__________.____ ______________________________ .__ _______ ________ \______ \ | \_ _____/\_ _____/\______ \ |__|\ \ / _____/ | | _/ | | __)_ | __)_ | | \| |/ | \/ \ ___ | | \ |___ | \ | \ | ` \ / | \ \_\ \ |______ /_______ \/_______ //_______ //_______ /__\____|__ /\______ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ artist: Shadow of Intent title: Imperium Delirium year: 2025 genre: Death Metal type: Album label: Independent language: English rel. date: 2025-06-27 source: WEB/MP3 quality: CBR 320kbps / 44.1 kHz / Full Stereo runtime: 00:54:48 size: 143.40MB rip date: 2025-06-27 source url: https://www.deezer.com/album/740679461 tracklist: 1. Prepare to Die 4:01 2. Flying the Black Flag 3:57 3. Infinity of Horrors 4:14 4. Mechanical Chaos 3:50 5. They Murdered Sleep 4:01 6. The Facets of Propaganda 5:19 7. Feeding the Meatgrinder (feat. Corpsegrinder) 4:03 8. Vehement Draconian Vengeance 3:55 9. Beholding the Sickness of Civilization 4:30 10. Apocalypse Canvas 5:08 11. No Matter the Cost 4:16 12. Imperium Delirium 7:34 release notes: The option to flee has been removed entirely." In modern deathcore, few bands have managed to remain as enjoyably consistent as Shadow of Intent. Starting as an online-only symphonic deathcore duo consisting of instrumentalist Chris Wiseman and vocalist Ben Duerr, the tandem would find near-immediate success in the deathcore sphere due to their first album, Primordial. Showing a surprising level of scale and precision not usually seen in the genre, Shadow of Intent would then expand their lineup and hunker down to write their follow-up record, Reclaimer, which would lead to an increased level of success due to its elevated songwriting and seethingly heavy breakdowns. Not being the type of group to continually rest on their laurels, Shadow of Intent would then release another instant classic in Melancholy. Mainly putting the deathcore elements of their sound aside, Shadow of Intent opted for the bombarding riffs and technical precision often associated with symphonic death metal. This ethos would be expanded on in the subsequent release Elegy. This ultimately reinforced Shadow of Intent making their form of symphonic death metal even more grandiose than it had previously been. This brings us to the present day with their stylistic culmination and latest record, Imperium Delirium. On Imperium Delirium, we see Shadow of Intent bringing back many of the deathcore elements that have largely been absent from their sound since Reclaimer while managing to expand on their ever-maturing songwriting by blending a lot of these elements with the more death metal-adjacent elements that were omnipresent on Melancholy and Elegy. Aside from the instrumental track "Apocalypse Canvas", each song on the album has the crushing breakdowns that Shadow of Intent became popular from while managing to mix them with the precise and often bludgeoning death metal riffs that the band is now known for. Unlike most deathcore bands that try to add more pure death metal elements to their sound and often fall flat due to poor implementation, Shadow of Intent's integration of these elements is never unsuccessful due to their focus on precision rather than spectacle. While there are many examples of this new level Shadow of Intent has gotten to in terms of songwriting throughout the album, there is no better example than the lead single "Feeding The Meatgrinder". Starting as a more mid-paced song filled with chunky deathcore riffs that wouldn't be out of place on their breakout album Reclaimer, the song then effortlessly switches into a rather speedy section of death metal riffs that could also align with Melancholy. Before effortlessly bringing in the track's guest vocals courtesy of Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, vocalist Ben Duerr's signature growls reverberate seamlessly between stylistic changes that further cement Shadow of Intent's ability to be able to meld straight death metal elements with signature deathcore sound. Those looking for another strong example of this should look no further than the early album song "They Murdered Sleep," which sees a tasteful return of symphonics that were front and center on Shadow of Intent's first two albums. For fans that have been chomping at the bit for a true melding of cross-genre staples from Shadow of Intent, Imperium Delirium is the quintessential display of the Connecticut quartet effectively blending sounds past and present to an impeccable degree. Speaking of breakdowns, Imperium Delirium sees the band giving a nostalgic ode to fans of their first two albums by displaying a swath of crushing sectional shifts. However, in a move that should delight the fans of Shadow of Intent's modern era, each breakdown feels like an added layer rather than just being there for the sake of being there. A good example of this comes in the breakdown contained within the song "Mechanical Chaos". Rather than abruptly stopping the momentum the song has built up before leading into the breakdown, it instead opts to weave its bludgeoning impact into the speed of the song in a way that will no doubt make appease fans of both eras of the band's sound. Another good example of efficient breakdowns within the album is the breakdown early into the song "The Facets of Propaganda", which also works the breakdown into the speed of the song, except this time it is shown off within a much slower and hammering pace rather than a faster execution time. When looking for any negatives to speak of when it comes to Imperium Delirium, there is nothing to the album that the listener could say is anything more than a nitpick. While certainly an interesting and no doubt exceedingly strong addition to the album, the instrumental track "Apocalypse Canvas" could have been a minute or two shorter while still being just as effective. Imperium Delirium sees Shadow of Intent reasserting exactly why they are widely considered to be one of the most consistently engaging deathcore bands of the modern age. By foregoing many of the extraneous elements that their contemporaries tend to have, Imperium Delirium is sonic proof that you can still write extremely satisfying and focused deathcore without forcing needless sensory overload.