Much like with my last review, I’m walking in cold to Malevolence’s Self Supremacy (BDHW). I didn’t even know they were British. That said, reading tracks like ‘Trial by Fire’ and ‘Spineless’ I thought I might have to find myself playing the role of lyric police… and there are lyrical improvements to be made, as we learn on ‘Severed Ties’ that “you have to cut the grass to find the fucking snakes.” Not the most enlightening sentence ever, but the superb musicianship will certainly capture listener attention. 

The vibe I’m getting is that Malevolence is a very technical Metal band that’s disguised as a Hardcore act. I mean, jams like ‘Wasted Breath’ and ‘Body Count’ have all the staccato crunch this side of Hatebreed, but there’s also room for Crowbar sludge and melodic Death Metal rapid picking.

No seriously, go listen to ‘Body Count,’ right now. Its fine, the review can wait.

Okay, you’re back. You noticed the shift from the opening After the Burial styled riff to the Despised Icon pig-squeal laced breakdown only to pick up the tempo and thrown in some solos for good measure. Yeah, Malevolence doesn’t like being put in one musical corner and nor should they. ‘Slave to Satisfaction’ goes deep into the sludge swamp before Charlie Thorpe ratchets up the double bass and guitarists Josh Baines and Konan Hall insert the searing Thrash. And to keep shining the light on the fret team, the aforementioned ‘Spineless’ comes right after with fluid riffs and white-hot leadwork.

Certainly not what I was expecting, but that’s definitely a good thing. The lyrics delve into the hardcore/tough-guy well a bit too often, and some minutes could be shaved off the running time, but this is outstanding for it being just a second LP. This world may belong to Malevolence.

8.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