Malecoda
The Hordes Of Annihilation
4.9
You may remember Malecoda as previously being called “Maleborgia.” Or you may not.
This five-song EP is a quick blast of underwhelming classic-styled death metal, with a brief flirtation with epic-ness. Sadly, what The Hordes Of Annihilation may attempt in spirit, it lacks in production, sorely missing the punch necessary to push it to the next level. The biggest problem is the lack of a human drummer--the drum machine just doesn't cut it here, folks. Maybe in the mechanized world of cyber-grind or industrial, but not in death metal… The bottom end is lacking, and the mechanical nature of it all just makes everything cold and stiff. That’s the nature of the beast with a computer, of course, but I find it hard to believe that this band cannot find a human drummer at least for studio sessions, if not to become a permanent member.
As for the good side of things, there are tasty leads throughout, and there are a few moments of merit in the riffing, but the whole thing is just so sterile and bland that it falls short of its own potential. Even what decent riffs may come are dry and clinical, and the vocals are acceptable without being exceptional. On the songwriting front, the epic martial approach of the typically pointless intro “Invocation To Extinction” and the arpeggiated intro to “Inhuman Suffering” are the only slight deviations from the standard early-90s blueprint, the only bits that remotely separate themselves from the remainder of the disc. (That said, everything that’s here is within that box, and yet all of it is but a very pale shadow when compared even to second-tier 90s acts like Cancer, Morgoth, or Morpheus Descends.)
I hate to give a short review that doesn’t go too in-depth, but this is a short recording—it’s only five songs long—and it’s not terribly deep. When it comes down to it, it’s just too hard for me to hear past the drum machine to get too far into it, which also says something for the quality of the material. Ultimately, even with a new drummer, I’d bet that Malecoda’s by-the-numbers death metal wouldn’t be anything more than a solid “average,” but until they hire a human behind the skins, I won’t know for sure.
