Review by Denis on December 10, 2002.

A while ago I was reading a book called "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers". There was also a movie that was done on it. To make a long story short, it is based around an extraterrestrial invasion and the creatures progressively take the body of everyone while they sleep. Why am I talking about all this? I’m bringing it up simply because some survivors managed to escape the extermination and become musicians. Amongst the best of them are the guys that make up Malevolent Creation. It has to be. That's the only explanation I can find. It's not physically possible to play this fast and this well! People! Please don't try this at home! Just sit back and listen to their newest album ”The Will To Kill and have one hell of a good time!

Formed in 1987, Malevolent Creation saw many people in and out. As said by lead guitarist Phil Fasciana, the philosophy of these guys is "If you're too slow, you've got to go.” Rob Barrett, who has been in the band for quite a while, completes the guitar artillery. The other brothers in arms are Kyle Symons on vocals and Gordon Sims on bass. The most recent addition to the line-up is drummer Ariel Alvarado.

It won't take you long to discover what Malevolent Creation stand for. It's just like the cover of the presto was exploding in your face from exceeding internal pressure. Get the picture? Extreme Death metal served very well done, and not only ordinary stuff. Heavy? Of course it is! Fast? You better believe it! However, there is more to ”The Will To Kill” than that. Their type of cooking is much more subtle. We're not dealing with another long hair band playing loud noises here. No way. There's much more work, maturity, and musicianship involved in this recording. The result of all this blood and sweat is an awesome record of electrifying Death Metal, sang by a monstrous barbarian, an incredible landscape of guitar riffs, which are powerful and to the point, a drum and bass massacre, and, believe it or not, something that we don't have enough nowadays, guitar solos. Breathtaking guitar solos! Just the type of solos you've been starving to feed your ears for far too long! To my great pleasure, this musical aggression is still melodic and to a certain point, catchy! No, don't go away. This is by no mean an album full of radio hits. How Malevolent Creation pull this off beats me. The invasion of the body snatchers is the only logical answer.

As a Canadian, I'm proud to mention that this great piece of metal was produced by Jean-François Dagenais of the famous metal act Kataklysm, and all of that sonic clarity you hear on “The Will To Kill” is credited to him.

Among this magical opus some remarkable dark pleasures are standing out like the title track, ‘Assassin Squad,’ for having two guitar solos, and the ending trilogy, ‘Divide and Conquer,’ ‘Burnt Beyond Recognition,’ and ‘The Cardinal's Law,’ all beefed up with delicious riffs and solos.

Bottom Line: By all means, metal fans go and do a favor for yourself and get a copy of "The Will to Kill.” I believe that no matter the type of metal you're into, there's something in this album that is ready to jump at you and nail you to your stereo.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 8.5
Originality: 8.5
Production: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.2 out of 10