Malefactor "Sixth Legion" CD (Bonustracks)

6th full lentgh of this epic/melodic death metal band from Brazil. Re-issue for Europe with 2 bonus tracks in standard jewel case CD

Melodic death metal for fans of Amon Amarth! Including a cover version of 'Down at the Valley of the Great Encounter' of Greek death metal legends Horrified! Limited edition including 2 bonus tracks, one of them is 'War Pigs' of Black Sabbath!

Malefactor's trademark blend of sandblasting melodic death metal and epic sensibilities continues on Sixth Legion, which seemingly came out of nowhere even factoring in the band's generally-undeserved obscurity. Experimental guile is never at a premium with these Brazilians, and to pinpoint their recent sound, it feels strikingly similar to some eccentric fusion of mid-era Amon Amarth churning virulence and Stormlord's keener sense of reserved bombast. Malefactor in general prefers to approach their blend of death metal from a variety of avenues, and it tends to work out in their favor by giving albums like Anvil of Crom more lasting power on the whole. Musically, the biggest improvement on Sixth Legion concerns the drums. Thiago Nogueira really gives the band more stable footing atop which to build their murky tremolo barrage. Production is... interesting, with a guitar sound that totally fucking nails that mid-era Amon Amarth condensed, soupy grit when the tremolos are cooking. Conversely, it sounds somewhat thin during regular, choppier riffing patterns, so there is an obvious tradeoff there. Malefactor get quite fucking heavy at times on this album, perhaps heavier than ever, but there is something rather wanting regarding the melodic constituent. Coimbra's riff constructions feel somewhat exposed without many keyboards or other distractions to share the spotlight. A lot of Sixth Legion feels like passable, occasionally experimentally inveigling background-type music for the style.
Vlad's vocals continue to prove he deserves more attention. As usual, he attempts many different styles, but I must single out his singing voice, which is surprisingly emotive and capable. More of that, please. Otherwise, it's a fairly standard, intelligible death metal bellow, but I found the shrieking he attempts on "Counting the Corpses" extremely distracting and unwanted. With a superior riffset behind him, perhaps his few deficiencies would be easier to gloss over. The historically-tinged lyrics read almost like Behemoth-lite, name-dropping deities and citing a heaping of historical buzzwords. Not especially deep, but welcome. Regarding individual songs, "The Styx River" features more clean vocals and is a decent breather, and "Counting the Corpses" has some monolithic riffs, but I'm finding a lot of the guitar melodies forgettable.
So Sixth Legion is clearly a step down from Anvil of Crom. If Malefactor could take better advantage of the surprisingly capable musicians under their wings, they could possibly surpass their earlier high-water mark. Keeping this all in mind, the album still has some cool moments, just not enough to warrant an overt recommendation for the band like I have in the past. It's just okay.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...