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DESPISED ICON
Déterré
2022, Nuclear Blast Records

DESPISED ICON have been at it, more or less, for 20 years now - I mean, give or take that hiatus that saw some of the best t-shirts ever (the eulogy one - I have one in my closet). Without a doubt, this group of Canucks are among the OGs of modern deathcore. And now, we have an EP to tide us over until the new platter of slam greets us at some point in 2023. But as I sit here, being a longtime fan of the band, I find myself at once questioning the naming of the EP, Déterré translating to “unearthed” in English, and also the relevance of the EP format in general given the rise of digital everything. Checking my pulse, though, I see I am still warm blooded so dive right in.

First, it is cool to have these songs in one place that is easily accessible without going into past releases (where they lived anyway). With that being said, the songs contained are not rare, not b sides or outtakes, not dusted off from a hard drive somewhere after years of neglect. From a completist standpoint, Déterré doesn’t make any sense. However, from a marketing view with a side eye to introducing new fans without asking them to commit to a whole album, the scales on this one are bulletproof.

In modern parlance, which will no doubt change next week, Déterré slaps. I mean, it’s sick - as in good, DESPISED ICON showing once again that they have been, and will always be, a force with which to recon. The recordings are crisp like 3 a.m. in December and just as cold - machinations of destruction primed and ready with every blast beat and casual wondering of who Bree is, and why are people so yelly about her?

Clocking in at under 20 minutes, as any good EP should, Déterré serves as a good appetizer for what DESPISED ICON is about - no nonsense, no frills, no bells and definitely no whistles deathcore with a distinctly Canadian slant on the whole affair. C'est très bon.

3.0 Out Of 5.0