Project Description

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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MALEVOLENCE
+ Splinter + Cold Blood
@ The Brightside, Brisbane,
6th May 2025
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Alec Smart (@alecsmart_fotos)

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Malevolence, metallic-hardcore band from Sheffield, England, headlined a packed concert at Brightside in Brisbane, supported by two Australian metalcore bands, Cold Blood and Splinter.

On tour with Tasmanian metalcore band Alpha Wolf to support their 23-date ‘Terrible Days Across Australia’ series of concerts (which prioritised regional and suburban venues), Malevolence also performed four separate headline shows in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Malevolence are currently promoting their new album, Where Only The Truth Is Spoken, scheduled for release in June 2025.

The first single from the album, If It’s All The Same To You, is a must-watch for fans of the Guy Ritchie-directed British crime comedy Snatch.

Actor Alan Ford reprises his role as nefarious crime boss ‘Brick Top’, directing the five band members in his tough Cockney accent to commit an art heist. The raid subsequently provokes a high-speed car chase evading police pursuers (see video link below).

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Cold Blood

Cold Blood, Brightside, Brisbane, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Opening for Malevolence at Brightside, Gold Coast quintet Cold Blood were aggressive and animated and their sonic wall of noise immediately drew in the fans loitering outside, like a magnet attracting metal fragments. Vocalist Sam Commens cajoled the crowd and soon we had an active moshpit.

“I want to see come good clean fun!” Sam demanded. “Remember fun? From the good old days when people kicked each other in the head!”

Several swing dancers circled the dancefloor – not swing as in swing jazz, but swinging arms as they air-punched. Stand too near them and you’d cop a thick ear or a black eye from their flying fists.

However, the helicopter headbangers usually tire before the song’s end because flailing your arms as you run around rapidly drains you of energy.

Thankfully, as the swingers burned out they were replaced by the regular motley crew of moshers merging into the space – more sociable slammers who pause to pick you up if they knock you over.

Cold Blood’s discography of EPs and albums can be found here.

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Splinter

Splinter, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Newcastle quartet Splinter are tight and intense, a great crowd-warmer with tunes that deserve greater exposure. The band were principle support for Malevolence on two of their four Australian headline dates: Brisbane and Melbourne, respectively.

A minor controversy has since blown up concerning Splinter’s Brisbane performance when a Queensland reviewer for Heavy Mag named Jimmy Glinster called them ‘cockroaches’. He added, “For those not from Australia, cockroaches refers to those filthy Mexicans from south of the Queensland border…”

Heavy Mag has since removed the article, but a storm has blown up on social media with music fans objecting to the divisive language Glinster used.

Unlike scuttling, scattering, sly cockroaches, the band are as tight and assertive as a wolf pack on a hunt and put a lot of energy into their performance. Mid-set, the first of the night’s stage-divers leapt into the crowd, signalling we had a wild night ahead and by the time Malevolence ascended the stage, Splinter had the crowd roaring and fully fired-up.

Splinter’s discography can be found here.

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Since forming in 2010, Malevolence, from the ‘Steel City’ of Sheffield in Yorkshire (historically renowned for its world-class steelworks and cutlery), have forged a path from the underground circuit to prominent sword-bearers of the international metal-core scene.

They’ve released three studio albums, with the previously-mentioned fourth album imminent. Several new songs from the impending album were featured at Brightside.

Several times singer Alex Taylor urged the back of the Brisbane crowd to come nearer, insisting they needn’t be afraid of the people along the stage front (where this gnarly old reviewer loitered), generating enthusiastic surges forward.

Twice between songs, Taylor demanded, Moses-like, that the audience divide on the dance floor. Then, after a large vacant space was created, he signalled for both sides to come crashing together as the first chord was struck on the next song, and the mass coalesced like a human tide.

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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With little encouragement, stage divers also leapt into a sea of arms and were passed aloft.

At the core of the Brisbane Brightside concert were a group of Brits, several of whom who flew up from Sydney to see their heroes. I overheard them discussing how privileged they felt being able to pay a decent entrance fee and stand at the front by the stage.

By contrast, in Britain they’d expect to pay significantly higher ticket prices to attend a show packed with punters in which they’d struggle to see the band perform.

The highlight for this reviewer was Malevolence’s performance of Higher Place, a slow, atmospheric tune that begins gently with jangly guitar, then builds up to a tremendous crescendo.

Fronted by guitarist Konan Hall, who has one leg and both arms tattooed in intricate, overlapping images that resemble the irezumi displayed by Japanese yakuza, the song is actually sung – as opposed to the bear-like monotonal growl favoured by lead vocalist Alex Taylor.

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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The music video of Higher Place, from their 2022 album Malicious Intent, features a circular narrative (ending where it starts, in a surreal loop). The story focusses on what appears to be a racist attack in an alleyway, in which the victim is then struck by a car after being confronted by a knife-wielding assailant. It can be viewed here.

The second-last song was Keep Your Distance, from their 2020 EP The Other Side. I found it ironic that singer Alex urged the swirling mass of Brisbane metalheads to move closer to him while singing the lyrics, “Stay away from me, keep your distance!”

The band then warned that they wouldn’t perform an encore and to enjoy the last song of the set instead. Then they launched into On Broken Glass, (also from Malicious Intent) and the crowd went berserk!

The music video for their latest single, If It’s All The Same To You, featuring British actor Alan Ford, can be viewed here.

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Malevolence:
Brisbane Set List

Intro
Malicious Intent
Life Sentence
Waste of Myself
If It’s all the Same
Still Waters Run Deep
Remain Unbeaten
Karma
Self-Supremacy
Higher Place
Trenches
Keep Your Distance
On Broken Glass

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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Check out Alec Smart’s (@alecsmart_fotos) full gallery of this event HERE


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Malevolence

Malevolence, Brightside, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 6 May 2025

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Follow MALEVOLENCE
YouTube – Facebook – Qobuz – Instagram
Discography (Nuclear Blast Records)
Wikipedia – AllMusic

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AMNPLIFY – DB

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