PANZERCHRIST — Maleficium - Part 1 (review)

PANZERCHRIST — Maleficium - Part 1 album cover Album · 2024 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Maleficium - Part 1" is the ninth full-length studio album by Danish death metal act Panzerchrist. The album was released through Emanzipation Productions in December 2024. It´s the successor to "Last of a Kind" from July 2023, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the January 2024 "All Witches Shall Burn" EP. There has been one lineup change since "Last of a Kind" as drummer Danni Jelsgaard has been replaced by Ove Lungskov.

Stylistically the material on "Maleficium - Part 1" continue the blackened death metal style of "Last of a Kind", but with more focus on the death metal part of Panzerchrist´s sound. The snarling blackened vocals of lead vocalist Sonja Rosenlund Ahl still points in a black metal direction and there are riffs here and there which are also undeniably in the black metal camp, but "Maleficium - Part 1" is still predominantly a fast-paced, aggressive, and brutal death metal release (just with an added blackened edge). Behemoth´s early 00s albums are a valid reference, and if you remove most of the melodic leads and harmonies from the music of artists like Unanimated and Necrophobic (which of course you can´t really do, as they are pillars of the music of those artists), you´re in the vicinity of what you hear on "Maleficium - Part 1".

Panzerchrist successfully balance the different genre elements and create a sound of their own. It´s not a particularly unique sound, but the combination of brutal and fast-paced death metal (which occasionally takes me back to the early 00s releases by Panzerchrist) and more cold, aggressive, and at times even epic black metal works pretty well for them. Ahl´s vocals are also very well performed and adds a lot to the listening experience. She means business and there´s no doubt about it. The occasional use of eerie keyboard sections is quite nice for the variation of the album. "Weak Is The Flesh" is a good example of keyboards adding a lot of atmosphere.

"Maleficium - Part 1" features a raw, brutal, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. This is arguably a very well produced release. The high level musicianship and effective and memorable songwriting are definitely not negatives either and "Maleficium - Part 1" is upon conclusion a high quality release from Panzerchrist. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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