Iconocaust

It’s a good thing metalcore isn’t the metal genre no one wants to admit they like anymore. Metalheads are okay with the subgenre because so few popular bands play it anymore; now deathcore is the object of derision. This is good news for Iconocaust, whose new four-song EP has metalcore written all over it, only without the breakdowns. Think more of acts like All the Remains and Shadows Fall, and less like Unearth or Bleeding Through, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s happening here. It’s basically thrash with singing, but instead of breakdowns, there’s incredible shredding. Excidium De Gratia exhibits drastic maturation on the band’s part over past releases, and perhaps that has something to do with the production skills of Ill Niño guitarist Ahru Luster, who helmed this disc.