Malevolent Creation

Monstrosity – The Passage of Existence Review

Monstrosity – The Passage of Existence Review

“For what many people come to know nowadays as “Corpsegrinder’s old band,” Monstrosity has built a sterling reputation for themselves without the Cannibal Corpse front-beast. My first introduction to them was on Death…is Just the Beginning Vol. 2, but that was just one song. My true introduction was on 2007’s Spiritual Apocalypse, one of my favorite death metal records of that decade. Having not grown up in the prime era of Floridian death metal, the sound and the iconic Morrisound production style were awesome relics of a bygone time. With Spiritual Apocalypse, Monstrosity brought that time to the present; the Morrisound production was perfect, the songs were impeccable, and then… silence. That is, until now.” Now, Monstrous.

Cemetery Urn – Barbaric Retribution Review

Cemetery Urn – Barbaric Retribution Review

“When it comes to pretension, quoting yourself is one of its masturbatory peaks. Allow me to indulge in a scratch that lingers slightly too long and paraphrase what I said about Australia’s Cemetery Urn in the distant year of 2017. The band’s self-titled release showed a great deal of promise with its punishing yet coherent death metal, making them a band worth paying close attention to. While I had been anticipating a new release, this quick of a turnaround is worrying. Can Barbaric Retribution be the result of a productive fit of inspiration or a public jettisoning of leftovers deemed unworthy of records past?” Respect isn’t given. It’s Urned.

Gruesome – Twisted Prayers Review

Gruesome – Twisted Prayers Review

“From Dio holograms to reunion albums to retro-fucking-everything, the last decade or so has been all about pandering to nostalgia, and Gruesome are a prime example. A few years ago, the ‘Death to All’ tours were begun to bring live renditions of the late Chuck Schuldiner’s music to a generation that never got to experience it the first time around. Following this time spent touring with former Death members, Exhumed’s Matt Harvey and Malevolent Creation’s Gus Rios took things a step further, forming Gruesome with the intent of creating new music in the vein of classic Death.” I am become Death.

Cardiac Arrest – A Parallel Dimension of Despair Review

Cardiac Arrest – A Parallel Dimension of Despair Review

“According to the inexhaustibly kvlt amongst our readership, we don’t review death metal. This is, of course, rubbish, mostly because, musically speaking, death metal is just about my favorite thing, and while I enjoy all of its increasingly technical incarnations, a platter of the traditional riff-beast is always certain to set my chops salivating. Cardiac Arrest are a band after my own heart — perhaps literally — serving the kind of classic cruelty the northern peak of my decades compromised vertebral column can freely enjoy without having to break out the algebra function of my old calculator.” Death for the olde.

Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2017

Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2017

“Remember that scene in Ghostbusters (the real Ghostbusters…) where Winston tells Ray, ‘If someone asks you if you are a god, you say yes!’ Well, if someone asks you if you want to write a guide for teaching organic chemistry, you say hellafuckingno. I’m serious. Do yourself, and everyone around you, a favor. So, yeah, this year’s been nuts. Thankfully, there’s Angry Metal Guy—a solace for all metalheads to come together and be verbally abused and cat-tailed in the company basement.” Cat’s got yer list.

Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time Review

Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time Review

“The process of quantifying quality is always a capricious thing. Contrary to nature, what I might allow for one band, I may use to vilify another, and we haven’t even begun to touch on the perils of genre favoritism — because, despite any reviewer’s very best attempts to consider a product on its individual merit, there will always be some material that I’ll subconsciously allow an extra furlong of leeway.” Media bias!

Mortuary – Nothingless than Nothingness Review

Mortuary – Nothingless than Nothingness Review

“In Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols, there’s a section called Skirmishes of an Untimely Man. In France’s metal scene, there’s a group called Mortuary whose career may as well have been called Expeditions of an Untimely Band. Unleashing their first full-length in 1996, already eight years old as a band, their deathy and thrashy style was long since out of vogue and death metal had moved on to graze in different pastures. They also managed to release a whopping four whole full-length records in the span of twenty-five years.” The slow knife cuts the deepest.

Grymm Comments: On the Separation of Art from Artist

Grymm Comments: On the Separation of Art from Artist

“I’m sure by now you all know that your favorite artists don’t exactly live the lives they write about. Slayer’s Tom Araya is a devout Catholic and a proud family man. Similarly, W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless gave up fucking like a beast for Jesus. Glenn Danzig loves his cats and Morbid Angel’s Trey Azagthoth is a gamer and a Sailor Moon fanatic. In other words, it’s not all that often you encounter a musician (or band) that lives up to the extreme lyrics they pen. They’re just regular, mundane human beings like you and me.” How disappointing….