BENIGHTED have released a new effort that uses musical elements from grindcore, death metal, and some black metal. The songs on BENIGHTED's new album Icon are memorable and strong in the same aspect, there is also some goregrind to be found on numerous songs on Icon. A top-notch production job surrounds the album in a crushing guitar tone and with the drums coming through loud and clear with the vocals and bass doing hand to hand combat.

Saw It All is a perfect goregrind song mixed in with the Brutal Death Metal edge and Saw It All has the right amount of groove and guttural vocals, did I mention this song has some Thrash Metal backbone to? Forsaken has it's moments of melodic parts, but nothing gay with those happy feeling overused melodies, but instead BENIGHTED go for the crushing melodic parts for a few moments, then transfer back into the Brutal Death Metal monsters they are. Pledge Of Retaliation starts off with those meat grinding guitar riffs and by all means it's pure sickness. The second half of Icon is good just like the first half, so in conclusion no filler songs can be found on Icon, but pure Brutal Death Metal that crushes the listener into a lifeless and useless pulp of carnage.

BENIGHTED is one of those bands where every album by them is an essential and with Icon this is a known fact. If you are still reading this review go out and buy every release by BENIGHTED. I am on my search to find all of their albums right now, but eventually I will have them. Icon gets 9.0 out of 10.