Chuck Schuldiner Project

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Malignament - Demo I



In the promo text for this record, the bands label, Purity Through Fire (One of the truly great underground black metal labels by the way) refer to Malignament as 'All-caps BLACK METAL' and honestly I can't think of a more pure description. These melodically inclined second wave black metallers hail from Finland. Their music is potent and high powered, reflecting a duo who have spent years ingesting black metal fury. It makes this opening salvo, a three song demo a delicious listen very much worth spending time with.

The inherent mayhem of a track like 'Wolf And The Moon' is potent. The band clearly understands the raw power of black metal. There is an element of the transcendent here too with high powered riffs battering away into mesmerizing futures. Demo I is a masterful take on the genre continually hinting at bold new heights for the band and reminding us continually just how good Malignament are. The amount of pure talent on display here is stunning and hints at so much more to come from the band. In particular the way that the gurgled vocals fit over the guitars is thrilling, immaculate in its execution.

It's hard not to be stunned by the pale horse named death that is this record. Demo I shows an impressive amount of artistic maturity and a clear vision. Don't be thrown b the fact that this record calls itself a demo by the way, in many ways the production here, especially with regards to the drum sound is far and above many of the bands peers. That being said - things are left rough and tumble enough that even the most kvlt of purists is going to find something that they will continually come back too and love.

Listen on Bandcamp!
https://www.malignament.bandcamp.com/

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