Review: Malignancy Toe the Line Between Madness and Genius on …Discontinued
The phrase “New York death metal” carries a certain connotation with it. When you say it, it implies a heavy emphasis on powerful, catchy grooves that balk at traditional song structures while still remaining undeniably infectious. In fact, that mentality is so ingrained into the culture that it’s often used to differentiate between the subtle stylistic differences of similar bands from both the East and West Coasts. “These guys have a New York style, these guys sound like West Coast slam, etc.” The greater New York area has always been a hotbed for forward-thinking metal acts that sound and feel just a little bit off-kilter, but there is one band who have taken that approach and pushed it to its absolute limit, and that is the Yonkers-based technical brutal death metal outfit Malignancy.
These guys are one of my absolute favorite bands to come out of New York, period. They have such a unique, wholly inimitable style that employs more pinch harmonics and sporadic tempo changes than any reasonable person would know what to do with, never more than a hair’s breadth away from completely flying off the rails but still managing to keep everything under control through sheer force of will. It seems like it shouldn’t work, but somehow it always does, and spectacularly so. And now, with the release of their highly anticipated new album …Discontinued, the band may very well have just birthed their most cohesive and focused material to date.
Right off the bat, the opening track “Existential Dread” plunges the listener into a whirlwind of thrashy riffs and hyper-speed blast beats that would make Cryptopsy blush, making its presence known in no uncertain terms. It remains devilishly catchy all the way through in spite of its bombastic nature, which is a testament to the band’s highly unorthodox songwriting style. For all of its many twists and turns, you’ll still find yourself bobbing your head along to it and feeling invigorated; no small task for something this ceaselessly frenetic, but if anyone can pull it off, it would be Malignancy.
The second song “Binary Paradigm” continues the thrash-heavy aesthetic at first, but then makes a hard left turn as it shifts into noticeably more jazzy territory less than a minute in. Guitarist Ron Kachnic is a certified mad scientist, once again deploying his tried and true signature method of squeezing in as many pinch harmonics as possible to accentuate random downbeats while drummer Mike Heller unleashes a flurry of fills and double bass bursts, somehow giving tangible form to this auditory insanity.
It’s not just the guitars and the drums that are borderline virtuosic on this record; this time around the bass duties have been handled by none other than Jacob Schmidt of Defeated Sanity, so that should tell you everything you need to know. The man is an absolute monster, which you need to be in order to even be considered for that band, so it should surprise no one that his performance is nothing short of sublime. Everything from the unexpected placement of certain notes to his massive tone and everything in between works in perfect harmony with the rest of the cacophony. Vocalist Danny Nelson arguably has the easiest job of the bunch, although the responsibility of conducting this orchestra of madness and grounding it with semi-sensible vocal patterns still rests upon his shoulders. Thankfully, it is a burden he bears with gusto and apparent ease.
If I had to pick one song to best represent everything that …Discontinued is about, it would be a tough call since they’re all certified bangers, but for my money, I would have to go with the fourth track “Purity of Purpose” (see the video below). That one perfectly encapsulates the delicate balance between the frantic, spastic nature of their old material and the (slightly) more focused direction they seem to be heading in now. It’s still insane, but compared to some of their other stuff, which can be borderline confusing to listen to at times, it’s much easier to follow along with.
That being said, if it’s batshit insane, super chaotic and unpredictable riffs that you’re looking for, then look no further than the fifth song “Ancillary Biorhythms”. That one in particular feels the most like their old material, with a plethora of seemingly random pinch harmonics, turbulent and wildly unpredictable drum fills, and tempo changes that feel like they were picked out of a hat. Like I said, it seems like it shouldn’t work, and on paper that might all sound like a sloppy mess, but making art out of pandemonium is this band’s specialty, and once again they hit the nail on the head and manage to make it look relatively easy.
When the closing track “Biological Absurdity” finally comes to a screeching and unceremonious halt, it might seem a bit jarring and abrupt at first, especially when contrasted with the veritable hurricane which precedes it, and you might catch yourself thinking “Is that it? That’s all, it just stops and is over just like that?” That was my initial impression as well, and I was worried that the one drawback to this album might be that it’s difficult to establish any real sense of pacing with music this consistently off-the-wall, but after multiple replays and giving it some thought, I came to realize that it’s actually perfectly on brand for them. What better way for something this erratic and fickle that has spent so long building up then defying expectations to just… stop. It’s fitting, if you think about it. Oddly poetic, even. If it leaves you sitting there wondering what the hell just happened, then that just means it’s done its job.
This may be Malignancy’s most accessible and easily digestible record to date, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’ve watered themselves down or taken the easy way out. At their core, they are still agents of chaos scoffing at the conventional and challenging it to its face with surgical precision and supreme confidence. They might be a touch more polished now, but they are still more than capable of leaving you blinking, shaking your head, and murmuring, “What the fuck was that?“
…Discontinued drops this Friday, June 14th via Willowtip Records. Pre-order your copy here
