Despised Icon are taking it slow this time

by Joe Smith-Engelhardt

February 1, 2017

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Montreal's Despised Icon have reunited and rediscovered their spark.

In 2009, Montreal deathcore originators Despised Icon were on top of their game. They had just released their fourth album, Day of Mourning, which at the time was their highest charting record. They were consistently touring all across the world, but in April 2010, the band called it quits. Members started getting married, having kids, and trying to work nine to five jobs to support themselves without constantly being on the road. They closed off their career with four very intimate shows, two in Toronto and two in their hometown of Montreal, where they had current and past lineups come out to perform songs spanning all across their career.

Despised Icon remained inactive until 2014, when they announced surprise festival dates and a small tour of Europe. The shows were going over great, and the band were shocked with people’s reaction. Surprised that people wanted them back, they slowly started playing more and more one-off shows throughout the next two years. In April 2016, Despised Icon decided to reform. They announced their fifth album, Beast, which released just a few months later.

“We broke up for five, six years so I guess during that time off, and taking that step back, we sort of realized how important music is, and how important this band was, or still is, in our lives,” says vocalist and founding member Alex Erian. “We realized how fortunate we were to be given that opportunity to play in places all over the world.”

Although Despised Icon have reunited, they’ve drastically cut back on the amount of time they put into the band. Since the release of Beast, Despised Icon have only participated in one-off shows, and partial tours, which is exactly how they want to keep it. The group recently announced their first full tour since returning, a co-headline tour with fellow deathcore pioneers Carnifex.

“Back in the day when we used to tour full time it was just a full-time job; it was what we did on a daily basis. We were out on tour six to nine months out of the year, so it sort of became routine, and it became work. Some of that spark went missing at some point, and now that we get to barely do it, every single show and every single opportunity, we make it count to its fullest,” says Erian.

Now, Despised Icon have limited themselves to one month worth of touring spread across the entire year. Erian says the band gets countless tour opportunities sent their way, but to preserve their love of playing in the band, most are turned down. Erian stresses that he and the rest of Despised Icon don’t want to repeat history and get burnt out by constantly being on the road. During his time away from Despised Icon though, Erian plays in metalcore group Obey The Brave alongside with former members of Blind Witness and Darkness Rites.

While Despised Icon took over most of Erian’s time in 2016, he says Obey The Brave are hard at work on their third album. Erian says the upcoming album is going to be a make or break record for them as a full-time band. In contrast to the constant work done with Obey The Brave, Despised Icon’s return is something the singer says is just some friends getting together to make music they enjoy.

While writing Beast, Erian says Despised Icon went back to their roots to incorporate elements they had mostly dropped on their third and fourth album. They were anxious of how fans would react, but the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We didn’t know what to expect to be honest. We hadn’t put a record out in, what, seven years? So it does make a challenge for a band that’s been around for a little while, and obviously there’s the diehards that are nostalgic [for] the older material,” says Erian. “We didn’t really know if people would be as receptive but they were luckily. The crowds, the action live has been outstanding and very encouraging to say the least.”

When asked how shows have changed for Despised Icon since coming back, Erian explains that the support from fans is at an all time high. “I think the fans realize when Despised Icon swings by they better show up, otherwise it might take a couple of years before we come back. People show up, they go crazy – it’s overwhelming. It’s crazy to think a band that a friend and I started in 2002 is still somewhat relevant,” says Erian.

Bands like Despised Icon started the deathcore genre in the early 2000’s, combining the sheer aggression and breakdowns of hardcore with the extreme elements of death metal. Although the genre began as something original and unheard, deathcore has since been turned into an oversaturated market.

Like most genres of music in the age of the internet, there are countless mediocre deathcore bands following trends and trying to make a quick buck. Erian explains that he feels deathcore acts have lost sight of what made the music what it is.

“I don’t think deathcore is deathcore anymore. You listen to a lot of the bands that we are associated with and all of the fast drumming, the double bass drums, the shred, a lot of the things I feel define deathcore and death metal in general has given place to [a more commercial sound]. A lot of the deathcore bands sort of dropped the death element in deathcore and are more core bands, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, it’s just different motivations,” says Erian.  

Tags: Music, Featured, Interviews, Despised Icon

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