ALBUM REVIEW: Malicious Intent – Malevolence
MALEVOLENCE are as concrete proof as you’ll find that all that really matters in music are your songs. Neither the most political, nor the most complicated, and certainly not the most prolific, the Sheffield bruisers stand as one of the UK’s most beloved bands of the past decade thanks entirely to the quality of the output and the hard work they’ve put in to get there. Malicious Intent, their third full-length album, arrives to considerable and justified anticipation this Friday. It’s their first effort for the practically unstoppable Nuclear Blast Records, and almost certainly their finest work to date.
That last claim isn’t made lightly by the way; both of the band’s previous full-lengths balanced metal and hardcore to near inch-perfect effect in a manner that evoked some of the best to ever do it, while 2020’s The Other Side EP made a renewed statement of intent in just 12 minutes, this one leaning further than ever before into melody and dynamics on its towering title track in particular. Malicious Intent picks up where all that left off, trimming even the tiniest shred of fat until only muscle remains. This is MALEVOLENCE at their most fully-realised, a picture of a band at the very height of their powers.
Of course, Malicious Intent doesn’t exactly do away with the reference points of its predecessors. Comparisons to LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED, CROWBAR and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE all remain, but you’ll find no complaints here. MALEVOLENCE are never cheap imitators either; they bring through their own identity throughout, using the varied building blocks of groove, thrash, sludge metal and hardcore to construct a cohesive and imposing work that never feels rushed or crushed together.
Turning to the songs themselves, it’s hard to know where to start with Malicious Intent. What we have here are ten certified bangers with absolutely no exceptions. The band’s riffs stand like gigantic towers that dwarf all who listen, while their breakdowns bring us crashing so deep into the earth there’s a risk you might singe yourself on its molten core. The opening title track delivers on both from the outset, all in a little over a minute and a half. Singles Life Sentence and On Broken Glass only up the ante from here, with the latter adding the first of several world-beating, chest-pounding choruses led by guitarist/clean vocalist Konan Hall’s Kirk Windstein-esque bellows.
Naturally, highlights abound throughout Malicious Intent’s bulletproof 38-minute runtime. Still Waters Run Deep is a gargantuan, NOLA-esque riff-fest replete with a pick-scrape-laden breakdown that would make GOJIRA proud. Sixth track Karma is a chug-heavy rager, its 00s metalcore-isms on display for all to see, while Above All Else is perhaps best summarised in the words of featured vocalist Matt Honeycutt of KUBLAI KHAN TX as “harder than fuck man”. Most remarkable of all however is arguably fifth track Higher Place. This one does something similar to the title track from The Other Side – a dynamic and expansive heavy metal ballad. It’s an emotional piece, with Hall’s smoky vocals following the band’s steady build to staggering anthemia. Even though we’ve heard them do something like this before, the power here is enormous, turning the track into quite possibly the album’s crowning moment.
There’s a similar emotional soar on ninth track Salvation, this one featuring the instantly recognisable stylings of Matt Heafy of TRIVIUM, but to be honest we could be here all day. We haven’t even mentioned vocalist Alex Taylor’s lyrics and their unflinching explorations of real life mental health struggles; nor have we touched on Carl Brown‘s absolutely massive production, or Eliran Kantor‘s typically stunning artwork. Malicious Intent is all killer and not an ounce of filler. It’s a reminder of all the best things about metal and hardcore, but crucially never relies on nostalgia alone. Do yourself a favour and get this one in your ears as soon and as often as you can.
Rating: 9/10
Malicious Intent is set for release on May 20th via Nuclear Blast Records/MLVTLD.
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