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Showing posts with label Malevolent Creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malevolent Creation. Show all posts
Resolutely traditional, old school Florida death
metal with a modern production, iIn other words, for fans of the genre and band
it is an absolute winner
“The 13th
Beast” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. End The Torture
2. Mandatory Butchery
3. Agony For The Chosen
4. Canvas Of Flesh
5. Born Of Pain
6. The Beast Awakened
7. Decimated
8. Bleed Us Free
9. Knife At Hand
10. Trapped Inside
11. Release The Soul
The Review:
Malevolent
Creation
are certainly one of death metal's old school elite and even with powerhouse
vocalist Brett Hoffman gone, the band (Phil Fasciana and able cohorts) press
forward. Lee Wollenschlaeger is a fine death metal vocalist, as is demonstrated
by his opening growl on “End The Torture”-
and he brings an almost NYHC aggression to his delivery. Once again, the sound
is razor sharp, the production suitably brutal, the sound is timelessly death
metal.
As
is standard (now and then) the drums are triggered and thus audible in their
intricacy. The sound is pro-toolsed and the performances are spot on. These
days, you would be hard pressed to find the endearing amateur aggression
present on some of the biggest bands' debut recordings, but what you get
instead is machine like precision born of experience.
There
are blasts aplenty (“Agony For The
Chosen”), some very thrashy moments (“Mandatory
Butchery”), plenty of shifting tempos (“Canvas of Flesh”) and all of these elements rearing their heads at
various times in most tracks. Over the course of eleven tracks there is no real
relaxation time- just straight ahead death metal. This is, though, so what did
you expect?!
Try
out “The Beast Awakened” if you want
a flavour of the best elements of the record in one track (it slays!), but if
you like Malevolent
Creation you are pretty much guaranteed to like this album. Is it
their best? To some listeners it will be, to some it will be “another” good MC
album. That the band are keeping quality control high and are still putting out
impressive records is highly commendable and something that cannot be said of
many old-school bands.
That
there is nothing new here goes without saying- “Decimated” would fit on any of their albums past or present- but
death metal is a taste you develop and if the bug has bitten you in the past,
suffice it to say that this album will satisfy all death metal needs and wants
you may have.
As
the album progresses through “Knife at
Hand”, “Trapped Inside” and “Release The Soul” you will know exactly
what kind of album this is: resolutely traditional, old school Florida death metal with
a modern production. In other words, for fans of the genre and band it is an
absolute winner. Enjoy.
Fans of Hooded Menace, Serpentine Path and
traditional Florida
death metal like Obituary or Malevolent Creation can't go wrong here; this is a
great example of the doom/death genre and surely one of the musically darkest
albums you could pick to play out the winter.
“Grotesque
Offerings” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). House of Gripping Gore
2). Night Gallery
3). Spells of the Necromancer
4). Evil That Haunts This Ground
5). Black Candle Séance
6). Creature Feature
7). Into The Crypts
8). Murderous Mr Hyde
9). Last Drop of Blood
10). Final Resting Place
The Review:
More
doom/death of the darkest order from these dwellers of deepest... Florida. Darkness does
indeed drip forth from opener “House of
Dripping Gore”, but that is not to say that the likes of “Night Gallery” don't swing fairly
mightily. In amongst these seven minute epics, there are some sprightly
interludes (“Spells of the Necromancer”,
“Into The Crypts”, “Final Resting Place”), but for the most part it is a
sprawling and pitch black listen.
The
song titles really do say it all here; “Evil
That Haunts This Ground”, “Black
Candle Séance”- deathly and doomy stuff. It is not without humour- “Creature Feature” is a fine and flighty
song title and the lyrics fit nicely- but how much more black can the music be?
The answer is, of course, none! The tracks across the record are mostly slow
and creep forward with purpose- great riffs, some superb lead work and even
guitar melodies here and there. There are changes of pace here and there- “Last Drop of Blood” is pretty fast and
furious (and superb), but for the most part there is more doom than death here,
I think.
Fans
of Hooded
Menace, Serpentine Path and traditional Florida death metal like Obituary
or Malevolent
Creation can't go wrong here; this is a great example of the
doom/death genre and surely one of the musically darkest albums you could pick
to play out the winter.
The Sludgelord’s ‘Sonic 6’for 2015 is
compiled based upon page views alone and calibrated into the list below, so
check out the Death Metal “Sonic
6” for 2015 (full reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and
total views since the date of publication are highlight in red).
6). Necrowretch– “With Serpents Scourge” (405)
It
would be fair to say that I loved this record as soon as I heard it- it is
immediate, relentless and nasty in its delivery. Necrowretch have come up with
a great album here. For death and black metal heads everywhere.
5).
Entrails – “Obliteration” (546)
Entrails
offer up riffs, style and atmosphere in spades. They also offer up song writing
that is excellent and not often equalled in this genre. If you wish Entombed
were still around in the form that they were in 1992, or yearn for a Dismember
reformation then this album is a must. Hell, if you even once played Slaughter
of The Soul and quite liked it then you should check this record out. It's
superb.
