Malevolent Creation

Morta Skuld – Creation Undone Review

Morta Skuld – Creation Undone Review

“Wisconsin’s Morta Skuld have been dragging their nasty cave knuckles for so long, even their fingerprints have worn off. In existence on and off since 1990, these old school warriors have been a fairly reliable if not super prolific source of no-frills, beefbrained death metal. Their early works exuded an oily, swampy charm with a sound ripped from the classic Necrophagia and Obituary playbooks. Later albums like Wounds Deeper Than Time and 2020s Suffer for Nothing were much more furious, pummeling affairs, with elements of Vader, Malevolent Creation, and Jungle Rot in their flavor profile.” Come (violently) undone.

Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny Review

Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny Review

“2022 may just go down as a banner year for grind, peppered with quality releases. Although it can be overlooked, grind can also be deceptively diverse, illustrated by the shifting styles of some of the genre’s big hitters in 2022. The debut album from Kill Division tackles grind from an old school perspective, delivered by a seasoned group of musicians, including members of Gruesome, Inhuman Condition, those who have logged time in Malevolent Creation, and former Soilwork and current Megadeth drummer, Dirk Verbeuren. Quite a pedigree of well-established and respected metal musicians.” Grindfire of the vanities.

Sinister – Deformation of the Holy Realm Review

Sinister – Deformation of the Holy Realm Review

“I’m always happy to see old school death metal bands that are still around and putting out new music, especially when that music is as good as Sinister’s. Though they formed in 1988, this Dutch group’s 2017 album Syncretism was my first exposure to the band and my neck has never been the same.” Deform the neck bones.

Cemetery Filth – Dominion Review

Cemetery Filth – Dominion Review

“For such an iconic band, there aren’t many modern groups that sound very much like Death. Sure, Gruesome’s whole schtick is sounding like them and Skeletal Remains have a hearty Death influence, but compared to the legions of bands that mimic Entombed or Incantation, Chuck Schuldiner’s brainchild seems underrepresented. After Live Burial answered the call earlier this month, Atlanta’s Cemetery Filth are here with their Dominion debut to profess their own love of Schuldiner’s work.” I am become Death.

Perdition Temple – Sacraments of Descension Review

Perdition Temple – Sacraments of Descension Review

“Though Angelcorpse were only active for five years in their initial run, in that short time they managed to release three terrific albums and establish themselves as one of the most iconic blackened death metal bands of all time. After reuniting and releasing 2007’s Of Lucifer and Lightning to mediocre reception, the Kansas City group would split up again, with guitarist Gene Palubicki going on to showcase his ideas in Blasphemic Cruelty, Apocalypse Command, and Perdition Temple. It seems odd considering their slow rate of output, but Temple have easily been the most prolific of these three projects, with the band now on their third album since their 2009 inception.” Temple ov Anger.

Mortuary – The Autophagous Reign Review

Mortuary – The Autophagous Reign Review

“A rye and ginger made in subtly wrong ways is, after many listens, how I’ve come to view Mortuary’s latest record, The Autophagous Reign. I rated highly its predecessor, Nothingless than Nothingness — a rating I stand by. Both are the same in the sense that this or that rye and ginger are the same. But as we all know, not all rye and gingers are created equal, even if we use the same rye and ginger-ale.” Drinking with the dead.

Prion – Aberrant Calamity Review

Prion – Aberrant Calamity Review

“Heaviness is in the ear of the beholder, and you and I just know heavy when we hear it. To me, Devourment is rather heavy; to someone whose understanding of metal begins and ends with Disturbed, Devourment is just noise, and is therefore not heavy. Even this may prove contentious, because some people think “noise” as a genre is legitimately extreme and heavy. Slayer gets ridiculously heavy, both in their old stuff (“At Dawn They Sleep”) and new material (“Catatonic”). I’ve never found sludge to be all that heavy, despite sounding weighty and lacking in treble as it often does. Despite playing guitar in a metalcore band years ago, my younger sibling doesn’t pass muster on this scale; he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother. I cannot produce a definition of heavy in extreme metal, nor can you. We can merely tell people what is and isn’t heavy through bands and songs.” The heaviest matter of the universe.

Malevolent Creation – The 13th Beast Review

Malevolent Creation – The 13th Beast Review

“When I was a boy, busy putting my beleaguered vertebrae through a heavy metal crash course in brain surgery, there were a few records that would stay with me forever. On the death metal spectrum, my friends and I loved nothing more than realigning the atoms of our necks to the dulcet tones of Consuming Impulse or Realm of Chaos. Malevolent Creation’s first two albums, The Ten Commandments and Retribution, were also prime influences in our quest for spinal reconfiguration. I even rather enjoy the much-maligned Stillborn, despite its horrendous production. But, of course, this isn’t a retrospective of death metal’s classic era, it’s a review of Malevolent Creation’s newest offering and the first since the untimely passing of frontman Brett Hoffmann.” Altered beasts.