Boasting two tracks on this 7” these Belgian death/thrashers deliver a memorable performance right form the start. After some atmospherics that remind me a little of hell, we get right into the thick of it with driving rhythms, razor-sharp vocal lines and pumping leads. This is the way that The Crown and other acts have done it for years, and damned if I'll complain about it. It's raw, rough and rowdy; which I'd simply have no other way. But that's just the first track. After the death/thrash ensemble, we get into something with a little bit more groove and melody. Obviously these aren't pretty melodies, giving us a record with that same sense of dread and bite that we'd expect. Oddly enough though, it takes about two or three minutes before the vocals come in and I'd almost thought I was listening to an instrumental cut. Then wouldn't you know, these guys go right back to thrashing. What I've gathered here is a death/thrash act that wants to play out of It's comfort zone a little bit, which might be a tough sell for some; albeit a godsend for others. From listening to the album during a quick refresher I can already tell that these guys can play, and they manage to put on a pretty pleasing performance even when it's all said and done. The band's use of atmosphere works very well to bring them in, while the unexpected dips into other metallic territories give them a chance to shine beyond the thrash. As we know, almost anyone can thrash with death metal vocals these days, but only a handful of bands can actually get it right. Maleficence are definitely one of those bands, with this short offering being a great sampler to what will know doubt be an even stronger performance in the future. It's definitely a promising little 7” vinyl and I think you're going to want to get your hands on it.
(2 Tracks, 11:00)
8/10
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