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Malevolent Creation: The fine art of murder
18/02/11 || InquisitorGeneralis
Malevolent Creation reviews are starting to become a dime a dozen around here. We could pick worse bands to focus on though, that’s for sure. Due to the influence of fellow staffer Habakuk I picked up “Eternal” and “Retribution” and have been steadily growing into a MC fan boy ever since. Except for a few missteps here and there they have managed to put together a pretty solid discography, even with a rotating cast of characters that would make Incantation’s line-up over the years look rock solid. Still, when a few select people are involved things are usually pretty fucking good. When any combo of three of following four people is present, Malevolent Creation usually kicks some serious ass.
1) Guitarist Phil Fasciana, who is the only person on every Malevolent Creation record and has proven himself to be adept at writing interesting riffs of all speeds, shapes and sizes.
2) Vocalist Brett Hoffman, who helped establish the band’s sound and identity on the classic records of the early 90’s.
3) Drummer Dave Culross, who joined the band for 1996’s killer “Eternal” and always provides a brutal, blasty, but still groovy backbone to the band’s faster-than-normal take on death metal.
4) Bassist Jason Blachowicz, who also was a major player in forming the band’s sound and took over vocal duties for a while after the first departure of Hoffman.
My absolute favorite album by these guys, “Eternal”, features a 1-3-4 combo and completely dominates. 1998’s “The Fine Art of Murder” chalks up a 1-2-3 and is pretty awesome. Just in case you are wondering, the band’s two early masterpieces “The Ten Commandments” and “Retribution” have a 1-2-4 configuration. Have I confused you yet? Good, let’s move on. “The Fine Art of Murder” saw the return of Hoffman after a two-album absence and marked the first record without Jason on bass and/or vocals. It is a solid, multi-purpose death metal record that doesn’t break any new ground, but has enough interesting moments and quality songs to make it worth picking it.
“To die is at hand” kicks things off in classic blast-to-breakdown fashion and shows that this version of Malevolent Creation is a tight bunch. Dave Culross is an excellent drummer who really lays into the groovier, double-ass heavy sections with gusto. He lays it down on “To die is at hand” and sets a strong tone for the rest of the album. “Manic demise” is another short blaster and not very exciting. One definite positive aspect of “The Fine Art of Penis” is the production, which is greatly improved over the muddy, somewhat sloppy sounding “In Cold Blood”. “Instinct evolved” gets things back on track and really stands out due to its slower, almost sludgy tempo and more killer drum work by Culross. On “The Fine Fart of Mr. Belvedere” Malevolent Creation definitely put some effort into the slower songs. The melodic, acoustic beginning to “Day of lamentation” is extremely atypical for these brutal bashers, but a welcome change nonetheless. I will admit, “The Fine Art of Murder” runs about three songs too long. No death metal album needs thirteen songs on it, not even one like this that is pretty good.
This is not a Malevolent Creation must have right now or blow your brains out album. However, once you have soaked up the awesomeness that is “The Ten Commandments”, “Retribution”, and “Eternal” you should examine “The Fine Art of Murder”. If you like Florida-style, fast’n‘brutal death metal then this is right up your alley. There are plenty of fast, brutal sections that one would expect from a Malevolent Creation record along with a few slower, more melodic moments that help spice things up. The line-up is solid, the tunes are good, and the production is gritty; pick it up why don’t ya?
- Information
- Released: 1998
- Label: Pavement Music
- Website: Malevolent Creation MySpace
- Band
- Brett Hoffmann: Vocals
- Phil Fasciana: Guitar
- Rob Barrett: Guitar
- Gordon Simms: Bass
- Dave Culross: Drums
- Tracklist
- 01. To Die Is At Hand
- 02. Manic Demise
- 03. Instinct Evolved
- 04. Dissect the Eradicated
- 05. Mass Graves
- 06. The Fine Art of Murder
- 07. Bone Exposed
- 08. Purge
- 09. Fracture
- 10. Rictus Surreal
- 11. Scorn
- 12. Day of Lamentation
- 13. Scattered Flesh
