Warkult

Malevolent Creation are a band that were crucial in the second wave of the young but already developing death metal scene and have been an important figure within that cloud for decades. A band that is not only revered for their first two albums, but also kind of a perfect example for how the praised can be dismissed after surprisingly underwhelming, phoned-in efforts like 1993’s Stillborn, a record that can’t quite escape the “rotten apple in a basket”- tag to this day. Then there’s the truly tragic story about Brett Hoffmann and his untimely demise, etc...so it's a lot of gossip on the plate but I might as well cut that short because I actually do not consider myself a big fan of the band, not even of their lauded classics - they just never got more than a slight nod of appreciation out of me and believe me - I've been trying.

However we are here now for a quick review of Warkult, which is the only Malevolent Creation effort that stuck with me throughout the years. The phenomenal track “Preemptive Strike” was part of a German metal sampler back in 2004 and turned out to be one of my first truly enjoyable forays into the realms of extreme metal. Initially turned off by the blast beats and rather treble-heavy production, the songwriting and thrashy breakdowns drew me in until it just clicked. It took several years to discover the entire album and while “Preemptive Strike” remained my favourite scorcher due to said ultra-catchy breakdowns and semi-melodic songwriting, there are several other great bangers on this offering worth your full attention.

Warkult is neither trying to be modern (for 2004 that is) nor progressive, hell I wouldn’t even dare calling it original, but it’s a well-crafted death metal record with adequate, if slightly fuzzy production on the high end of the spectrum (expect some ear-fatigue after the pummeling) and some fairly intricate riff-patterns with slight melodic touches amongst chaotic prime-Slayer-esque soloing. The super-urgent drumming style frequently crosses over into more brutal stylistic excursions, a bit similar to early Kataklysm(ic) hyperblasting and/or Steve Asheim's (Deicide, you know that) genre staples, making Culross' work the outstanding extreme ingredient here. Hoffmann’s underrated replacement Kyle Symons does an excellent job on the mic, his throaty midrange-barks are both intelligible and powerful, providing a fertile breeding ground for the commanding nature of his warfare-driven lyricism. Taken as a whole, it's a great death metal experience for the thrashers and most definitely extreme enough for the death..ers. Kinda like Sodom's Tapping the Vein but the other way round...you get the idea.

In fact, Warkult hasn’t really left my car stereo for a long time which is something that no other Malevolent Creation album has achieved yet, thus I’m crowning it my favourite of the bunch due to its thrashing longevity and almost exhausting intensity.

My personal highlights are the previously pole positioned “Preemptive Strike” with both “Supremacy Through Annihilation” and “Shock and Awe” close behind. All three (according to the database) have been (co-)written by Cannibal Corpse's prior - and later returning - axeman Rob Barrett, articulately showing the versatility and range of his extreme metal guitar playing. This deadly song-triumvirate should be part of every extreme metal playlist!

originally written for http://antichristmagazine.com

US stalwart death metallers Malevolent Creation have been causing severe neck injuries since the end of 1980s with various line-ups. Maybe it is the changing line-up, that keeps the energy level up, because 'Warkult' is the band's ninth full length album, already the 3rd one released on 21st century, so this platter could be badly fatigued.

The band sound energetic and also anxious to do some good death fucking metal! 'Warkult' deals a working dose of US death metal. This will not rise into a "kult" status for sure, as this offers nothing groundbreaking. And it shouldn't, really. There's some very good songs on offer: the callous opener 'Preemptive Strike' gladly doesn't do what its title says, my favourite 'Section 8' mixes Bolt Thrower -esque march and Kataklysm type melodiousness, a bit more thrashy 'Tyranic Oppression' and 'Shock and Awe', plus the cool cover of Hobbs' Angel Of Death song 'Jack the Ripper'. But sadly, none of the songs is even closely classic material. While mainly based on old school Florida death metal (come on, you really don't hear the similarities between this and a Deicide album??!!), 'On Grounds of Battle' reminds me of Amon Amarth and is kind of a welcome change to familiar pattern. So there's enough blast beats and double kick drum stuff, believe me.

Weakest link here is the vocalist Kyle Symons, who is a man of one growl... He just sounds monotonous. Gladly he packs enough power and basically his low growl is bestial as fuck. Some piled vocal tracks help a bit, but still it is too monotonous. Drummer Dave Culross must be merited for providing the beat and throwing in some interesting and cool tricks every now and then without losing any power. This guy can handle the kit! Sound-wise this album is organic, not very clean at all, but a powerful kick in the stomach.

