Despised Icon

Despised Icon

Despised Icon was a Canadian deathcore band from Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 2002, the band is noted for the use of two vocalists; Alexandre Erian, takes use of a mid-range screaming technique, and Steve Marois for the low growling vocals, and high pitched screamed vocals. Despised Icon was known for its work in the underground music industry and have been considered one of the founders of the deathcore genre. In April 2010, the band announced that they would be disbanding and from there, began a large farewell tour held across several countries. Their final six shows were held in Montreal and Toronto during December of that year.

History

Consumed by Your Poison (2002—2004)

Despised Icon was founded in January 2002 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shortly after their formation, the group signed with Galy Records, and released their debut album, Consumed by Your Poison in October of that year. The following year, Despised Icon had undergone several changes in their lineup. In early 2004, the group returned with a new formation, comprising of two vocalists Steve Marois and Alexandre Erian, guitarists Yannick St-Amand and Eric Jarrin, bassist Sebastien Piche, and drummer Alexandre Pelletier, and recorded a self-financed EP entitled Syndicated Murderers, followed by a split EP with Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, issued through Relapse Records.

The Healing Process (2005—2006)

Despised Icon signed a worldwide deal with Century Media in January 2005. Despised Icon released their second studio album, The Healing Process through the label on April 5, 2005. It was produced by the band's guitarist Yannick St-Amand, mixed by Jean-Francois Dagenais and mastered by Alan Douches.

Despised Icon toured in support of The Healing Process in 2005, alongside artists including Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis,Vader, Suffocation, Aborted, Immolation, Deicide and continued touring into 2006 with Through the Eyes of the Dead, Ed Gein, Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Hatebreed, Exodus, The Black Dahlia Murder and Napalm Death. During the same year, their debut album, Consumed by Your Poison was re-released through Century Media. In early 2007, they went on tour supporting Unearth, along with Job for a Cowboy and Dååth.

The Ills of Modern Man and Day of Mourning (2007—2010)

Bassist Max Lavelle at 2008's Never Say Die! tour held in London.

The band's third studio album, The Ills of Modern Man was recorded and released in 2007 through Century Media Records and was produced by their former guitarist, Yannick St. Amand. That summer, they toured supporting Job for a Cowboy along with The Faceless and A Life Once Lost. Following that tour, they went on tour supporting Suicide Silence, along with Winds of Plague. In the winter of that year, they toured with The Acacia Strain, Full Blown Chaos, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, and Ligeia. They also toured supporting Misery Index, along with Beneath the Massacre and Man Must Die. On 18 June 2008, the original bassist Sebastien Piché has left the band due to him having a full-time job and being a new father. Piché was replaced by Max Lavelle from Goratory. They were then on the 2008 Summer Slaughter Tour alongside The Black Dahlia Murder, Vader, Cryptopsy, The Faceless, Aborted, Born of Osiris, Psycroptic, and Whitechapel.

In late October 2008, Despised Icon announced the details of their first DVD, entitled Montreal Assault, which was released January 27, 2009. The DVD features a multi-camera shoot from the band's sold-out hometown show, along with a documentary, in addition to all their music videos. It was originally intended to be released on January 17th, but was delayed due to manufacturing problems. In December 2008, guitarist Al Glassman left Despised Icon to join Job for a Cowboy in replacement of their original guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju. During their 2009 Montreal Assault Tour, Despised Icon announced that they were recording a new studio album, entitled Day of Mourning, that was released on 22 September 2009 by Century Media Records. On July 17, 2009, Despised Icon released their song, "MVP" as the first song off of Day of Mourning onto the web. They played on the 2009 Thrash and Burn Tour alongside DevilDriver, Emmure, Veil of Maya, For the Fallen Dreams, Oceano, Periphery, MyChildren MyBride, and Thy Will Be Done. Their fourth album Day of Mourning was released as scheduled on September 22, 2009, and reached #162 on the Billboard 200 as of September 30th, 2009. A music video was created and released for the title track of the album.

On April 7, 2010, Despised Icon made an announcement that they will be disbanding. They explained that this is due to the members of the band reaching "a new chapter in their lives, starting families, buying houses and pursuing other careers to make it all happen. Writing music, touring and leaving home for months at a time is slowly becoming impossible because of that. We all decided that it’d be best to pull the plug now and end things right." Their farewell European tour will include an appearance at the Hevy Music Festival on August 7, 2010 near Folkestone, UK.

During the year of 2010, Despised Icon played their North America, Australia, Japan, European, and Canada Tour. On December 5 2010, Despised Icon performed their final six shows in their hometown of Montreal, Quebec. These shows included their current line-up as well as the past line-ups from their first two records.

Band members

Final line-up

• Alexandre Erian – vocals (2003–2010) drums (2002–2003)
• Eric Jarrin – guitar (2002–2010)
• Ben Landreville – guitar (2009–2010)
• Max Lavelle – bass (2008–2010)
• Steve Marois – vocals (2002–2010)
• Alexandre Pelletier – drums (2003–2010)

Former

• Al Glassman – guitar (2006–2008)
• Marie-Hélène Landry – vocals (2002–2003)
• Sebastien Piché – bass (2002–2008)
• Yannick St-Amand – guitar (2002–2006)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Notes
2002	Consumed by Your Poison Released: October 2, 2002 Label: Galy	Re-released in 2006 through Century Media including two re-recordings.
2005	The Healing Process Released: April 5, 2005 Label: Century Media	Features two re-recorded songs that were originally included on their Syndicated Murders EP.
2007	The Ills of Modern Man Released: May 22, 2007 Label: Century Media	A deluxe edition that includes a bonus DVD was also released.
2009	Day of Mourning Released: September 22, 2009 Label: Century Media	Reached #162 on the Billboard 200

DVDs

Year	Album details
2009	Montreal Assault Released: 2009 Label: Century Media

Other releases

Year	Album details	Notes
2004	Syndicated Murderers EP Released: 2004 Label: —	Features two tracks that were later re-recorded for The Healing Process.
2005	Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus and Despised Icon Split album with Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus. Released: January 11, 2005 Label: Relapse (Catalog # 6632)
2006	Demos 2002 & 2004 Demo albums Released: 2006 Label: Galy (Catalog # 44)	Split with Ion Dissonance, including: .357 demo, 2002 by Ion Dissonance; Syndicated Murderers promo, 2004 by Despised Icon.

Music videos

Year	Title	Director
2006	"The Sunset Will Never Charm Us"	Jean-Phillipe Bernier
2007	"In the Arms of Perdition"
2008	"Furtive Monologue"	Jonathan Desbiens
2009	"Day of Mourning"	Kartel Films

External links

• Official website