I will be honest. Stood in the photo pit at Bloodstock Open Air 2024 as hordes of Malevolence fans swarmed the barriers, I really did not see what the fuss was about. The five-piece from Sheffield played the kind of Metalcore that really does not resonate with me, and the obsession of their fans, who were in a frenzied state of total engagement, merely left me scratching my head, as well as ducking as those feet came thick and fast over the top.
Malevolence – Where Only The Truth Is Spoken
Release Date: 20 June 2025
Words: Paul Hutchings
I just did not understand why Malevolence, with their somewhat limited delivery, were getting thousands of, admittedly, young fans in such a state.
Roll forward nearly a year, and the penny is slowly dropping.
A chance decision to listen to 2022’s Malicious Intent whilst cutting back some trees caught me unawares as I found myself becoming absorbed in the huge breakdowns, the pummelling riffing and Alex Taylor’s visceral snarl. In short, I enjoyed it. Hugely.
Time for a new album then and bigger things for the band. Recording Where Only The Truth Is Spoken in LA with Josh Wilbur means this is the band’s first release not recorded in the UK.
It’s certainly got a fresh sound to it, from the opening bursts of Blood To The Leech through to the final song, With Dirt from My Grave, although Malevolence’s grasp on modern-day commentary certainly means you are not going to be getting much in the way of pink fluff. The lyrics hit deep, from the heart, tackling emotional topics with gusto and power.
Taylor’s snarls are next level, his guttural roars coming from deep within, working alongside the bruising guitar work of Konan Hall and Josh Baines that chugs hard, slamming those riffs like hailstorms in a thunderous torrent.
It may be a sudden and instant conversion, and one wonders what it is that has grabbed me, but the soaring choruses on Trenches, with the melody that works beneath the raging pyre, seep into the psyche.
Underneath all the machismo, there lurks a very good Heavy Metal band. They switch from Hardcore to Metalcore to Thrash in seconds, and then they throw Salt The Wound at you.
As close to a ballad as this band is likely to get, it switches from gentle passages to explosive aggression, and of course, is the song that has got the National Trust’s legal team all hot under the collar.
“Salt The Wound is the product of us making a conscious decision to bridge the two faces of Malevolence,” vocalist Alex Taylor told us. “On one hand, we have the heavy, aggressive side, and on the other, we have the slower melodic songs, so we wanted a song that could combine the two.”
You can tell the size of a band by the quality of their guest vocalists, and the arrival of Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe on In Spite is a clear signal of intent. Blythe fits this music like a glove, of course, and he brings his own machine gun verbal delivery into the fray.
It works a treat, and the urge to head into the pit flickers once more. Thankfully, this old man is way beyond that malarky, but the groove is infectious, and it is easy to understand why this beast of an outfit are continuing to rise.
There is limited option to catch breath, and as you reach the aural assault of With Dirt From My Grave, which tears the ear canals as you arrive at the grand finale. It is only the stubborn who would fail to find something to excite within this 42-minute package.
Such is the way that Malevolence have got under my skin, I even started to hunt tickets for their forthcoming tour of small UK venues. Thankfully for my back and my knees, their Bristol gig has long been sold out.
Maybe heading back into the pit is a step too far. For now, I will take the band’s music. For a band who have already been kicking around for 15 years, this is their time.
Watch them fly, for they appear unstoppable.
Malevolence release Where Only The Truth Is Spoken on 20 June 2025 via MLVLTD in partnership with Nuclear Blast Records. For pre-orders and more information, visit malevolence.bfan.link/where-only-the-truth-is-spoken.
