Review by Alex on June 3, 2018.

Torture Rack delivers 27 minutes of rightfully titled Malefic Humiliation. It's an offering that has great moments but eventually looses its stronghold on the listener early on.

The disgusting yet delightful opener “Festering Castration” has that swarming riffing where one gets the sense he/she is being chased by a 1000 locusts. It's one of the catchier and memorable songs on Malefic Humiliation . It has some tempo changes and pinch harmonics along the thrashing leads and low gutturals. "Masked in Leeches" follows a similar path to the opening track but takes a big step into the doom and "war metal" territories with slow drumming that escalates into steady monotonous blasts. The pace of its ending section is a good lead into the next and lengthiest serving being “Corpse Revenge”. I liked the way it started and wished that it had kept that tempo throughout its running time. The momentum became more invigorating as it approached the beginning of the middle section.

Here is the problem, for just 27 minutes, much of the music is too repetitive. Each track sounds like a precursor of individual entries on the record. There wasn't enough diversity in the song structure and musical elements to keep me interested in the remainder of the album. Though the music following "Corpse Revenge" were relatively short pieces, they sounded very identical to the opening segments of the record due to the lack of innovation. What also contributed to the downside of Malefic Humiliation is the placement of the guitar solos; in which most are towards the ending of the tracks, such as on “Destined For Dogmeat” and “Sweltering Into Gore". Even worse, some of the solos come across as filler which is a bad thing especially for such a short record.

Malefic Humiliation could have been a much better full length album if the music didn't sound lazy past the half way mark. It started very convincing but the lack of contrast made 27 minutes feel much longer.

Rating: 5.9 out of 10

Review by Anna on March 8, 2011.

I haven't listened to Black Metal in a long while because I was dying of boredom, but Styggelse has been the antidote!

Spunky, crusty, energetic, and raw, the band's full-length debut was a pleasure almost all the way through. Naturally there are several "recognizable" styles in the music but no doubt Styggelse has a solid idea of who they are and no one else sounds just like them (even though there were several times it sounded very much like newer Horna...). The band name fits the sound well, and the sound fits the music well.

"Heir Today- God Tomorrow" is a collection of well-composed songs suspended in a dirty recording with that grungy basement-show feeling, complete with phlegmy vocals on top. The drums are... "fucking awesome"?! Almost like a less "machine-like" version of 1349's drumming especially on the fill-ins. Can we say, "PLEASURE"??? This is heavy stuff, though I can personally do without the "Swedish"-style Black Metal riffing completely.

If you have grown weary and lifeless from listening to lipstick-wearing Black Metal bands, and found that your dick has fallen off and your balls have shrunken to the size of peanuts, try this one. It is sure to recharge your battery (or, your balls). Styggelse is Sweden's unofficial answer to the nation's dreaded "gay" stereotype, and the best thing to have ever come from Eskilstuna!!!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10