Search - Benighted :: Icon

Pretty solid

Bill | 05/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Benighted is a French death metal band, formed in '98. I honestly don't quite remember where I first heard them, but as soon as I heard it, I knew I wanted to look into this band a bit more. "Icon" is considered to be a direction into more of a Brutal Death Metal edge for Benighted, and it seems as though that's a very accurate depiction.



The feel of the album is rather energetic compaired to some brutal death metal, like Nile, and that's a good thing. It kicks off on the second song with "Slut", a song that I would probably call the best on the album. "Forsaken" shows their inability to let up on the listener, the song starts out with riffing from Liem and Kevin and really doesn't stop until the album is over.



"Grind Wit" is one of two songs they perform in French. Something you probably wouldn't notice normally if you aren't paying attention, thanks to the deep vocals from Julien.



The vocalist has a very wide range of vocals from shrill screams to deep vocals, one of the reasons it avoids that monotony that a lot of metal bands seem to fail to avoid. His vocal work is so varied that at times you're probably going to be thinking that there's two or even three vocalists. The drums, Kevin Foley, are unlike a lot I've heard, he keeps up to pace, and often surpasses the guitars. I would have desired more attention to the drums, at least a solo, but alas. Still, however, they are up to par.



Not one song will let up nor disappoint, a very well all around album. It's quite diverse, I mean it has everything in it. A giant mix of everything from a tad of French rap, to breakdowns you'd hear expect in metalcore, all the way back to ear-assaulting brutal riffs. It's most certainly a very unique album. I'd suggest it to anyone that's into death metal and is getting bored with their current albums that seem to be one neverending song. Overall a solid brutal death album, excellent sound quality... worthy of space in my collection, and hopefully yours."

Worth the effort to find

ShadesOfGray | Detroit, MI USA | 01/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Identisick" completely blew me away. It was one of my favorite death metal releases of 2006, so I had high expectations for "Icon". And while there aren't as many jaw-dropping "wow" moments on "Icon", it's a very good album nonetheless. On the whole, this one is not as consistently fast as the band's earlier efforts. They choose to bring the speed in shorter, more controlled bursts. But there are more tempo and dynamic changes, and I'd say overall the guitar work has a more technical quality to it. Some of the album's more impressive moments don't jump out at you right away, so this album is one that rewards repeat listens. This one has a more mature, polished feel, like the band made a deliberate effort to control the chaos, with impressive results. Overall this is a very good album, and I like it a lot. To me the perfect Benighted album might lie somewhere between "Identisick and "Icon"."