Malevolent Creation return with an Immolation like attempt to gain new fans by playing simplified versions of their most famous works while simplifying their ideas as much as possible in order to attract as many newcomers as possible. Legendary vocalist Brett Hoffmann recently died after a long battle with colon cancer and though he had left more than 2 years ago, this is the band’s first record with new singer Lee Wollenschlaeger. Mediocrity is combined with constant blasting to make a purely forgettable record.

The modern production associated with the mid 2000s comes in full force on this album with every instrument being recorded as loud as possible. The fake digital distorsion on the guitars is particularly annoying but all the idiotic sounds on this record are hidden by so much compression that everything eventually fades into a monotonous blur without the slightest shift in volume, making this no better than the average Lo-fi War metal release in terms of sound. The vocals take Hoffmann’s furious style and complete butcher the delivery. No variation in tone and timbre or the slight breaks that Brett would use so well to truly convey his anger are present. A constant angry barrage is all that this record wants to express.

The basic idea of each song here is to take an old idea and then to repeat it like a rock riff while interspersing it with constant tremolo riffs and blasting. This is how every song operates. There isn’t the slightest respite as the band wants to express the anger found in their better records but are over compensating with the Marduk strategy of keeping everything at max speed and intensity without any variation. In music everything is expressed by contrast otherwise there is only monotony and Malevolent Creation no longer understand this principle. The self plagiarized ideas are barely changed and for fans of the band immediately recognizable. When the band decides to come up with a new riff that isn’t plagiarized either it’s basic speed metal or random tremolo picked melodies. Of note is also the tremendous amounts of useless shredding on this album to kill time and to impress the younger children listening to this.

There is nothing to say about this record. It thrives in mediocrity and uselessness, a reminder that all our heroes are incapable of producing anything of value and that their later works are rightfully forgotten. Malevolent Creation died a long time ago and are releasing albums on autopilot. At least Brett Hoffmann was never alive to see this mess.

Tags: 13th beast, Brett Hoffmann, Malevolent Creation, mediocrity