Depravity – Grand Malevolence
Release Date: 4th December 2020
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal
FFO: Nile, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Morbid Angel.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Grand Malevolence by Australian Band Depravity is a punishing, unrelentingly intense listen. Throughout the duration of the 11 tracks, there is absolutely no point in which you can relax and try to assimilate the album. This is brutal technical death metal at its zenith. Unapologetically uncompromising, Depravity have released an album that wants to give you an absolute battering!
Vocally, Jamie Kay absolutely nails each and every track. His barking, guttural delivery carries many of the songs on his death metal larynx. As can be the case with Death Metal albums, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain when some songs end and others begin. Distinguishing between the riffs can be problematic and, alas, Grand Malevolence, are occasionally guilty of this. The main exception to this is the magnificently named ‘Cantankerous Butcher’, a song that hints at just how good this album could have been.
That is the biggest issue with Grand Malevolence. Depravity, even taking into account their excellent debut, have a monster album just waiting to be presented to eager metalheads. Each member of the band has the tools to deliver an outstanding death metal album. Unfortunately, Grand Malevolence is not outstanding. Don’t get me wrong, there are outstanding moments, the excellent solos in ‘Trophies of Humanity’, for example, is one. It also features superior drumming from Louis Rando.
This is not to say that this album is not worth 50 minutes or so of your time, it is extremely unlikely that you will be disappointed with songs like ‘Castrate the Perpetrators’ or ‘Barbaric Eternity’, I just suspect that some tracks will make it onto a streaming platform playlist of your choice and that most listeners will not consume the album as a whole.
Depravity is an accomplished album that, unfortunately, falls into the trap of lacking enough variety to attract multiple repeat listens. The albums many strong points are counterbalanced with the numerous weaker points, leaving it floundering firmly in the ‘solid but unspectacular’ category.
(3 / 5)
