Unsigned and Unholy: Malformity, Mandragora Malevola

Death metal and black metal are like steak and cake to me. Sometimes I’m craving one, sometimes the other, sometimes both mixed together (let’s be honest, Belphegor is basically a T-bone with a piece of cake melting on top of it). But both are deeply satisfying and totally necessary to my indulgent palate. It’s just such a shame that so many people do both of them with such mediocrity.

But then you have your unexpected gems, like the two bands I’m telling you about today, both of whom sent unsolicited e-mails to MS and both of whom fucking slay. So consider yourself full.

Hailing Coimbra in Portugal, Mandragora Malevola play nasty black metal with muscular tendencies, devoid of the Scandinavian coldness but still compelling and entrenched in the genre. Their guitars sound like electric buzzsaws, their vocals are hideous and shrieked, their melodies are catchy and driving. Think Satanika-era Behemoth merged with Dissection and you’ll have some idea of what this two-piece are doing. You can find their new EP, Black Flame Ov Illuminations, on their Bandcamp. Check out a killer track below:

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Malformity goes for the more straightforward death metal sound, and by the sheer amount of merch they have seem to be a bit more established as a band (Atlanta heads, let us know what the deal is). The band plays burly old-school death metal that will have fans of Autopsy, Nile, Asphyx, and classic Dying Fetus banging their heads and acting the fool. I’m currently reading Jason Netherton’s excellent Extremity Retained, and Malformity are proving an awesome and appropriate soundtrack to the experience. Check out a guts-spilling track below: