MPM
Malhavoc, Premeditated Murder – I love this album and know all of its tracks very well. I bought it in 1992 or 1993 in Taiwan on cassette and listened to it to death; now I can’t listen to that cassette any more… so I bought the used CD online! Nice. All Malhavoc is good music. The band changed a fair bit over the years, but this is their heaviest and most cohesive album.
The songs are evil industrial metal with a bit of drum machine and keyboard, but are generally very dark and crunchy. The lyrics are processed Whisperer From The Dark scary-sounding voices, and this is a concept album built around serial killing that is is dedicated to George Romero. Opening track “Languish” is a cool tune built around a very nice riff, a build-up of drums, bass, and finally the spooky vocals. In the middle is an empty bridge part that leads into a very scary growl-fest with nasty big drums that just make you want to stomp! Aaaah!!! “Solitude” starts off with a mellow distorted drum sound, hits the fake drum machine beats, then gets going into nastiness. There’s some cool Sabbath-like riffing, a slowed-down bridge, with a buildup into a very cool “leave me alone, leave me alone” moment. It’s said with such scariness that I doubt anybody would disobey that request!! Fantastic riffing on the outro, it’s like a totally new song!! “Crusade” starts off with weird guitar riffage, then bursts into… metal disco! Very groovy indeed, and totally unexpected. Maybe the best song on the album for effect. “Conspiracy” starts quick with a light riff, a “yo”, and then tough riffing. The last part gets very mellow, then a quiet moment… and it all starts up again!! “The LOC (Loss Of Control)” is more of a standard thrash tune with wild wah-ing notes, and some trippy programmed drums. Nice. “Kill (Dislocated)” is one of the weaker tracks on the collection, dominated by a chiming keyboard sound, although with time the guitars still find a way to take over. It bounces between jumpy sections and doesn’t ever really build up a groove – it serves merely to irritate and build tension. Not sure why the spooky keyboard instrumental “Extro” appears in the middle of the album, other than as a musical joke reference, but it’s a nice intro to “Beginning The End”, which is built out of a cheap drum sound and a cheap guitar sound, it nevertheless gets going nicely in the middle when it really gets the lead out with some great shredding. “Age Of Dark Renaissance” is an instrumental intro to “Urban Grandier” that starts off with drums, which combine with guitars to make a funky intro to a very cool doomy tune with big bad Electric Wizard bass sounds. “Urban Grandier” has a creepy, weird opening riff that incorporates strange drum timings. Not sure how they get that off-rhythm rhythm effect, but it’s marvelous! The song changes and changes and changes – prog metal. The vocals are the most whispery vocals on the whole album, and there are amazing instrumental sections in the second section. Halfway through it gets really weird and spooky – stunning! “Dunwich Horror” is HP Lovecraft stuff, with thick riffs glomming on and on into Metallica land. The instrumental eventually builds up into a very cool guitar and drum back-and-forth that is just eternal! “Emprical Minds” is a bit of denouement that has a very nice little spin to it, with Renaissance-sounding chords, slow instrumental bits that are near-melodic, and then the insanity returns. It’s also the longest song on the album. Very groovy.