'Warkult' offers pretty well done death metal, which is memorable for a big part. Plus it's energetic and powerfully performed, too. But it does not belong among the great albums of its style, just above average, because after all it leaves me a bit cold. So I suggest you to try some free downloads of it first, because you've heard this many times before, if you're not a virgin to the style.

(originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2007)

2004 was a busy year for active Floridian firing squad Malevolent Creation, who not only released a half-decent live offering in Conquering South America, but also a new album that proved to be their best in many years. In fact, outside of the dynamic one two punch of The Ten Commandments and Retribution which kicked off the band's career, Warkult is the first I'd recommend to anyone seeking a good cross-sampling of the band's urban armaments and incessant brutality. The strength lies in the songwriting, the devil in the details, and where so many of their intermittent releases lacked scope and dimension, Warkult gives us a strong level of variation centered around that oh so elusive principle: the good riff.

Yes, the 11 originals here offer a veritable smorgasboard of good guitar lines that span the realms of both their faster paced thundering material and thick, chugging breakdowns. For example, the belligerent inauguration of "Supremacy Through Annihilation" with the great drum fills, arching and descending mutes that hook the listener straight into the concrete grooves. The explosive death/thrashing behind opener "Death March", or the raw, slight and tasteful hints of melodic death metal within a "Captured" or "Preemptive Strike". A few dull and faceless brutes do solicit the depths of the album, like a "Ravaged by Conflict" or "Merciless" which I'm very hard pressed to remember against the band's catalog, but then there are also some tight pieces like "Shock and Awe" and "Tyrannic Oppression" that serve to compensate for the less inspired.

Another treat here is the cover of "Jack the Ripper", an obscure death/thrash classic from the Australians Hobbs' Angel of Death. Not just a great selection on principle alone, but Phil Fasciana and crew work it deftly into their own, hammering context with ease. Warkult has a very workmanlike, honest production to it which captures the drums, bass and guitars equally, while Symons gives a deeper, neanderthal impression than he came off on the 2004 live album. Surprising is that the album seems superior wherever it's NOT just blasting off mindlessly (as in a few of the less memorable titles I listed above). Where the band take their time to hone in on the distinct guitar riffs, the songs become much more interesting, sort of a halfway point between Eternal and The Fine Art of Murder, and as a 'warfare' concept album it works well enough into the psychology of slaughtered and slaughterer.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Continuing on the Malevolent Creation’s discography, it’s time for Warkult to be reviewed. The ninth album of this band is again on brutal death metal with hints of thrash and classic death metal. So far, we have no problem to understand because this band never back down to embrace some more melodic or commercial influences. Yes, some guitars melodies are actually a bit rooted in very few songs, but they are there just to add variety to a massive sound and they are always mixed with fast paces and relentless riffs.

Dave Culross is once again behind the drums while we always find Kyle Symons behind the microphone and that’s perfect to me. “Dead March” is like an intro made of massive, marching parts with sudden fast beats by the bass drum. The atmosphere is dark and the riffs are there to add violence and intensity. The production is incredibly pounding and heavy, even heavier than the previous efforts and it’s also fucking clear. “Preemptive Strike” is immediately fast with blast beats and up tempo parts. The structure and the main riff are catchy and brutal at the same time, another sign of goodness by this band.

We can find lots of tempo changes in a song and the riffs are multiple in order to sustain always quite different structures and influences. By the way, expect always great dosages of brutality because the other influences aren’t even taken in consideration. “Supremacy Through Annihilation” shows lots of galloping riffs and it’s basically more extreme thrash metal oriented also for the way the drums are played, while “Murder Reign” takes his violence and speed directly from Envenomed album. The following “Captured” is a bit weak to me during the most doom parts and it’s not so convincing.

Let’s return to utter brutality with the stop and go of “Merciless” but the length and the fewer ideas of “Section” are a bit “heavy” for this album. They mark a quite rabid stop to restart, fortunately, with some good blast beats breaks and more violent assaults. Overall, this song is far better during the fast patterns. “On Ground Of Battle” is not convincing too because is on the same, repetitive style from the beginning till the end. “Tyranic Oppression” is faster in some parts but not that solid anyway. The band seems tired and a bit “run out of ideas” in more parts. A thing to notice is, by the way, the brutality they always reach during the faster restarts.

“Ravaged by Conflict” is what we needed to wake our senses again through lots of speed and nastiness. The central break is total thrash/death moshing. “Shock ad Awe” is truly brutal again and the dynamism is refound on the first half, while the second is calmer. The final “Jack The Ripper” shows also some more hardcore riffs and this is a good song anyway.

