Malefic Throne – Malefic Throne (EP)
Release Date: 28th January 2022
Label: Hell’s Headbangers
Bandcamp
Genre: Old School Death Metal, Technical Death Metal.
FFO: Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Origin, Perdition Temple, Angelcorpse.
Review By: Andy Spoon
“Supergroups” have always intrigued me, as some of the best talents in the music industry often nestle-in together in an attempt to craft a hybridized project worthy of the collective acclaim of each respective bands’ fanbases. Further, three-piece death metal projects always have a roadblock ahead of them in trying to fill the musical void in an increasingly sound-heavy industry. As part of the underground scene, members of Hell’s Hadbangers’ Malefic Throne come from acts like Perdition Temple, Angelcorpse, Origin, Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, and Warfather banded together in the wake of the global pandemic of 2020 with intentions to create a no-holds-barred project which held true to their backgrounds and legacies.
The Self-Titled EP by Malefic Throne, at 19 minutes, comprises four thrashy, brutal tracks that blend a din of old-school death metal guitar with speedy tech death elements. The drum-heavy rhythm elements from veteran drummer John Longsreath, whose contributions to Origin and Hate Eternal require little introduction. Longsreath certainly brings his technicality and precision to this EP, with each track devoid of long breakdowns or pauses, all the while keeping up its blistering pace until the record ends.
Guitar licks added courtesy of Gene Palubicki are meaty and gritty. Classic death metal guitar leads in A New Hand on the Blade and Deciding the Heirarchy blend beautifully with the bass to keep the sound heavy, but not thin during each solo. Palubicki is the only guitarist credited on the album, meaning that he has authored both the rhythm and lead tracks. For a three-piece act, this is an ideal situation, as creative dissonance is largely avoided. In musical staff shortages, it has a profound effect in that it makes the music feel more “in tune with itself”, something from which Malefic Throne benefits greatly.
In the record’s single-best element, the crystal-clear vocal work on each track is thanks to Bassist/Vocalist Steve Tucker of Morbid Angel credit. Tucker’s lyrics are enunciated extremely-well through his mid-range, just as in his work in Morbid Angel, giving the self-titled EP both lyrical elements and rhythm required to provoke both sides of the brain. ODSM fans are not usually treated to vocal talent as razor-razor sharp as Tucker’s, making this project somewhat of a novelty in recent years, and a credit to the re-emerging OSDM genre. Given that this album was written during the COVID lockdowns and tour stoppages, it is plain that some of the morbid or macabre lyrics are slightly more real than “artistically colorful”, especially felt in Deciding the Heirarchy.
Depending on the quality of the sound system through which the listener plays the album, there exist some notes of consequence that have the ability to make some elements either tiresome, or downright disappointing. Tech Death drums are often so-exciting, that they have the ability to create an entire fanbase of geekdom in their wake. Malefic Throne’s drum tracks disappoint in the sense that they are triggered, making the sound suffer from a lack of dynamics or blends in 16th/32nd notes, almost giving the listener the sense that the drums were programmed in some spots. This takes away from the appreciation that a listener ought to have for the speed and brutality of the rhythm section on Deciding the Heirarchy and The Dawn of the Truth, the first two tracks. Frankly, I would love to hear them re-recorded sans triggers and mixed with less gain into the final mix. On bass-heavy sound systems, the double-kick can easily overwhelm the rest of the track.
Further, Tucker’s bass guitar tracks are somewhat thin in the mix, something which could have added a distinctly “fuller” sound at some points. Are they Jason Newstead-thin? It is hard to say, but I was listening intently at several points, wondering if there was bass guitar at all on the track. CD and tape versions will be available January 28th, with vinyl versions to follow later in the year.
(3 / 5)
