Project Description

DEPRAVITY
“GRAND MALEVOLENCE”
Album Review

(9th October 2020)

Reviewer – Chris Reid

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Genre – Death Metal

Release Date – December 4th, 2020

Record Label – Transcending Obscurity Records

For fans of – Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Psycroptic, Nile, Spawn of Possession,
Gorgasm, Immolation, Hour of Penance, Abysmal Torment, Decrepit Birth

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Depravity hail from Perth, Western Australia. Whilst they look to be a relatively ‘new’ band on paper (formed in 2016), individually and collectively they have a long and notable history in the Australian metal scene (and beyond). It’s for that reason that the widespread success of their debut album Evil Upheaval (2018) should have been no surprise to those familiar with the members and their past endeavours. Similarly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their 2nd full length album Grand Malevolence contains the song writing prowess, technical chops and an overall polish that will leave most other sophomore releases in its wake. The album is currently available for pre-order ahead of its formal release on December 4th. Transcending Obscurity have pulled out all stops on huge a range of vinyl and CD formats that affirm the labels respect for this release.

Depravity play a hyper-intense, evil brad of death metal. It’s brutal, technical and has a legitimately sinister vibe. 2018’s Evil Upheaval was a relatively varied listen with a strong dynamic range for such an intense release – Grand Malevolence on the other hand is a blood thirsty, pummelling affair from start to finish. There is hardly any respite for the listener amongst 11 break neck tracks.

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The album opener Indulging Psychotic Thoughts is a ripper. Louis Rando anchors the array of riffing with a never-ending barrage of blast beats and double kick assaults. Despite the relentlessness of the drum parts, the guitars unleash a wide array of riffs and the vocals are quite varied which make this a really enjoyable listen.  This statement remains valid for much of the release. Grand Malevolence was the 1st track released from the album as a single on Transcending Obscurity’s 2020 release sampler. The track showcases everything that is great about Depravity’s sound and for that reason I understand why it is the title track for this release.

The next run of tracks is some of the most vital work on the album; Invalid Majesty, Cantankerous Butcher, Trophies of Inhumanity, Castrate the Perpetrators & The Coming of the Hammering all contain a significant amount of top shelf riffage and plenty of tasty lead work. The lead playing on this release is definitely worthy of specific praise  – its technical without being overly self-indulgent and always enhances the evil undertone of the music.  Jamie Kay’s vocals provide frequent highlights too – his lows have always been super impressive but  I feel like this album showcases more of his high register than we’ve heard before too.

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The album art has again been handled by Alex Tartsus (Sepulchral Curse, De Profundis) and as was the case with the Evil Upheaval artwork, he has managed to capture the tone of the album nicely. The apocalyptic  scenes depicted on the cover art provide a perfect backdrop to the sonic apocalypse captured on the release.

11 tracks is a decent length for an album these days but there’s no trace of filler on this album. Barbaric Eternity, Hallucination Aflame, Epitome of Extinction, Ghosts in the Void continue the high level of song writing and musicianship and take the album to a highly satisfying conclusion.

Grad Malevolence contains a blend of technicality and brutality that seems to be rare commodity in today’s death metal scene – often ‘tech’ bands can favour the progressive/melodic side of death metal, and the ‘Brutal’ bands  favour ‘caveman riffs’ and straight forward arrangements.  Technicality and Brutality need not be mutually exclusive, and Depravity don’t compromise on either facet, hitting the sweet spot / overlapping section of an imaginary Death-metal-venn-diagram!

Great album

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Line up:

Drums – Louis Rando (Impiety, The Furor)

Guitar – Lynton Cessford (Entrails Eradicated)

Vocals – Jamie Kay (Inanimacy, ex-The Ritual Aura)

Bass – Ainsley Watkins (ex-Scourge)

Guitar – Jarrod Curly (ex-Malignant Monster)

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Artwork by Alex Tartsus (Sepulchral Curse, De Profundis)

Track listing:

1. Indulging Psychotic Thoughts
2. Grand Malevolence
3. Invalid Majesty
4. Cantankerous Butcher
5. Trophies of Inhumanity
6. Castrate the Perpetrators
7. The Coming of the Hammering
8. Barbaric Eternity
9. Hallucination Aflame
10. Epitome of Extinction
11. Ghosts in the Void

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Check out DEPRAVITY below
Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram

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The new album merch is looking killer! Here’s a pic sent in from the Transcending Obscurity Records HQ of the variant #2 design!

You can get it here for now –

Bandcamp
Main Store

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CLICK ON PIC TO VIEW NEWS

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AMNPLIFY – DB