Overall, this is good return by Malevolent Creation. Their top remains in the recent parts and Warkult falls in some parts, especially in the middle. It has some very good moments and goodish ones. It’s not a masterpiece, absolutely, but worth your attention if you are death metal fan.

Another day, another solid Malevolent Creation record. As they adopted their Death/Thrash sound, they quickly became probably the best at it and inspired many bands to take the same path.

Warkult is a good album by all means. The riffs are, as they are supposed to be, catchy and thrashy, and come in loud and clear with the production. They are that perfect little combination of the Death Metal picking/dark feel and the Thrash catchiness.

The drummer, also as usual, is very good. They've always had a good one. There isn't much to say about him that isn't true for most of this type of drummer. He has awesome fast fills on him that will definitely turn heads, a double bass that will kick your ass, and good handspeed for those blast beats.

This album is actually a bit on the slower side than their others. They stay more in the mid-paced arena here, as opposed to the constant blasting of, say, Envenomed. This was actually a cool thing to do, since it helped them to try a little somethng different and not let their stuff start to blend together. As they said once in an interview, "We don't need to prove that we can play fast." Very true.

Why I didn't give this album a higher review is because it is just what I said it is: solid. There isn't anything really different offered to the genre here, and the songs are all of average length. Nothin crazy goin on. It is simply a good record that you will definitely spin a good amount of times and is worthy of any collection.

Malevolent Creation have been around since 1987. In that span, they have put out a 9 full length albums, solidifying their reputation as one of the best bands in Death Metal. Now with Warkult they are proving to the world that they are still out to lop off heads with a high tempo assault of Death/Thrash. The return of Dave Culross really adds to the heaviness of the album. He is a maniac who probably could run a marathon in the Olympics due to sheer cardiovascular ability mixed with insane drumming skills. Gordon Simms bass adds to the drums and guitars superbly giving the overall sound of the album a beefy vibe. The guitars of Phil Fasciana and Rob Barrett are tight, combining melodic riffing with Death/Thrash pummeling, and they never solo to the point of being showmen. This adds to the brutality of the album in a way that takes the long time fan back to their previous albums like In Cold Blood. The vocals of Kyle Symons are a perfect fit for what is going on with the music in that he sounds like a soldier shouting on a battle field. In the 21st century, Malevolent Creation is proving that as the older lions of the den they can still rip your guts open with a ferocious brand of war inspired Metal evident on Warkult. This album is sure to make their Old-School fans happy while sucking newer listeners into their highly respected fold.

A friend of mine bought me this album as a birthday gift and the first word coming to my mind as i heard it was: Awesome! The sound quality is incredible and the amazing guitar riffs sound as nice as it gets when you hear the ride cymbal in the background. Malevolent creation are known for their warrelated lyrics and I can not say they are dissapointing at all. After a couple of listenings this was definetely my favourite record and I hope others had the same feeling about this masterpiece. The new vocalist, Kyle Simmons is a great growler and makes this album complete with his fabolous voice.

The first track "Dead march" is perfect as an intro, which it is! It starts out a bit easily and the drums and bass go along with a kind of military style. The song really gets at its best when Kyle screams out: "Marching on to war!" to a nice, technical riff.
The next track, "Preemptive strike" shows the bands brutallity and technique as the blastbeats hit your ears like gunshots. The chorus riff before and after the melodic, incredible solo is in my opinion the songs topmoment and this song is one of the many masterpieces made by Malevolent creation!
"Supremacy through annihilation" is the third track and possibly the hardest song to play out of the 12 tracks on the album. The solo fits perfectely to the rest of the song and is maybe one of the best solos created in death metal ever!
Track five, "Captured" is my personal favourite and this one is almost undescribeable! The mainriff is beatiful to listen at and i have heard that the riff is over 10 years old! Which sounds impossible to me, because once you make something like this, you use it!
One of the more relaxed songs is track number 7, Section 8, which have been described like this in the norwegian magazine, "Scream": "This song is maybe, at least one of, the greatest death metal songs ever" I do not agree right there, but that the song is fantastic is there no doubt about!
Then we are at the fastest song: "Tyrannic opression". It starts out with a hyperactive blast from ex-Suffocation drummer, Dave Culross and afterwards a technical superriff almost blows your ears out. As the song gets older the riffs get slower, but it is still an amazing song!
The last song, A cover song of "Jack the ripper" by a band called "Hobbs angel of death" is a bonustrack which in fact is really good. I dont know much about this band, except that they are from Melbourne, Australia and were formed as early as in 1985(!) In spite of being a song from 1988 this cover song really makes my head start banging.

The last thing to say about this record is that it always will have a special place in my recordcollection and I want everybody (of course myself too) to buy the next Malevolent creation album!