Malicious Inc. "Red Flag" <REVIEW>
“… not perfect, but it’s a good first step towards their future as a band and as musicians…”
I couldn’t think of a funny thumbnail for this review, so I just re-created a guy tearing down the regime or something, I don’t know. Malicious Inc. is a metal band from the United Kingdom, or as I like to usually refer to it: “Europe’s favourite country at the moment.” They’re a recent band who’s sound has become melded with the second wave of Nu Metal, and who’s influences have been very clear. Comparisons to KoЯn and Machine Head have come up, but also some groove metal sounds like Lamb of God. Needless to say when their guitarist Kyle Zehtabi contacted me about reviewing their most recent EP Red Flag, I was pretty intrigued. For one thing because (aside from a few exceptions) Nu-Metal hasn’t been a genre that’s aged well, but also because doing research into the band made me curious to know what I might hear. But seeing as the second wave has been chugging for some time, and plenty of bands have come out of it soaring like hawks, I wanted to see if Malicious Inc. has what it takes to stand up amongst the rest. So, let’s not waste much more time, let’s get straight into it.
Okay, let’s start with what I do like from this album. The vocal performance from Kyle Mortiss is intense. Pure guttural with harsh screams that are clearly tearing at the dudes throat. I think it’s Kyle’s presence on tracks like “Master & Mutt” that exemplify the Machine Head comparisons quite a bit, as he probably could’ve subbed in on the last Machine Head album and nobody would’ve known the difference… actually, wait, the last MH album was Catharsis, NEVER MIND! But I feel like he’s really trying to reign in on his best Robb Flynn impression and he’s actually killing it. Even the production on Red Flag is something to ride home about. Listening through on songs like “Honesty”, the title track and the 6-minute closer of “Wintered Trees”, there are a lot of spots where the production enhanced the sound rather than making it sound like it was played on a broken record player, then recorded in an old Nokia. It sounds like the guy who mastered the album (Martin Nichols) wanted to make sure it sounded the best that it could sound before sending it out to publish. It is slightly difficult to make out some of the lyrics being screamed at you, but the lyrics I could make out (and after reading the press pack I got with the album), the lyrics are dark. The album is called Red Flag and there’s a damn good reason for it. It’s actually kind of on-the-nose in a way, looking at song-titles like “Master & Mutt”, “Honesty” and especially the title track detail the dark side of relationships, both intimate and not, and they’re relentless in describing it.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about some of the stuff that wasn’t as hot. Yes, we’re getting into it early, because I ran out of shit to praise, don’t @ me. Here’s the thing, this EP doesn’t give me a lot to talk about. I know it’s an EP, and there’s not a lot to offer (especially in a 20 minute time frame), but I struggled like hell to write that first paragraph. Yes the production and the vocals are killer, even some of the song lyrics are dark, but that’s where it all ends. The rest of the band, while performing well, is your standard cookie cutter nu-metal affair. People have made those Machine Head and KoЯn comparisons, and after listening to Red Flag, I completely understand why. Malicious Inc.’s sound is VERY similar to that low chugging, aggression embracing style of Nu-Metal. The riffs done by Morgan Weeds and Kyle Zehtabi are good, but I’ve heard them in every other context before these guys. Luke Hill isn’t doing anything new either, just your typical 4/4 beat with the snare and cymbals and maybe a running double kick, but that’s basically it. On top of all that, Matthew Hulin is basically just copying the guitars the entire time, which can do a good job of thickening the sound of the riffs, but it just puts the bass on the same level as the guitars, which weren’t that high to begin with. I will give credit that they do try something VERY different with “Wintered Trees”, given the subject matter being much darker, it makes sense they’ll want to exemplify that feeling tenfold. Other than that though, the other 14 or so minutes is the same paint-by-numbers Nu-Metal. And it’s because of that, that I’ve actually run out of stuff to talk about.
The EP is fine, it’s passable, but that’s all I can say about it. Most of this EP comes in one ear and goes out the other, despite being a (more or less) carbon copy of the original source material. I don’t wanna be too mean on this band, as this is their first EP. The only thing they had before this was a single called “Bone & Mortar”, which admittedly has the same problem as the EP. So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, they’re just starting out, they still have a lot of room to grow. But I don’t wanna just give them a pat on the back because it’s their first go around. I want to be able to give this album an objective review as sort of a wake-up call, or even just a way of constructive criticism (as a review is supposed to be). For what it’s worth, I didn’t hate this album. I do feel like there can be something to come out of this band in the future, especially with the good stuff I mentioned in the beginning, there is some potential. However the rest of the band has to step up and try to bring something new to the table, especially after listening to “Wintered Trees”, showing that they are more than capable of doing so.
Overall, Malicious Inc. brought forth an EP with some serious potential and some sore spots that need to be covered up. The vocals are harsh, the lyrics are dark, and the production is bombast. While the other members of the band need to try harder, the effort they put into the closing track shows that they can make a great song if they try. The EP’s not perfect, but it’s a good first step towards their future as a band and as musicians. There’s plenty of space to grow, and it’s going to be interesting to see what they do after this EP serving as a blueprint of where they can possibly improve.
11/15
… because trying to come up with a funny thumbnail based on the album cover was so FUCKING HARD!
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