Malice Divine is ready to release its second album.
Created in 2019 by Canadian musician Ric Galvez (vocals/guitar/bass, ex-Astaroth Incarnate), the project unveils its first album in 2021. Everlasting Ascendency, its successor, is announced for 2023, accompanied again by drummer Dylan Gowan (Hallows Die, Vesperia).
The album opens with Silenced Judgement, an incisive composition which pays tribute to the great names of Melodic Black Metal, complemented by raw and visceral vocal parts. High tempo helps the track to fuel its aggressive and catchy atmosphere just like on Apparitions Of Conquest and its majestic atmosphere which takes advantage of hellish leads to reveal all its rage while cultivating a rather Old School approach of this sharp darkness. The track is long, and it allows a few accelerations to let technicality speak, followed by a soothing break which leads us to Usurping The Paragon and its aggressive melodies. Leads perfectly fit into the martial basis as well as Thrash influences completed by darkness, followed by At One With Infinity which takes the same approach but with a slightly melancholic and hypnotic touch towards the end of the track, led by piercing leads. Parasitic Demons adopts Death Metal roots to let Black Metal’s dissonant darkness express itself before calming down, then going full speed ahead to lead us to Reclaimed Strength and its melancholic introduction. We’ll find this moody touch again when the riffs pick speed up, accompanied by raucous screams with Norwegian influences, followed by the disturbing Illusions Of Fragmentation which will offer fierce parts creating a contrast with the softest and most soothing parts of the album, which will end with Everlasting Ascendancy, the last composition which returns to pure aggressiveness. Sharp riffs launched at full speed also welcome some piercing leads between two waves of vindictive screams, but silence will slowly overcome the storm.
Malice Divine expresses itself through Old School riffs borrowed from Scandinavian legends, making Everlasting Ascendency an essential album to continue the journey with icy and epic tonalities.
85/100