Malevolent Creation

Retribution

retribution

Review Score:

(10/10)
after ROADRUNNER RECORDS realized that sales of MALEVOLENT CREATION'S first 3 records had reached their peak and tapered off, the now-big time label decided to discontinue them in the U.S.. fortunately, "RETRIBUTION", released in 1992 is not only offered here on amazon as an import, but the new MALEVOLENT-owned ARCTIC MUSIC GROUP label has imminent plans to re-release all 3 cd's including "RETRIBUTION"...and for good reason...the first thing that comes to mind when i listen to this record is HELL. the best word used to describe this record is also HELL. this meaty, chunky, technical and brutally executed recording is a pure masterpiece. recorded in their heyday, this cd is MALEVOLENT CREATION at their finest. the highlight of the LP is murder master brett hoffmans sick ability to get his point across without sounding forced, unlike the overrated and tired sounding bands deicide and cannibal corpse. hoffman, on this album, has the unique ability of making a tired subject such as murder sound so fresh and beautifully intelligent lyrically. vocally, he spews forth a display of anger so powerful that i started to believe that this guy would really actually kill someone if he felt like it. this guy was making glen benton of deicide look like strawberry shortcake. standout tracks: the whole damned record, with the exception of track 4 "coronation of our domain" which is a little slow and musically not as impressive. my personal faves are "slaughter of innocence" "eve of the apocalypse" and "monster". the writing and arrangments on this record are very unique for the band. the only real downside i can think of is scott burns' mix of the guitars, which are a tad to bottomy to make out the riffs sometimes. this record has also been criticized for having a lack of catchy hooks unlike their debut "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS"...i disagree...this album needs to be listened to over and over to fully appreciate it, like METALLICA's "master of puppets". order this now, or wait for the re-release with bonus tracks. a sick classic.

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