Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium
Release Date: 27th June 2025
Label: Independent/Blood Blast Distribution
Bandcamp
Genre: Deathcore, Symphonic Deathcore, Blackened Deathcore.
FFO: Disembodied Tyrant, Netherwalker, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Synestia, Lorna Shore.
Review By: Metal Mike
Shadow Of Intent, insidious masters of deathcore and their craft, are posed to release their newest offering, Imperium Delirium for fans on 27 June 2025. Imperium Delirium, the fifth full-length album, is shaping up to be their strongest offering to date, as hard as that is to believe. With four previous releases, and hundreds of hours personally listened, I have extremely high hopes for Imperium’s potential, especially with how strong the singles have been up to this point. Shadow Of Intent formed in 2013, in Connecticut, as a Halo themed project between vocalist Ben Duerr and guitarist Chris Wiseman (also of Currents). Currently, the band is comprised of Ben Duerr, Chris Wiseman, Andrew Monias on bass, and Bryce Butler on drums, and Imperium will continue their trend of independently released albums. The sounds presented reflect a smooth progression from their last release, Elegy, while honing in on the aggression and precision of their sound. Tackling themes ranging from war, propaganda, and modern violence, this album is sure to please a lot of fans, so let’s dive in!
Intro track, Prepare To Die, starts off immediately with rising symphony amidst building drums, preparing the listener for an audio assault. Prepare To Die takes everything we knew about Shadow Of Intent and turns it up to eleven. With blazing speed, hellish guitar riffs, demonic vocals both high and low, and pelting drums, this track was perfectly placed as the opener, and it does its job preparing the listeners for a wild ride of an album! Second track, Flying The Black Flag, released as a single in August 2024, blends seamlessly into the greater picture of Imperium. This track was the first taste of the new era of Shadow for fans, blending older sounds with more refined elements; it was a great choice to usher fans into this new phase.
Infinity Of Horrors, the second single to be released, is easily one of the strongest tracks written to date by the band in this writer’s opinion. The track features fantastic riffs alongside top-tier symphonic elements, and when paired with Ben’s vocals, it really highlights just how far this band has come in terms of song-writing structure and composition. From a lyrical standpoint, Ben is at the top of his game, and this track tells the story of what I infer as a group of individuals eager to grasp onto any level of power they can find, regardless of consequence. Once they release the “horrors”, all is lost, and they are forced to live in the world they have created; eerily mirroring our current geopolitical landscape.
Mechanical Chaos was the final single before release. This track features some more experimental elements, and has the most slam elements yet from Shadow, and also showcases some deeper vocals than we are used to from Ben. Another strong track, and one that is sure to make their live show even more intense! They Murdered Sleep was a track that intrigued me based on title alone, and it did not disappoint. It starts slow, building tension, before Ben delivers some of the nastiest vocals we’ve ever gotten from him. This track highlights everything that I have grown to love about Shadow of Intent through the evolution of their discography. Wiseman, and the rest of the members highlight their musical abilities throughout this track through small but impactful flourishes, and tasteful nuance.
The Facets of Propaganda, easily one of the strongest tracks on Imperium Delirium, starts off with Bryce Butler doing what he does best side by side orchestral elements and a choir before Chris launches into a stellar, elegantly heavy guitar riff. The Facets of Propaganda once again highlights their growth in songwriting as well as musical composition and technical ability since their 2022 release. Feeding the Meatgrinder, the first official single released, takes the tried-and-true Shadow formula, seen on tracks like Flying the Black Flag, and tweaks various elements throughout to create something new and to help pull fans in. Having Ben and Corpsegrinder shift back and forth between vocals was a refreshing choice for this track and added yet another element to an already complex composition.
Vehement Draconian Vengeance is another sonic assault on this journey of an album. This track, between the drums and guitars, offers what can only be described groovy, making one want to bang their head in rhythm with the song. Next, we have Apocalypse Canvas, the album’s instrumental track chockful of amazing guitar playing and composition at the hands of Chris Wiseman. Alongside him, we can really see just how well the other band members, Bryce and Andrew, meld together to create a large part of the sonic atmosphere on Imperium.
The titular track, Imperium Delirium, might just be this album’s magnum opus and a perfect choice for a closing track. Throughout, the band are still showcasing new elements to their sound yet to have been heard before. Ben opens vocally with some extremely evil highs, paired up with perfectly placed riffs and drum fills. Imperium Delirium bleeds melody and aggression together in harmony; a perfect summation of the album as a whole, and I cannot wait for the rest of the metal world to hear it. Coming in at just over seven and a half minutes, Imperium Delirium is a masterwork in modern symphonic deathcore, and I would invite anyone to convince me otherwise.
Imperium Delirium, as previously stated, might be Shadow Of Intent’s strongest release to date. This album has no skips, and if you’re new to Shadow Of Intent, definitely check this out before diving into the rest of their discography, I promise you won’t regret it. Imperium Delirium, is a worthy contender for album of the year 2025, and it’s going to be a hard one to beat.
(5 / 5)
