Review by Carl on June 20, 2026.

Nowadays, Malignant Tumour are something of a revved-up Motörhead-ish heavy metal band, but when I first got to know them, they were a full-on grindcore outfit, firmly entrenched in the deepest recesses of the underground. For those familiar with my tastes, it will probably come as no surprise that I vastly prefer this earlier incarnation of the band.

Situated somewhere between the gory death/grind sound of bands like Dead Infection and Blood, and the more punk-infused compositional style of acts such as Rot and Agathocles, Malignant Tumour neatly straddles the divide between the dominant grindcore styles of the '90s. Their music is heavy, raw, and filthy in a way that fully embraces gore-soaked death metal aesthetics, maintaining a firm focus on groove, velocity, and impact, all underpinned by a percussive approach that alternates between D-beat charge and blastbeat ferocity. As tradition dictates in grindcore, the distorted chainsaw riffing and short compositions keep everything simple and straightforward, ensuring that every second serves its purpose. The whole thing is held together by the throaty growls of main man Bilos, wrapped in a fittingly natural and grainy production that drenches everything in a genuine DIY underground atmosphere. This type of production may not be flawless, but in the case of Malignant Tumour, it conveys the band's intent perfectly.

There is nothing here that could be described as intricate or innovative, but if old-school '90s grind is your thing, this early version of Malignant Tumour has you covered. The spirit of forebears like Agathocles, early Napalm Death, and Carcass is strongly present throughout this EP, with the band even "borrowing" the drum intro from 'Corporal Jigsore Quandary' for their own track 'Why Animal Rights??' just to hammer the point home. The recipe employed will be instantly recognizable to anyone involved in the old-school grindcore scene, and really, isn't that exactly how we want this kind of music to sound?

While the more recent works of Malignant Tumour are certainly entertaining—just check out 'Saddam Hussein Is Rock 'n' Roll' for a good chuckle—it is their grindcore material that will always define the band for me. Is it because I am one of those troglodytes who refuse to evolve alongside the bands he likes? Quite probably. But when given the choice, I will always go for a bulging dose of grinding blastbeats.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10