Malignancy - ...Discontinued

Malignancy – …Discontinued
Release Date: 14th June 2023
Label: Willowtip Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal.
FFO: Defeated Sanity, Disgorge, Putridity, Deeds of Flesh, Gorgasm.
Review By: Mark Young

As a listening experience, the 33 minutes it takes for the 9 songs to unfold flies by in a blur. Generally, you might say that this could be the purpose of extreme music – hit hard, hit fast and leave. I suppose I agree with that to some extent, but in this case, it is a frustrating blur. The album rips along at pace, the songs taking all manner of twists and technical turns, stopping then starting but never landing properly. Part of my review process is to tee the albums up that the boss at MetalEpidemic has selected for me, and I listen to them on the long commute to work. The 90-minute period of travel, longer on the way back, really gives me a chance to get a few listens in and get into it. This is the first time that I’ve come away feeling ‘meh’ from completing that process. I appreciate just how difficult it is to write and play this kind of music, because of the sheer talent and dedication required to do it. Here, it just feels as though they have gone for the technical without bringing the writing part to the table.

From the almost robotic battering starting with Existential Dread right through to Biological Absurdity, it’s a constant barrage of what feels like the same song. Listening to them in isolation, they make more sense, but it’s an album I’m reviewing, so here’s my thoughts. Everything on here ticks the extreme tech metal box – vocals: Guttural. Time signatures: odd. Drums: Blasting. Sound: Crystal and so on and so on. The initial visceral thrill of the opener drains away as they pile on top of each other with no variance between them. Riffs come from all angles, which is great, but you soon tire of that, wanting some plain, straight-ahead death metal just to break it up. I may be reviewing this in the wrong frame of mind, but it just didn’t do the trick in the same way that some tech-death bands have done this year.

It is frustrating to give what could be taken as an overly negative review; I aim to always find something to champion about the music I’m reviewing. In this case, there is a high-level of proficiency in the music here, which should satisfy the die-hard technical mob. Everything else is in place, so if you are a fan already, you know what you are going to be getting. It’s just not for me.