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Malfeitor: Incubus

10/09/09 || Khlysty

I write this as I prepare myself for fucking vacation. Why do I tell you this? Well, so that you can be fucking jealous, that’s why. But, does this situation mean that the review for Malfeitor’s new black metal ejaculation won’t be treated with the care and attention that us staffers at GD use for all our reviews? Well, fuck you, NO! We’re professionals, above all, and whatever we do, we do it with the utmost care, so that you, the reader, the metal fan who’s drooling over the wisdom spread by this here site, will KNOW, without question, what’s at hand. So, yeah, maybe I’m preparing meself for sea and beaches and young lean female bodies, shining under the sun, ready to be reaped and consumed by Khlysty’s unsatiable hunger for fresh flesh, but FIRST OF ALL AND ABOVE ALL, it’s business as usual.

And it’s also business as usual for Italy’s Malfeitor, who’s been delving into black metal since time immemorial (actually, since 2006, but what the fuck, eh…). These crazy-ass spaghetti-eaters seem to be hellbent upon being so trad within their preferred genre that, the first time I listened to “Incubus”, I had to check and recheck to be sure that I hadn’t by chance mixed things up and, instead of Malfeitor, I was listening to some Norwegian black metal trolls of yore. Folks, I gots ta tell ya, if you come to Malfeitor searching for something experimental (like, e.g., Deathspell Omega or Wolves in the Throne Room) you’ll be sorely disappointed. This is as trad as it gets, without passing the line into blatant plagiarism.

Of course, this traditionalness (this word doesn’t exist? So fucking what, you’re gonna sue me?…) of “Incubus” presents a whole ‘nother set of problems for the intrepid reviewer of yours; namely that, sometimes, this Immortal/Darkthrone/Emperor/Mayhem/Aborym/whatnot influence/worship gets a little bit too much. Thankfully, the band REALLY tries to add elements of its own personality into the mix and, thus, avoids falling squarely into the category of, you know, “another faceless trad black metal outfit”. These bits of personality come into the form of dual vocals (one screechy/croaky, the other deep and growly), or in the way the band arranges each song, so as there’s a sense of differentiation; even though the guitars are high-pitched and tremolo-picked to fuck and the drums get really close to blastbeat whiteout, there are enough tempo and time-signature changes, plus some nice little keyboard touches that give the songs character and personality.

Another problem is the song lengths. Look, I don’t care if a band wants to write long songs, generally I like longs songs. But, in Malfeitor’s case, I think that they are pushing it a little bit more than what’s prudent. Most of the songs are inside the 5 to 6 minutes length and, at least to me, this gets a bit tiresome. I think that a little trimming would have made the songs, and the record as a whole, a much more powerful and enjoyable affair. The production is ok, raw but also clear, with the vocals and the guitars coming off strong, while never blurring the little details the band peppers its songs with. Even though the quality of songwriting and sound is pretty similar, my favorite song is “Void of Voids”, with its slow-burning intensity, sick riffing and general menacing atmosphere.

Bottom line? Well, if you like totally trad black metal done with conviction and venom, Malfeitor’s “Incubus” is your poison. What else can I say…

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Agonia Records
Website: www.malfeitor.net
Band
M:Fabban: vocals
Atum: drums
Munholy: guitars
Hell-IO-Kabbalus: guitars
Urizen: bass

Tracklist
01. Down with Me
02. Into the Qliphot of Golachab
03. Mysterious, Mystical, Majestic
04. Promethean Fire
05. Typhonian Gods
06. Dark Saturnian Chaos
07. The Other Half
08. Void of Voids
09. Incubus
10. Antisaturno (Thùnapsù)

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