Review by Felix on December 7, 2019.

The first official publication of Pest contains four long songs with an average playtime of more than six minutes. I admire the courage of newcomers that do not eschew sprawling, unconventional song structures, but simultaneously I fear that they overestimate their own abilities. Thankfully, Pest cannot be blamed for having released an immature EP. Yet the songs leave room for optimization, because stirring parts alternate with rather ill-defined sections. Anyway, there can be no doubt that the gripping eruptions are in the majority.

If one disregards the fact that Pest deliver a relatively great amount of mid-paced sequences, the band plays typical black metal. Of course, music from the lightless catacombs is not necessarily always fast. Nonetheless, the usual Scandinavian approach tends to rapidity and the best parts of Blasphemy Is My Throne do not lack of velocity, too. One finds these parts in "Towards Desolation". The song scores with a catchy yet spooky guitar line at the beginning. It sounds as it has been found in the archives of Setherial, but this presumption is surely wrong. However, this opening marks the starting signal for a pretty furious track whose pitch-black atmosphere is aligned with the aura of the remaining pieces. The throaty voice and the sinister leads melt together with the effect that a touch of desperation wafts through the air.

Don't be fooled by the reasonably poetic song titles like "Along the Path of the Fallen". Pest manage the aesthetics of the sub-genre in a solid way, but any other form of art is unknown to them. The vexing elements of their last output (The Crowning Horror) have not yet crept in. Neither trite riffs of the NWOBHM nor black'n'roll excursions occur. The four pieces deliver pure black metal which profits from a dense and vicious sound. I don't think that one needs the most expensive hi-fi system in order to experience the malignancy of this output. Pest enjoy a certain degree of filth and don't give a damn about a clean mix. As a result, the sound is definitely not at risk of creating a sterile appearance. Instead, it offers an intensive adventure in its best moments, for example in the middle of the last track.

Black metal purists will enjoy the diabolic vibrations of the EP and the evenness of the song material. The attitude of the debutants is based on shabbiness and perfidy. Nevertheless, or just because of that fact they have a clear vision and do not even think about compromises. Apart from this, the two Swedish guys seem to have a good taste. Without copying albums like Darkthrone's "Total Death", the tracks of Pest seem to be influenced by some of the early works of the odd Norwegian duo. This is a pretty good reference, if I am not mistaken.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Allan on February 1, 2003.

When it comes to death metal, I’ve come to expect nothing but goodness from Canada. Cryptopsy, Martyr, Neuraxis – you name it. Soon there should be another young band to add to that list: Despised Icon. Their debut album “Consumed By Your Poison” shows that there is much potential in this death/grind six-piece.

One of the first things that you will notice about Despised Icon is that they are a tight group. They can stop and start on a dime fairly well, and within the songs they’ve done a nice job of making things come together. The production does a fantastic job of showing their precision. Every instrument rings out clearly. Never will you feel that the sound is too muddied or claustrophobic.

Despised Icon vocalists Marie Landry and Steve Marois deserve a mention. Generally Marois dominates the music with his guttural vocals, but Landry makes her presence well known when she shows up with into the picture, most noticeably when using her higher-pitched scream. The dual vocal approach works in favor of Despised Icon, giving the songs another spin and not ever running into the problem of overdoing the vocals.

The music is hits you hard and it doesn’t let up. The songs on “Consumed By Your Poison” are all heavy, but the great thing is that Despised Icon does an admirable job of switching up the tempos. They tend to splice in a slower section in their songs for at least a few seconds. Despised Icon also makes sure to vary the tempo up between each section of the music so that one song doesn’t move along without giving the listener a sense of destination.

The only thing holding back Despised Icon is that the song writing and ideas can be weak sometimes. Many of the ideas in the songs should have been more developed, and many of them are just a tad clichéd. When it comes to song writing, they often switch gears a few too many times, leaving the songs with a slight lack of coherency or flow, among a few other obvious things.

Bottom Line: Despite the fact that Despised Icon has its fair share of weaknesses, “Consumed By Your Poison” is only their debut album. By the next album I’d expect the band to be far more powerful if they work at it, hopefully maturing in every aspect. Nonetheless, “Consumed By Your Poison” is an album that is worth looking into.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 6
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8.5
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 7.2 out of 10