UMUR
"Invidious Dominion" is the 11th full-length studio album by US death metal act Malevolent Creation. The album was released through Massacre Records in August 2010. I´m tempted to say "as usual" there are a couple of changes in the lineup since the last album as Gio Geraca has resplaced guitarist John Rubin and Gus Rios has replaced drummer Dave Culross. The Latter left to play for Suffocation. It doesn´t change much though as both are suitable replacements with the needed playing skills.
The music on the album is US death metal with a brutal thrashy edge and as such there´s nothing new under the sun compared to earlier releases by the band. It´s still like listening to a steroid pumped death metal version of Slayer. The return of lead vocalist Brett Hoffmann, on the predecessor "Doomsday X (2007)", boosted the band´s sound and they suddenly sounded more vital than they had done for years. That positive development is continued on "Invidious Dominion", which in many ways is the natural successor to "Doomsday X (2007)". The focus in the music is as always on relentless aggression and fast playing with Brett Hoffmann´s distinct and intelligible growls in front. He is one of those few growling vocalists on the scene with a completely distinct sound. Without him Malevolent Creation just aren´t the same.
The sound production is raw and powerful, the musicianship is strong and the songwriting effective too. "Invidious Dominion" is not quite as varied as "Doomsday X (2007)" and because of that just slightly less interesting than the predecessor, but still a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved. A great aggressive and energetic death metal album this one.