Rough Edge: Malevolent Creation CD Reviews

MALEVOLENT CREATION

"Invidious Dominion" (Nuclear Blast; 2010)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

Despite a plethora of lineup shakeups and bad business deals, Malevolent Creation trudges forward and the seasoned quintet’s unadulterated anger remains as a force to be reckoned with in the death metal realm as audible on the squad’s 11th studio offering, "Invidious Dominion."

Stacked with vicious blasts of velocity and a barrage of enraged vocal rasps leading the charge (“Compulsive Face Breaker,” “Lead Spitter”), this veteran unit’s unwavering death metal stance finally gets its just desserts thanks to the righteous production skills of extreme metal guru Erik Rutan dialing into the classic Florida tones and shaping their hate-fueled explosiveness into razor sharp yet predictable shards of old school heaviness that deviates very little from the original blueprint yet sounds as full and thick as any of their contemporaries still in the game (“Slaughterhouse”).

For more information visit http://www.malevolent-creation.com/.

"Doomsday X" (Nuclear Blast; 2007)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

Blasting out rapid-fire extreme metal since 1987, Malevolent Creation returns with "Doomsday X," a relentless 12-track affair.

Despite the band's constant revolving door band member situation, four-fifths of the original lineup have returned on this endeavor, giving long time fans something to cheer about. And cheer they will, as this squad wastes no time in going for the jugular in the classic style with dastardly dive bomb guitars and incessant double bass, taking the reigns on tracks like the solid instrumental "Prelude to Doomsday," the mid-tempo grinder "Deliver My Enemy" (featuring a guest solo by Slipknot's Mick Thompson) and the simple yet vicious "Unleash Hell."

Faithfully sticking to the quintet's roots, Malevolent Creation resurrects the smash and grab vibes of the early days of death metal with a sturdy meat-and-potatoes mix of brutality.

For more information visit http://www.malevolent-creation.com/.

"Conquering South America" (Arctic Records; 2004)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

Even after more than five years of reviewing death metal for Rough Edge and although I can say that I certainly appreciate it more than I ever did, it is still not a favorite genre of mine. Malevolent Creation, stalwarts of the genre, recorded their shows in Brazil during their 2003 tour; the result is "Conquering South America." Consequently, these were the first shows played by the band in South America.

Given the difficulty I have getting through most death metal studio albums it was rather obvious that I'd have some difficulty getting through a live album of death metal. Or at least so I thought. I was slowly charmed by the unforgiving intensity captured during Malevolent Creation's performances. Featuring fifteen tracks and running over 60 minutes "Conquering South America" captures songs from throughout the band's career. Vocalist Kyle Symons recognizes that by alerting the crowd that the band is going to go deep into its career to deliver the goods to an audience that has waited a long to hear the band in the live setting.

This live disc ratchets the swarming, technical-laced, buzz-saw sound they're famous for up a few notches. The 60 minutes seem to fly by. As you might guess "Conquering South America" exudes energy and excitement from every one of its tracks. So much energy, in fact, that hearing the songs played at a live concert's pacing (generally faster than what you'd hear on a record) Malevolent Creation simply crush bringing an intensity usually only heard in the brutal death metal genre.

To me, "Conquering South America" is proof that Malevolent Creation is truly a bridge between the precision of Death and the gory mess that is Cannibal Corpse. I've always wondered why Malevolent Creation were 'under-appreciated' and it's interesting that a live album like "Conquering South America" will do wonders for (hopefully) pulling the band out of a bit of obscurity.

When I want to hear Malevolent Creation I'm going to reach for this live disc and not one of their studio albums. Consider me impressed.

"Conquering South America" was recorded by Sidney Sohn, Jr. with assistance from Armando Pereira. The sound quality is quite good for a death metal album.

Malevolent Creation: Kyle Symons on vocals, Phil Fasciana and Rob Barrett on guitars, Gordon Simms on bass, and Tony Laureano on drums.

