Isn’t crazy how time can feel so stretched out? It really does feel like it’s been much longer than two years since we had heard Depravity’s massive debut full-length album of “Evil Upheveal” came upon the scene and really melted my brain. Before today, it was easily the most intense album that I enjoyed on every level from a technical, musical, and quality standpoint; the entire work is grandiose. It was only a few months ago that I went back to rediscover the album since my taste in death metal has changed a little since that release, and it was only after really enjoying everything that Depravity brough to the table on their first album that I truly started to get excited about their second.
Even just leading up the release, not even taking into consideration anything but the first two tracks, everything about “Grand Malevolence” has been getting exponentially better. The song off the label’s 2020 sampler was tremendous, the reputation of Depravity has, thankfully, only gotten better and bigger over time with “Evil Upheveal” coming up in many, many conversations throughout the scene, and the sound which Depravity was dishing out has already been proven to be excellent given that very same album have all been beyond rewarding in every sense. So, just leading up to “Grand Malevolence” has been a rollercoaster. When I sat down to dig into this sure-to-be massive work, I had to actually crack my knuckles, mentally prepare myself, and get the best headphones I could set to the right volume: fucking loud. After just one spin, I knew that Depravity had bested themselves. After several others, it’s indisputable that “Grand Malevolence” tops the great vast majority of its competitors.
The grand heaviness of this album is extremely apparent by just the very cover art that this album boasts, but there are very few things that anyone who already isn’t in the know can do in order to be properly prepared for this devastation. Just the first track alone is enough to make the ears bleed of the uninitiated who’ve not a single idea of what’s to come, and it’s the rest of “Grand Malevolence” that the initiated like us can just sink our teeth into time after time in order to dissect everything that every track has to offer all while Depravity is dissecting its own victims with unmitigated force and untold ferocity. The absolute entirety of this record is meant for the most intense of death metal fans with even those who are just getting their toes dipped into the style being completely eviscerated, and Depravity rarely gives us a moment of reprieve from all the intensity. The assault is constant but the quality is constantly overwhelming! There isn’t a single track in “Grand Malevolence” that doesn’t give increasing credence to that title with all of them containing another instrumental of medieval torture that peels back in the skin in such a way that it’s truly searing in every sense, but all the more fascinating by how clinical Depravity are at performing it! It’s a real task to put into words just how well done this album is between all of its monstrous riffs and conquering attitude that’s everlasting, and that’s just the very beginning of what’s to be had throughout “Grand Malevolence”.
This album may not seem like a lot on the surface other than just a volume war with Depravity simply trying to be as brutal as they can be, but there are clear talent and prowess at play in every second that they command your attention. “Evil Upheveal” was a smashing success in every single form, but it’s here with “Grand Malevolence” that this Australian act has elevated into something else entirely. The brutality, the songwriting, the executions, the musicianship, and the ability to keep the listener engaged are all at a peak here for this band without question! This is undoubtedly one of the best records of its kind that 2020 has produced by far, and if this isn’t the most well-regarded works of its kind by many then I will go around and put all of your heads on fucking pikes otherwise Depravity will do much worse to any and all of its opponents, that much I can promise if you don’t herald the apocalyptic excellence that is “Grand Malevolence”.
“Grand Malevolence” releases on December 4th via Transcending Obscurity Records!
PRE-ORDER “Grand Malevolence” via Transcending Obscurity here.
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Grand Malevolence” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Depravity on Facebook here.
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