Those metal fans of a `certain age’ are fairly likely to grow misty-eyed and nostalgic when they see this brand new release from semi-legendary US death metal troopers Malevolent Creation. Back in the days when jeans were tight, and hair was frizzy – this band were there at the formation of the American death metal scene. In fact, so dedicated to death metal were they that they moved from New York down to Florida to join in the musical madness, and have been a part of the scene ever since.
For those unfamiliar with the band, their sound is not something you hear so often these days; a visceral and energetic blend of death and thrash which goes straight for the jugular, and can only have come from the early days of death metal. At their classic best they were a combustible mix of Dark Angel, Slayer, Sepultura, and the dark fury of bands like Deicide.
So how does this album compare? Well, a lot of the classic Malevolent Creation elements are there – frenetic, seizure-inducing thrash punctuated with ferocious blasts, some brief but effective and well played dramatic guitar solos, and riffs so full of razor-sharp hooks you will surely injure yourself in the listening process. All this, and Brett Hoffman’s distinctive snarl, spitting venom, bile and broken glass into the ears of listener – on paper at least, this is a classic Malevolent Creation album.
I’ve often thought that the band could do with more atmosphere in some of their later material, and this is no exception – while the production is extremely clear and crisp, for me it lacks a certain something of the testicular variety. Maybe a bit less cleanliness, and some good old fashioned dirt would benefit the band – it would certainly add some much needed darkness to the songs on display.
The songs themselves seemed to have been written in a much stripped down way compared to their classic earlier material, gone are the sudden time changes and atmospheric, crushing passages. Instead, the gear stick is rammed into top gear and the brakes have been cut – almost the entire album is fast, furious and as subtle as a traffic collision. This is a double-edged sword (sorry about all the mixed metaphors!) – on the one hand the songs are very instant, and fairly short, and really engage the listener with their explosive energy, but conversely some of the songs start to merge into each other after a while, and some of the riffs sound fairly similar. That said, there are musical highlights littered throughout the album – the occasional fantastic riff, some great, soaring guitar solos, a good handful of neck-breaking moments and Brett Hoffman’s vocals are as vicious and expressive as ever.
So – not a masterpiece by any means, but definitely a good, solid album from this classic death metal crew. Definitely an album to listen to if you have a lot of pent up aggression to release, but I wouldn’t listen to it while working out in the gym in case of a seizure!
http://www.myspace.com/malevolentcreation
