Invidious Dominion

"Made in the USA" are words that apply to only a minority of the death metal bands that have been active in the 21st century. Death metal has been seriously dominated by Europe (especially the Scandinavian countries) for a long time, and the days when death metal was closely identified with producer Scott Burns and all the bands in the Florida scene are long gone. But Malevolent Creation can honestly be described as the all-American death metal band. They first got together back in 1987 and celebrated their 23rd anniversary in 2010, when Invidious Dominion came out. Although Malevolent Creation have had numerous lineup changes, they haven't significantly altered their approach along the way (apart from becoming a bit more technical). And on Invidious Dominion, two of their early influences (Slayer and Death) remain after all these years. Malevolent Creation have not become Scandinavian-sounding; their death metal attack is still as American-sounding as it was when Scott Burns produced their first official full-length album, The Ten Commandments, back in 1991 (before that, all they recorded were demos). Clearly, they haven't mellowed with time; Malevolent Creation are characteristically bombastic throughout Invidious Dominion, which adheres to the take-no-prisoners policy they have had since the late '80s. No major surprises occur on sledgehammer tracks like "Compulsive Face Breaker," "Conflict Finalized," and "Antagonized," none of which are likely to win over anyone who isn't already a fan. But even so, Invidious Dominion offers a decent, if predictable, dose of thrashy bombast -- and you have to give Malevolent Creation credit for longevity. ~ Alex Henderson