Reviews list for Shadow of Intent - Reclaimer (2017)

Like fire rising from the abyss, metal can ascend from the underground and burn into the ears and minds of listeners. This is especially true for deathcore, despite all the hate the genre has received. I suppose that was around the time when deathcore bands that were active for a decade like Whitechapel were attempting to make their sound more commercial, and the outcome for fans was "What the f***ing h*ll was that?!?" Shadow of Intent, on the other hand, made the genre more interesting with their symphonic technical melodic deathcore style, starting with their solid debut Primordial. This interstellar sound is slowly rising further in Reclaimer, to brutalize the cosmos!

It seems like this band is taking the place of Winds of Plague who was fading out of activity, apart from that band's latest album Blood of My Enemy later that year. What's different is, Shadow of Intent have made the sound more melodic and technical, the latter aspect reminding some of The Faceless (also releasing their latest album that year). Alongside those more melodic moments, we also have the neoclassical brutality of Fleshgod Apocalypse. Just like that band, thrashing blasts and diverse harsh vocals collide with film-score orchestra. And what else do we have in this epic extreme extravaganza? The guitarwork of course! The technicality comes from not just the deathly riffing but also the neoclassical shredding that would make Yngwie Malmsteen proud.

"We Descend..." is the intro and the first track by the band to not start with the word "the". I didn't think this would be the missing spark needed to get me fully interested in the band via a Revolution playlist, but that was the case there. The first 20 seconds consists of beautiful melancholic piano, then the heaviness builds up, reaching it's high point in the breakdown for the last 30 seconds. This is two minutes of my life I wanna repeat! How the f*** have I missed this in my life?! It is followed by the first full song "The Return" in which technical deathcore practically combines with the symphonic power metal guitarwork of Symphony X and Iced Earth. If the clean vocals were higher and more operatic, the band would've beaten Dragoncorpse in that game. Plus there's some medieval harpsichord! Now there's still the more extreme side of the spectrum with the brutal breakdown and the blackened death growls. It's amazing that the vocalist Ben Duerr would still have that power in their next album. "The Horror Within" is a brutal blend of Impending Doom, Pestilence, and the symphonics of Ice Nine Kills. There's even a paraphrased quote from a Spongebob Squarepants episode in the lyrics, "The inner machinations of their minds are an enigma". Next track "The Catacombs" is the first track here with guest vocalists; Jason Evans (Ingested) and Dickie Allen (Infant Annihilator, Nekrogoblikon). Evan's vocals make things as brutal as Pathology in the heavy guitar grooves, while the symphonics still drift by.

"The Mad Tyrant's Betrayal" has some of the melody of Attack Attack! and Phinehas, particularly in the clean singing sections (far better than that one song in Primordial), while staying deathly as ever. The vocals in "The Gathering of All" end up going as intense as deathgrind when Slaughter to Prevail vocalist Alex Terrible steps in, though the speedy riffing is more reminiscent of The Black Dahlia Murder. "The Heretic Prevails" really prevails with this 3-way intersection between Fleshgod Apocalypse, Carnifex, and even the progressiveness of Protest the Hero. Tom Barber, who was at the time still with Lorna Shore and not joining Chelsea Grin until the following year, screams his way through "The Prophet's Beckoning". The melodic guitars and cleans stir up similar vibes to In Mourning and The Gallery-era Dark Tranquillity. Y'know, this isn't the only time I've heard Alex Terrible and Tom Barber in the same album. Listen to "We are the Dead" from As I Lay Dying's new album Through Storms Ahead to know what I mean. But let's not get to that right now. The last third of this album awaits...

"The Forsaken Effigy" is still deathly while having more metalcore-ish riffing from the heavy side of bands like Crystal Lake and Demon Hunter. Meanwhile, the blackened shrieks sound closer to Psyclon Nine. "The Great Schism" is a massive instrumental that has practically everything from bands of similar genres, including the deathcore of Impending Doom and Betraying the Martyrs, the melodeath of Omnium Gatherum and Persefone, and even the melodic metalcore of All That Remains and Unearth. "The Mausoleum of Liars" has some Voivod-ish progressiveness, but nothing else too special. "The Tartarus Impalement" is an epic of symphonic deathcore destruction and despair. It starts a bit mundane in the first 4 minutes, then the epicness rises at over the 4-minute mark with such great music, lyrics, and vocals. "And I'll never see home again, never comfort my wife as she mourns and I'll never hear the cries of my firstborn son, How can I possibly continue on?!" F***ing d*mn, man! Pure beauty and emotion rolls on throughout that minute. Then comes another amazing minute where the band work together to unleash their power in battle. The final climax goes on the last one and a half minute as the hero impales the enemy and rules in victory. Talk about such a finale for this offering! Though it probably would've been better in the first half...

Every song in Reclaimer has its own feel within this epic extreme sound. The band can be in the mood to go brutal, technical, or melodic. Either way, they still stand by their sound, and that and their lyrical concept helps keep the album consistent. The concept is heavily Halo-based, which is no surprise considering how much the band members enjoy that game and possibly any other sci-fi shooter video game. Think they can do a Star Wars Battlefront symphonic melodic deathcore album later on? With all that genuine songwriting and musicianship, Reclaimer comes on top as one of the better albums of this style of deathcore, maybe even all of deathcore. It would've been perfect, except my only complaint is, some additional breakdowns should've been included alongside the speedy guitar sections to bring more balance to the epic technical melodic deathcore universe. Still if you're playing Master Chief and need some killer music, let this amazing album play and fire away!

Favorites: "We Descend...", "The Return", "The Catacombs", "The Heretic Prevails", "The Prophet's Beckoning", "The Great Schism"