Album Review: Malevolence – Malicious Intent (Nuclear Blast)

Sheffield-born Malevolence will release their much-anticipated, brand-new and third album, ‘Malicious Intent’ on May 20th, 2022 via Nuclear Blast.

A band that should need no introduction as their rise to prominence has been nothing short of spectacular. Though, Malevolence aren’t taking anything for granted even if they often deliver their brutalising music with a confident swagger.

Case in point, this album, which sees the bruising noise-mongers take things back to their roots, continuing to pay tribute to the groove sound of the 90s, but going deeper into the riff-driven, breakdown-heavy and chaotic metal the band are so renowned for.

Unsurprisingly, Malicious Intent hits hard. Like a cricket bat to the head, kind of hard. Malevolence are delivering some of their strongest tracks to date here. Tracks burdened with an array of razor-sharp riffs, flesh-tearing hooks, grinding drums and snarling vocals. Tracks like Life Sentence, Still Waters Run Deep, Do or Die and Armageddon are unmitigated brutishness personified. Where one or two things will be happening, either you’ll be in the circle pit or head-banging as though your life depended on it. Either way, they’re the best examples of the punishing heaviness that Malevolence dish out here.

It’s brutality that you just can’t help but love, maybe even more so if you grew up on a diet of the likes of Pantera and Hatebreed. Two of the band’s biggest influences and two that come through strongly at different points throughout the album.

Though, that doesn’t mean this is an album you’ve heard before. That’s not the Malevolence way and they have ton of fresh and interesting ideas to showcase. One such example is the melodic and ballad-esqe Higher Power. An eye-opening listen and one sure to stop a lot of fans in their tracks. Also look out for guest spots from Matt Honeycutt and Matthew K. Heafy!

Metalcore? Hardcore? As the band themselves put it… they’re heavy metal. Simply Malevolence and there’s no denying this is going to catapult them to even higher heights. If you’re not on the gurning, stomping and head-banging train yet, Malicious Intent will have you clinging on for dear life.

Malevolence – Malicious Intent Full Track Listing:

1. Malicious Intent
2. Life Sentence
3. On Broken Glass
4. Still Waters Run Deep
5. Higher Place
6. Karma
7. Above All Else (feat. Matt Honeycutt)
8. Do or Die
9. Salvation (feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
10. Armageddon

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