Review: Shadow of Intent – Imperium Delirium

Style: symphonic deathcore (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Lorna Shore, Synestia, Disembodied Tyrant, Fleshgod Apocalypse
Country: Connecticut, United States
Release date: 27 June 2025

At metal concerts, I’m much more of a “stand in the back next to the sound guy and headbang” guy than a mosher. Call me lame and not a real metalhead¹, but risking bodily injury AND getting a worse quality of sound just isn’t worth it to me; it takes something special to get me in the circle. Shadow of Intent in concert earlier this year kicked so much ass I ran around in the silly circles, even participating in my first wall of death—of course, part of the reason I moshed was because my Subway nemesis Dylan was present at the show, and I couldn’t pass up a free chance to shove him. I’ve been a fan of the (previously) Halo-themed symphonic, sometimes technical, deathcore band since I was just getting into metal (and will still argue that Reclaimer is a top five deathcore album of all time), but I’d cooled on the Connecticut group’s output since 2019’s album Melancholia—not for lack of quality, just a natural evolution of taste. Will Shadow of Intent’s new album, Imperium Delirium, capitalize on nostalgia and the momentum from their concert experience?

Imperium Delirium sure sounds like Shadow of Intent, the band continuing their at-this-point formulaic approach: bombastic fake orchestration, searing guitar solos, inhuman vocals, and, of course, breakdowns galore. And now on their fifth album, Shadow of Intent’s formula is tried, true, and predictable. The opener “Prepare to Die” shows off the full spectrum of the band’s sound with an over-dramatic symphonic intro leading into Ben Duerr’s shotgun gutturals, while drummer Bryce Butler goes ham. After a brief reprieve from the overwhelming wall-of-sound’s epicness, Chris Wiseman sets fire across his frets. The song develops a little more underneath a blazing riff until its ending breakdown. No matter how shreddy and cheesily orchestrated Shadow of Intent get, they never want you to forget that they’re in the neck-snapping business—and damn good at it. Unfortunately, every track (except instrumental “Apocalypse Canvas” which made me audibly exclaim “they have a bassist?!”) unfolds similarly, if not with “slightly varied” song structures—that is, where will the breakdown, chorus, and solo be this time?

As always on a Shadow of Intent album, the synthesized orchestration makes Imperium Delirium engaging and fun, as do the guitar solos and choruses with their cleanly screamed crowd chants. The orchestration gets significantly drowned in the mix because so many layers of instrumentation and metal are happening at once, yet their background presence is enough to make Imperium Delirium feel cinematic, albeit a bit played out at this point. Often, the album’s highlight moments are backed by orchestration, such as on “The Facets of Propaganda.” While incredibly cliche with its stereotypically Middle Eastern melody and instrumentation, the track is wild, playing with centering the orchestration. However, directly clashing with the warm cinematics of the synthesized orchestra is a horribly misplaced electronic keyboard sound that reappears over and over throughout the album, curdling the orchestration like a lemon in milk. For instance, “Flying the Black Flag” uses the keys in its initial breakdown, and in “They Murdered Sleep” they crop up throughout as a cheap sounding nuisance. Conversely, the real piano that Shadow of Intent are prone to use in the rare chill moments is awesome—the band should have stuck with that.

Unlike your average metal elitist², I love a good breakdown, especially seeing how pivotal they are to a deathcore band like Shadow of Intent in a live setting. Ben Duerr is a stellar vocalist with unreal gutturals and vowel enunciation, and he switches between several styles during each breakdown, from Archspire-esque quick-flow vocals to vicious screams and deep barks. Every breakdown in Imperium Delirium seems identical, though, undifferentiated from any other competent deathcore band. atop janky, unpredictable rhythms, and brown-note chugs. If you’ve ever heard a deathcore breakdown, all of the dozen or more on this record will be redundant despite Duerr’s outstanding vocal capabilities and Shadow of Intent’s symphonic schtick. 

Five albums in, and it seems like Shadow of Intent are done evolving. While their formula is undeniably solid, the creative spark of the first two albums ran out of fuel. Imperium Delirium is an entertaining symphonic deathcore album when that’s all the rage with the -core kids right now (looking at you, Lorna Shore), and the record is solid fun. And although it lacks the stunning and fresh ideas of Shadow of Intent’s older records, at least I know the songs on Imperium Delirium will be fun live!

Recommended tracks: The Facets of Propaganda, Apocalypse Canvas, Imperium Delirium
You may also like: Mental Cruelty, A Wake in Providence, Ovid’s Withering
Final verdict: 5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives

Label: independent

Shadow of Intent is:
– Ben Duerr (vocals)
– Chris Wiseman – Guitar/Keyboards/Vocals
– Bryce Butler – Drums
– Andrew Monias – Bass/Vocals
With guests:
– Corpsegrinder (vocals, track 7)

1. As the vocalist of Decrepit Birth did to the non-moshers at their concert recently, which is no way to treat paying concert-goers, especially when you play in a low B-tier tech death band who can’t produce an album well. ↩︎
2. Let it be known I am an elitist, just far above the plebeian average elitist. ↩︎