With an opening track as powerful and uncompromising as Remain Unbeaten, Sheffield bruisers Malevolence certainly aren’t lacking in confidence on their new E.P The Other Side. And why would they be when it’s this damn good? In their near 10 year lifespan, the steel city 5 piece have carved themselves a nice little niche in a massively  overcrowded metal-core scene, combining riffs that NOLA legend Jimmy Bower wishes he’d written with the beatdown sensibilities pioneered by the likes of Knuckledust.

There are moments on The Other Side that bring to mind Ride the Lightning, the spirit of which Malevolence capture and channel in Remain Unbeaten. A beautiful piece of guitar work breaks down into an absolute juggernaut of a riff that will send those crowd killing kids into a frenzy of anti-social pit moves when we are allowed to go back to gigs. Roping in current scene darling Bryan Garris from Knocked Loose, for some vocal work on Keep Your Distance will do them absolutely no harm either. The dual vocal team take turns on the mic on a bouncy number that has more relevance than probably intended in these strange times we find ourselves in. If you were looking for further proof of those NOLA influences then look no further than the epic that is The Other Side. More of that Hammett note picking brings in a huge Crowbar size dose of brooding while vocalist Alex Taylor demonstrates that he brings more than pure aggression to the table.

Three absolutely solid tracks that showcase exactly what Malevolence are about and just why we should be excited about their future output.  When we look back, in twenty years’ time on the current crop of heavy bands out there, spearheaded by the likes of Malevolence, we’re going to recognise this as the time when proper heavy music reached up and finally grabbed that brass ring.  For anyone who might be worried about the future of our beloved genre looking for the next big thing in metal. Look no further. Malevolence have arrived… Chris Andrews