MALEFICE – Entities

This fivesome hails from British soil, releasing their debut under the title Entities through Anticulture Records. Malefice was formed in 2003 with the intention to refresh the British Metal scene that looks a little bit weak during the last decade. The band earns a positive first impression due to their very good cover artwork that seems really evil in some strange way.

The atmospheric clean guitar intro does not prepare you for the music that follows; indeed, “Rise Through The Ashes” grabs by the throat through fast drum pedaling, the ala The Haunted guitar riff, and Death Metal vocals. The song is a classic headbanger that looks towards the Swedish Metal scene, implementing a groovy rhythm with a touch of melody. “Into A New Light” does not change the scenery at all, although there is more melody that spices things up a little bit. The clean vocals in “Dream Without Courage” add some diversity in Malefice’s sound and the pretty good guitar solo proves that there is skill among the British.

“History Repeats” welcomes some Slayer influences in terms of fast guitars hooks, while “Traitor To All You Know” falls off the Gothenburg sound, featuring a more Thrash-like approach, although the Hardcore vocals spoil the real good neck-snapping atmosphere. The ideas presented in “Horizon Burns,” especially the melodic backbone of the rhythm section, prove that these guys can go further than the constraining boundaries of the Swedish sound and form a more personal sound. The same goes for “Nothing Left” where the label Progressive could be used to describe the track’s breaks and tempo changes. The album closer “Bringer Of War” comes as a mighty Thrasher that is mainly guitar-driven with some prime Annihilator finishing touches when it comes to speed and aggression.

Malefice have created a very good debut album, almost impressive in its aggression, that will definitely help them build a decent reputation in the Underground scene. On the other hand, there is more to be done towards sound originality since this specific genre is so over-played that the new bands give the impression of copying the old; so the potential and skills are there waiting to be fully deployed in the band’s next discographic move. Every diehard fan of bands like At The Gates, Soilwork, or The Haunted should add one more point to this album’s rating; the rest should start thinking of the next Metal Express Radio album review.