Formed a few years before, Malignant Monster released their first studio CD, "Foul play" in 2005. As soon as you pick up this CD you take in the solely black and red and bloody layout of the CD artwork and you know straight away that you have in your hands something very nasty. You were right, the music inside is indeed just that, and definately not for the faint of heart. Malignant Monster in general play a kind of metal that is fast, dark and constantly changing, but with a big slice of groove in it. There is a definate simillarity to Lamb of God to my ears, that headbang-inducing combination of rage and foottapping hookiness. Then there are passages of blackened influence reminiscent of bands like Emperor, and yet others where I hear a more commercial approach taken, comparisons can be drawn to such bands as DevilDriver and even Machine Head, although Machine Head never sounded as pissed off as Malignant Monster. Not even close.
Although Malignant Monster has a full lineup these days, when "Foul Play" was released there were only three members set in stone, and they were the true core of the band, the irreplaceable central unit. The departure of any one of these three would mean a breakdown of the essence of MM, and the chemistry would be ruined. But on this CD they are a trio in hideous sync.
Cain is the frontman, and he has that rare combination of big voice, big stage presence and - the ladies tell me - quite reasonable to look at. Delivering his lines in a voice that is a gutteral shout on the edge of Black Metal, Cain really throws it out there with a violence and volume from lungs that seems unlikely to fit inside his narrow frame, and does it so well that he is not only one of Perth's most popular vocallists but is a touring member of one of Australia's biggest, "the Amenta". The sole lyricist for Malignant Monster, Cain writes about pretty much only one thing: Bloody Carnage and unconstrained Hate. Typical of his style is from the song "Consequences of Indecision":
"Blood comes pissing down Once I break the Crown
Killing victims found I dance from town to town
Just fell two steps behind Lost in a pitfall of Never-mind
a desire inside like a drug I have to kill another one."
The thing that really stands out for me in Cain's lyrical style is that unlike most bands of the modern era, he takes the extra necessary time to make his lyrics rhyme. Although this can limit the expressiveness of the words, this is important because it adds to the catchiness and the mind's ability to remember the words and recount them easily, and this makes the listener's experience so much better. In the metal world it seems to be a dying art, but Cain shows that the extra work is worth it.
Guitars are written and performed by Jarrod, and are inventive and grooving while punching along without pause. A definate speed metal influence is there in his style, but I could name a dozen bands which could be his influences. Chopping between the fast off-time riffing and black metal style highspeed chord changes seems to be his main trademark move, although there is a lot more going on here. His guitars have a fine sound that deliver the aggression and the clarity in equal doses, there is melody in there but the general gearing is angled more toward savagery rather than tune and his guitar work reflects this with flair. There seems to be a bit more midrange in his guitar tone than many bands of the genre, and it sounds really good to my ears.
And then we come to Malignant Monster's most valueable asset, Ben. Able to play fantastic drums with stunning ease, the consistantly underrated drummer from Malignant Monster is a machine of vitriole behind the kit with his hard hitting style and blinding footwork. Having been in a band with Ben in the past, I can tell you with some experience that he plays his drums in a semi-rage, leaving sticks ground into sawdust and the floor littered with their pieces, a danger to be in a room with. On "Foul PLay" Ben displays to all his frantic handwork, mastery of the pedals and above all his ability to take the riffs in front of him and beat them into horrific art. His style is drum-heavy and dynamic, and he performs brilliantly throughout the CD. Not always the most social creature in this city full of top-notch drummers, Ben is the forgotten genius and a credit to his craft.
An early recording by Hollywood Eton - the man seems to be on every good recording these days - the mix on "Foul Play" is good, but could have used a few more tweeks. Even though it is a better sound that many of the other local products, it comes across a bit trebley, and it was only after I cranked up the bass a touch higher than normal that the songs really began to sound awesome. Why this is I can't say, but it is a small flaw in an otherwise extremely well crafted and entertaining debut album. No new albums have come forth from the Malignant Monster camp in the five years since its release, who can say what they are waiting to unleash on us next?
We are expecting big things boys, get your skates on.
Review by Jez.
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