Return of the Australian warlords
TONEwood has previously lauded Malichor's earlier EP, Lurkers in the Crypt from 2012, and now the time has come for Ancient Brew to continue the black-thrash legacy of the Australian band. With four tracks Malichor certainly aren't about to waste any time with lengthy intros of nonsense shenanigans. Instead, they continue in their uncompromising ways, living and dying by the riffs.
Ancient Brew starts out with a track of the same name, and like you would expect you are greeted with a torrent of power tapping delivered with feverous aggression. Rasping vocals compete with viciously pounding drumming, booming bass lines and riproars of guitars for the spotlight, creating an unhinged - but calculated - brawl of distortion and blows. These riffs will stay with you forever.
Ancient Brew starts out with a track of the same name, and like you would expect you are greeted with a torrent of power tapping delivered with feverous aggression. Rasping vocals compete with viciously pounding drumming, booming bass lines and riproars of guitars for the spotlight, creating an unhinged - but calculated - brawl of distortion and blows. These riffs will stay with you forever.
"The way everything is thrown together in one ferocious mass while each element still stands out on its own is masterful,"
The essential gritty production aside, there is little on the negative side to point out. The way everything is thrown together in one ferocious mass while each element still stands out on its own is masterful, even if it is also a bit on the pedestrian side of things. Through the din it can be hard to decipher the riffs, but such is the way of Malichor.
Malichor's main trademark is the fervor with which they confidently deliver their material. There's nothing slow or sloppy about them - Every note is on time. Ancient Brew is not quite as uncompromising in writing as the previous EP - or the greatest material of some similar bands - but it definitely holds its own just by the merrit of the riffs themselves. Malichor dares experiment just a little with the sound they had already distilled on their first EP, but still remain largely within the same realm of barbarous riffs, raw vocals, speed and face-melting solos. Perhaps even more so than before.
Malichor's main trademark is the fervor with which they confidently deliver their material. There's nothing slow or sloppy about them - Every note is on time. Ancient Brew is not quite as uncompromising in writing as the previous EP - or the greatest material of some similar bands - but it definitely holds its own just by the merrit of the riffs themselves. Malichor dares experiment just a little with the sound they had already distilled on their first EP, but still remain largely within the same realm of barbarous riffs, raw vocals, speed and face-melting solos. Perhaps even more so than before.
8/10
Released in 2013 by Dead God Productions
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