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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.