Review Summary: Defying genres, as well as expectations.
Discovering new music is one of life's simple joys. You never know what you will stumble across. Sometimes, you just can't seem to find anything that peaks your interest for a good while. Others, you are pleasantly surprised as you find a real gem. An album that has excellent musicianship and pushes the musical envelope. An album that you can put on repeat for weeks to come. Reign of Suffering is that album.
This is the Sheffield, England native's debut full length album, but it would not surprise me at all if you told me that they are veterans of the scene and have been churning out monstrous albums for over a decade. Malevolence is a hardcore/metalcore band with obvious influences of Pantera and Crowbar, with an occasional splash of technical death metal thrown in. They have not placed themselves within a musical box. The band expands their sound and is not afraid to experiment throughout. One second, the blast beats and technicality is firing on all cylinders. The next, a tasty southern groove metal riff breaks through all the madness. This is evident in the standout track "Condemned To Misery."
The vocal performance by Alex Taylor is something that must be praised. His style of harsh vocals compliment the many styles of heavy music on display perfectly. Alex also has terrific range, as he demonstrates on "Delusions of Fear," and especially in the standout track, "Turn to Stone." The song shows a new and exciting side of Malevolence we have not seen in the 6 previous tracks. It is a full on southern sludge ballad, complete with a chorus that pays homage to their traditional hardcore roots. The song is equal parts beautiful as it is crushing. A masterwork.
The production is also refreshing. This is a guitar album. The guitars shine through in every track. It does not overpower the other instruments, but it certainly make itself heard. We are treated to exceptional guitar work throughout, so this is nothing but a positive. This is not to say that the rhythm section is lacking, especially the drums. Charlie Thorpe is a fantastic drummer who can play any style of music asked of him. It helps that they produced them so tastefully. The toms and kick drum are deep, the snare cuts through everything, and the cymbals are perfectly crisp.
The only downside one can think of for this album is that certain sections are so engaging, that you want to hear more of it and see it expanded upon, but the band can sometimes change the pace too quickly. This could also be looked at as a positive. Malevolence never stays in one place for too long. Always moving ahead, always exploring new roads a song can take.
This is an exciting album from a band that has a bright future within the heavy music scene. If their next album is anything like this 2013 release, then there is nowhere to go for Malevolence but up. This band's debut is something that demands to be heard multiple times. It will leave you breathless and crush your skull, only to leave you begging for more.
