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 Quebec City, Toronto and Montreal during December of that year.
Contents

* 1 History
o 1.1 Consumed by Your Poison (2002?2004)
o 1.2 The Healing Process (2005?2006)
o 1.3 The Ills of Modern Man and Day of Mourning (2007?2010)
* 2 Band members
* 3 Discography
o 3.1 Studio albums
o 3.2 DVDs
o 3.3 Other releases
* 4 Music videos
* 5 References
* 6 External links
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.[1] The following year, Despised Icon had undergone several changes in their lineup. In early 2004, the group returned with a new formation, consisting 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,[1] followed by a split EP with Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, issued through Relapse Records.[2][3]
[4]
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.[5]

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 D??th.
[edit] 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.[6] 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 Pich? has left the band due to him having a full-time job and being a new father. Pich? 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.[7] It was originally intended to be released on January 17th, but was delayed due to manufacturing problems.[8] In December 2008, guitarist Al Glassman left Despised Icon to join Job for a Cowboy in replacement of their original guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju.[9] 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.[10] 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."[11][12] 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 United States, Australia, Japan, European, and Canadian Tour. On December 5 2010, Despised Icon performed their final six shows in Toronto, Ontario and their hometown of Montreal, Quebec. These shows included their current line-up as well as the past line-ups from their first two records.[13]
[edit] 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-H?l?ne Landry ? vocals (2002?2003)
* Sebastien Pich? ? bass (2002?2008)
* Yannick St-Amand ? guitar (2002?2006)

Discography
Studio albums

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

[edit] DVDs
Year Album details
2009 Montreal Assault

* Released: 2009
* Label: Century Media

[edit] 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:
o .357 demo, 2002 by Ion Dissonance;
o Syndicated Murderers promo, 2004 by Despised Icon.

Music videos
Year Title Director
2006 "The Sunset Will Never Charm Us" Jean-Phillipe Bernier[14][15]
2007 "In the Arms of Perdition"
2008 "Furtive Monologue" Jonathan Desbiens[16]
2009 "Day of Mourning" Kartel Films
[edit] References

1. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Despised Icon > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p698588. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
2. ^ [1] Century Media Records published Despised Icon biography
3. ^ [2] Galy Records published Despised Icon biography
4. ^ [3] Relapse Records published Despised Icon biography
5. ^ "Despised Icon sign Worldwide deal with Century Media Records". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-01-11. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=31384. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
6. ^ Bowar, Chad "Despised Icon Interview" 2007
7. ^ "Despised Icon: DVD Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2008-10-23. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=107518. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
8. ^ Montreal Assault Delayed Blabbermouth
9. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=110772
10. ^ "Despised Icon to Release Day of Mourning in September". Blabbermouth.net (Roadrunner Records). 3 June 2009. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BlabberMouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=121297. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
11. ^ DESPISED ICON : Official Website
12. ^ "Despised Icon To Call It A Day", ThePRP.com, 7 April 2010, Retrieved on 2010-04-07
13. ^ Despised Icon: Issue Final Statement Before the Last Six Shows of Their Career
14. ^ "Despised Icon - "The Sunset Will Never Charm Us"". MTV Networks. 2006-03-28. http://www.mtv.com/videos/despised-icon/80221/the-sunset-will-never-charm-us.jhtml#artist=1915296. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
15. ^ "Despised Icon - "In the Arms of Perdition"". MTV Networks. 2007-06-04. http://www.mtv.com/videos/despised-icon/155334/in-the-arms-of-perdition.jhtml#artist=1915296. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
16. ^ "Despised Icon - "Furtive Monologue"". MTV Networks. 2008-03-04. http://www.mtv.com/videos/despised-icon/213405/furtive-monologue.jhtml#artist=1915296. Retrieved 2008-11-09.