfirst, reminding everyone why these guys were once an absolute institution in ‘hard’ deathcore. With a bit more swagger in its stride, "Over My Dead Body" sounds like a carrot dangling in front of a bloodshot-eyed rabbit, hungry for violence, feeling like one of those tracks that makes you instinctively scout the room for the nearest moshable object.
omne metallum: It works to great effect when they commit to it, such as on "The Apparition", with the guitar work of Jarrin and Landreville being almost hypnotic. In fact, it's when the band expand beyond their roots that I find Shadow Work at its best, with the aforementioned track, "Obsesive Compulsive Disaster" and "ContreCour" adding more groove into the mix, enhancing the tracks.
Thryce: Funnily enough, that’s actually where the album starts to lose its footing for me. The second half especially – and a couple of the tracks you mentioned – is where the wheels begin to wobble. Once they lean into those hardcore tropes, with formulaic two-step anthems and gang vocals you can predict three riffs ahead, the edge dulls just enough to make me miss the sharper bite of the opening stretch. The machete hasn’t turned into a butter knife... but it’s definitely less lethal.
omne metallum: I can't say I'm not skeptical when I see an album featuring several guest appearances, often finding them a way of trying to compensate for otherwise weak tracks. With 4 guests artists across its eleven tracks, my initial thoughts were that this pointed to the band struggling to conjure up enough quality material. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised that these artists weren't shoehorned in solely to garner attention, as their contributions enhance the likes of "In Memoriam" (on which Misstiq's contributions are just vocal harmonies added to a track where the band shine anyway) and make for some album highlights.
Thryce: It’s like those tiny flavor packets in instant ramen: just enough to spice things up without overpowering the main dish. Shadow Work shows that guest spots can add flair without stealing the show, doesn’t it?
omne metallum: The production is a bit of a double edged sword; it is polished and well produced for sure, but this serves to smooth and blunt the rough edges that gave the band's earlier albums their charm. It isn't bad on Shadow Work by any means, but I'd love to hear some of these tracks with a less refined sound.
Thryce: Sure, it’s polished, but sometimes a little shine and sparkle just highlights the precision that might've gotten lost in a rougher mix.
Despised Icon have the name, the fame and zero need to prove anything to anyone. And if you ask me (and if you’ve made it this far, I’m assuming you do), a king with an ugly-ass crown is still a king... even if that crown’s made from a ripped-off jawbone.
Written on 18.11.2025 by
Written on 18.11.2025 by
Just because I don't care doesn't mean I'm not listening. Comments
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Posts: 8654
Enjoyed the joint review here, and as someone without the context of their previous records to go off, I also enjoyed Shadow Work as an introduction to Despised Icon; if this is representative of their legacy, I can see why they would have the place they do in the deathcore scene
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Posts: 9575 Written by musclassia on 18.11.2025 at 22:36 This album is like a millions miles away from the quality of their early albums.
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Posts: 186  |
Posts: 186
I find it great as an album yet a bit “out of character” for this band. Some might say this is good, others bad, personally I do like it. … “death of an artist” stands out for me despite the opeth-sounding outro.
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 Posts: 64428 |
Posts: 64428
Cool duet
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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