For more information visit http://www.malevolent-creation.com/.

"The Will to Kill" (Arctic Records; 2002)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

I'll be honest - my only experience with Malevolent Creation has been the "Joe Black" EP. Over the years, as a general rule, I've tended to avoid death metal. As a consequence I have overlooked Malevolent Creation (as it seems have many others whether fans of death metal or not) despite my willing and forced forays into the depths of death metal's boundless aggression.

"The Will To Kill" is Malevolent Creation's latest effort and it comes hot on the heels of the well-acclaimed CDs "Envenomed" and "Envenomed Part 2." The one thing Malevolent Creation have going for it is their technical skills. All the usual adjectives come to mind including 'blistering,' 'relentless,' and 'killer,' but the album deserves more than the usual rhetoric and hollow-sounding, cookie-cutter praise.

After the first listen, I must admit, "The Will To Kill" did absolutely nothing for me. If it weren't for my responsibilities to give everything a fair chance (i.e. listen to everything multiple times) I might have tossed this one away without an additional thought. By the second listen, though, I began to appreciate Malevolent Creation's superior technical approach, complex song-writing, and explosive dynamics (is "explosive" a 'usual adjective?'). And by the third listen through, it became apparent to me that "The Will To Kill" shares a lot in common with my current favorite death metal album at the time of this writing (that would be Decapitated's "Nihility").

It would be pointless for me to discuss individual tracks. "The Will To Kill" features nearly every positive aspect of above average song-writing and dynamic flair in song-structures and arranging. Malevolent Creation find the happy medium between Floridian death metal's aggressive, gore-laden approach and the progressive, technical leanings of the best European death metal acts.

I was hoping Malevolent Creation would hold my interest more than it did - at least on first listen. I know that Malevolent Creation have struck a chord with death metal fans everywhere and it took a few listens for me to make a connection to "The Will To Kill," but I can hear why everyone who's even remotely into death metal likes "The Will To Kill."

"The Will To Kill" was produced by Malevolent Creation.

Malevolent Creation are Kyle Simmons on vocals, Phil Fasciana on guitars, Gordon Simms on bass, and Dave Culross on drums.

For more information visit http://www.malevolent-creation.com/.

"Joe Black" (Pavement; 1996)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

"Joe Black" is like getting three EPs in one!

The first three songs are original offerings of death metal madness. They have everything you could want in death metal songs - rapid fire riffs, gory vocals, tight playing, and great production. However, I'm not the biggest death metal fan on the planet so feel free to take my words with a grain of salt. But I do like the heavy percussive, technical, riff-oriented assault that Malevolent Creation have crafted on "Joe Black."

The second three songs are heavy-duty strength industrialized re-mixes of the band's previous work. Perhaps Malevolent Creation were inspired by the mechanized sound of Fear Factory's debut to try to give their own songs a re-working with studio trickery? In any case, these three re-mixes are nothing if curious sidetracks into a dimension of death metal that you'll be unlikely to hear as its own sub-genre.

There are four demos on "Jack Black" as well. As you might imagine, they are much more raw than the three original songs. However, the songs don't sound like piss poor attempts at creating something with more resonance. There's just as much violence and dedication to these as the other stuff.

The requisite cover song is included on "Joe Black." I've always thought covering a Slayer song would risk severe embarrassment. While Malevolent Creation's take on Slayer's "Raining Blood" neither impresses nor embarrasses - it is an interesting interpretation of the classic track.

Malevolent Creation is Phil Fasciana and Jon Rubin on guitar, Jason Blachowicz on bass and vocals, and Dave Culross (Suffocation) on drums. Other bands members during the demo sessions included Brett Hoffman on vocals, Larry Hawke on drums, Alex Marquez on drums, Mark Van Erp on bass, and Mark Simpson on drums.

For more information visit http://www.malevolent-creation.com/.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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