More of the same? Yes, and no. "Icons of Evil" is another hour plus release with rather long songs. By this point, I'm not sure why people complain about the length of said songs. It is Vital Remains' prerogative; they've been doing it since the very beginning (except "Into Cold Darkness"). The main complaint with length is that the music suffers from long, drawn out sections that are either repetitive or deemed filler, which can be said for any band. That criticism had some merit on their previous release "Dechristianize", but on "Icons of Evil" I believe they addressed that very issue. The music here is still very bombastic: speedy guitars churning out riff after riff, drumming with insane speed and of course Benton's demonic vocals. The difference on this release is that the overall execution of the music and song writing seems to have been fine tuned. Now, the music seems to fit the overall length of the songs, with plenty of solos, transitions and hooks that all fit together as one complete sound. "Dechristianize" had a few songs that sounded as though they were meant to be two separate songs, but decided to bridge them together as one. "Icons of Evil" showed a lot of growth in the four years between releases. If you enjoyed "Dechristianize" you'll love "Icons of Evil"
Highlights: "Born to Rape the World" "Icons of Evil" "Till Death" "Scorned"
Rating: 4
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