Shadow of Intent Brings Imperium Delirium to Charlotte - And Hell Followed With

May 15, 2026

7 min read

Marking their 13th stop at The Underground on May 9th, on their North American tour in support of their latest album "Imperium Delirium" -a colossal music capstone for the extreme metal genre- Shadow of Intent continues to lay waste as heavyweights of the genre across the states. Supported by Synestia, Mental Cruelty, and Angelmaker, Charlotte, North Carolina, was pushed to its absolute limit. Starting on April 23rd and running through May 20th, this Deathcore dream-team of breakdowns, symphonics, and aggression has been leaving no survivors in its wake on stage, and whoever put this lineup together needs a damn raise.

SYNESTIA

Kicking off the night was Synestia- this was the first tour for the Minneapolis-based symphonic deathcore band, and they did not hold back. Fronted by Raleigh, North Carolina's own Ryan Vail (also the frontman for teeth-obsessed deathcore group Larcenia Roe), Synestia instantly established the energy. Circle pits for as far as the eye can see; Ryan's piercing highs and lows; beefed-up riffs and technical melodies from Grant Robinson (bass) and Sam Mechior (guitar, founder, and primary songwriter); and drums (Byron London) that are firing on all damn cylinders. For the first band of the night, the energy is already peaking, and we're only in Act I so far. It's a duality to see a vocalist who's confident to dance and wave his hands on stage- having fun- while those of us in the pit are getting absolutely mauled to death during "Dies Irae" and that insane mid-breakdown in "Premonitions." Closing out with "Death Empress," the band was joined by Trevor Teichert, vocalist of Winter's Gate (another Charlotte-based band), to obliterate their last song in the set. The track was originally done alongside Blake Mullens (vocalist) of Disembodied Tyrant; however, last winter, when Mullens was injured into a state of hospitalization, both Vail and Teichert stepped up to fill in for vocal duties for the band on tour.

North Carolina locals were proud to swarm and see their home-state locals up on stage providing mayhem to the masses- NC show promoter, Ryan Harrison ('Bring The Ruckus'), along with Joe Bad (vocalist for Fit For An Autopsy), and Music Scene Media's photographer Christy Peterson, who also is a North Carolina local- who previously has shot for Vail's previous bands, and others around the state's scene- quoted that Teichert is "one of the best vocalists out of North Carolina" and was the perfect closer to Synestia's epilogue of the night.

MENTAL CRUELTY

Coming across the Atlantic from Karlsruhe, Germany- Mental Cruelty led in with Scandinavian talharpas and delivered Norse-inspired barrages of blast beats (Jonathan Koltun), tremolo-impeding guitars (Marvin Kessler and Nahuel Lozano), and Lukas Nicolai ripping into orchestral-backed high screams with "Helheim". Deathcore shows are a different animal- everything is built upon the foundations of technical instrumentation, human vocals that emulate the sounds of a Balrog ('Lord of the Rings', nerds), and an atmosphere of unrelenting moshing, crowd surfing, and those brave souls who show up in banana costumes. "Pest" is a personal favorite; cult-like choir sounds call upon the bubonic plague, the pit stirs its own pestilence, and impressive sweep picking decays into the stomping of "Forgotten Kings." The closing track, "Symphony of a Dying Star," is the symphonic deathcore soundtrack to a winter epic, and in mid-vocal carnage, Nicolai leaps into the damn crowd and crowd surfs as the German band closes us out of Act II of the night.

ANGELMAKER

This is a band that is completely locked the fuck in. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, and with a non-stop two-year tour schedule, Angelmaker delivered a classic beatdown opening with "In Death" and continued their way down a warpath with a mixed set combining previous albums, along with November's recently released "This Used To Be Heaven". The band is a rarity, utilizing dual vocalists (Casey Tyson-Pearce & Ian Bearer), three damn guitarists in classic deathcore fashion (Colton Bennett, Matt Perrin, Johnny Ciardullo); and, despite it having clear and distinct bass rhythms (Cole Rideout) and crisp footwork, fills, and china rides from the kit (Steven Sanchez). That is a lot of professional and angry motherfuckers to put on a stage, and the crowd was enthralled. "Bloodthirster" saw the pit form into the famous 'Wall-Of-Death' and saw exactly what a man can do to another man. The banana-costumed attendee is probably in a better place now.

Nostalgia rang out to the famous:

"You're A Fucking Coward."

sung out from the crowd as the band reigned upon the famous track, "Leech". This is a band that feels like they've been around forever (I first saw them on the 'Summer Slaughter Tour' in 2017), and they easily are as great the first time you see them and feel like they're rolling into their prime now more than ever. Act III closes out with the recently released self-titled "This Used To Be Heaven"- and the last band is about to absolutely dominate what's left after this four-course meal of violence.

SHADOW OF INTENT

There's a surge of impending adrenaline that has built upon the night; you can sense it in the middle of the blood and sweat that has now stained the venue in its hours of previous disarray. There is absolute hunger, and it is infinite. Connecticut's own Shadow of Intent is an example of what pinnacle musicianship, professionalism, and spirit of the genre can look like when they're polished and evolved. Releasing "Imperium Delirium" in July of last year, the band has been on an onslaught, proving they will drag knuckle and bone to show they are crowned in the genre. Chris Wiseman (guitar) and Bryce Butler (drums) stomp in the intro to "Infinity of Horrors," and the venue transforms into a wave of bloodletting. Ben Duerr is a master classman among metal vocalists, uniquely sounding gutturals that are fast-tempered and quickly morph into piercing highs with ease. The man is a unit. Bassist Andrew Monias stomps through "They Murdered Sleep" as Wiseman rips into its beautiful guitar solo. Wiseman is incredibly technically proficient in his playing ability, and it's mesmerizing to watch him loop between insane leads and breakdowns without hesitation. "Feeding the Meatgrinder" was a seismic earthquake between the band and the crowd's 'Wall-Of-Death' that could have toppled the very foundation of the venue. Giving us throwbacks, it was a sea of crowd-surfers for 2023's "The Migrant" and the crowd ruptured, offering us "The Heretic Prevails" from 2017's acclaimed "Reclaimer" album (I actually own the tab book for it, and looking at it has not made it any easier to play 'The Mausoleum of Liars', Chris).

The crowd just wouldn't let up, man- bodies continued to fly during "The Facets of Propaganda," but oh, they ingest it. Following the hour of some of the best performances you'll see in the genre, Shadow of Intent closes in with the 8-minute, self-titled track "Imperium Delirium." Sonically, if you haven't gotten the chance to, the album drips with a nihilistic and bleak temperament on the atrocities of human conflict and warmongering. It's a masterpiece of an album, and it felt right to end the night with its captivating self-aware track. Act IV is finished, and another city has fallen into Shadow of Intent's grasp.

Only a few days are left for Shadow of Intent and the 'Deathcore Dream Team' (Synestia, Mental Cruelty, and Angelmaker) before the band goes off to dominate Europe, supported by Aborted, Disembodied Tyrant, and Soreption (seriously, lineup guy needs a promotion). So, if you're brave enough to witness the end as you know it, grab tickets while you can here (North America Tour) and here (Europe Tour).