4).
Horrendous – “Anareta” (576)
There’s
so much to enjoy and unpack as I listen to this album again and again, because
every song offers a new wrinkle to the formula or another compositional element
that most bands wouldn’t think to use. It’s so fucking rich and dense. To put a
finer point on things, ‘Anareta’ is the sort of album that lifts death metal as
a genre up. It’s everything I could ask of a death metal album in
2015 and there’s virtually nothing in metal as a whole that’s in Horrendous’
league right now
3).
Feral– “Where Dead Dreams Dwell” (677)
Maelstrom finisher “Succumb to Terror” is a suitably brutal end to
this very strong album. If you are a fan of the Swe-death genre, this record is
a must. It's relentlessly beautiful in its own grotesque and noisy way.
2).
Obsequiae– “Aria of Vernal Tombs” (766)
Two key stylistic elements—both very different degrees of old—come
together to form something new. It may not be made completely from scratch, but
the vision required to make something like this happen deserves praise. Not to
mention that purely from a songwriting standpoint this is one of the better albums
of the year thus far. Even on that basis alone, ignoring its other admirable
qualities, ‘Aria of Vernal Tombs’ warrants the strongest of recommendations.
1).
Malevolent Creation – “Dead Man’s Path” (910)
‘Corporate
Weaponry’ has blasts aplenty, along with some excellent lead work. It
certainly ticks all the boxes: memorable title and thus chorus, breakdown
section, time changes and a superb production. Fast and furious in the main,
this is a fine example of where Malevolent Creation are at in 2015. Simply put,
if you like any of the band's previous work, you will love this. If you enjoy
death metal that is not too far into tech-territory, then this record is for
you. Death metal, for death metal fans.
Reviews
featured in this article were written by:Richard Maw, Daniel Jackson
‘Corporate Weaponry’ has blasts aplenty, along with some excellent lead work. It certainly ticks all the boxes: memorable title and thus chorus, breakdown section, time changes and a superb production. Fast and furious in the main, this is a fine example of where Malevolent Creation are at in 2015. Simply put, if you like any of the band's previous work, you will love this. If you enjoy death metal that is not too far into tech-territory, then this record is for you. Death metal, for death metal fans.
‘Dead Man's Path’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Dead Man's Path
02. Soul Razer
03. Imperium (Kill Force Rising)
04. Corporate Weaponry
05. Blood Of The Fallen
06. Resistance Is Victory
07. 12th Prophecy
08. Extinction Personified
09. Fragmental Sanity
10. Face Your Fear
11. Carnivorous Misgivings *
12. Dominated Resurgency *
* (Bonus Tracks of the Digipak and the CD included in the LP-version,
re-recorded songs from the “Stillborn” album
Malevolent Creation is
Phil Fasciana | guitar
Bret Hoffmann | vocals
Jason Blachowicz | bass
Gio Geraca | guitar
Justin DiPinto | drums
The Review:
It would be no exaggeration to say that Malevolent Creation wrote ‘The Ten Commandments’ of death metal! Joking aside, that one album alone cements their status as a classic band. Sure, they are not usually included in most lists of “Obituary/Deicide/Morbid Angel/Cannibal Corpse” when discussing a death metal version of the Big Four, but if those bands are that, then Malevolent Creation must be not too far off...
The Florida (by way of Buffalo) veterans return with this dark and rumbling release. The title track is downbeat and doomy- not a blast beat to be found and spoken word vocals used. An interesting start. ‘Soul Razor’ finds the band on more familiar territory. 3,2,1... Blast Off! It's feral stuff; as sharp as the title implies but with a listenable quality that elevates them above most modern pretenders to the throne. ‘Imperium (Kill Force Rising)’ is an energetic romp that remains engaging throughout its six plus minutes.
‘Corporate Weaponry’ has blasts aplenty, along with some excellent lead work. It certainly ticks all the boxes: memorable title and thus chorus, breakdown section, time changes and a superb production. Fast and furious in the main, this is a fine example of where Malevolent Creation are at in 2015.
‘Blood of The Fallen’ continues this template- very speedy to start with new drummer Justin DiPinto acquitting himself very well throughout (the less said about the controversy surrounding the exit of former drummer Gus Rios, the better). Of course, the song slows for a spell and offers up some nicely chugging riffage.
The second half of the album is arguably even more brutal with the likes of ‘Resistance is Victory’ ruining your speakers. ‘The 12th Prophecy’ has a brilliantly dramatic feel to the main riff and keeps things taut from thereon. Indeed, the album is focussed throughout; ‘Extinction Personifies’ rattles by at pace and ‘Fragmental Sanity’has a really old school feel to the riffs and lyrics- great stuff. ‘Face Your Fear’ finishes off this strong release with a more groove based initial attack that would not be out of place on a Six Feet Under album. The pace picks up, of course, running the gamut of fast thrash beats, half times and turnarounds.
Simply put, if you like any of the band's previous work, you will love this. If you enjoy death metal that is not too far into tech-territory, then this record is for you. Death metal, for death metal fans.
