Deformatory is a band that caught my eye a few years ago, as their debut album, In the Wake of Pestilence, was a must-buy brutal death album the minute I heard it.  For the first LP in a band’s career, that one far exceeded expectations.  So when I heard that they were coming out with a new album it definitely piqued my interest.  On this new output, the band has opted to go for more of a slammy tech-death (or STD for short… wait… did I just create a new genre or an acronym that will never catch on in the metal world?!?) sort of sound for their sophomore effort.

One could make the case that there is something in the water in Canada, as there is no shortage of phenomenal death metal that comes from our neighbors to the north.  From Cryptopsy, to Gorguts, to Kataklysm, to recent up and comers Archspire, Deformatory has made no secret of the fact that they are here to run with the big dogs.  On Malediction they prove that they definitely have the chops, but they do creep dangerously close to the “clinical” side of things.  First off are the drums, which I swore were programmed before I re-looked up the band info to confirm it was in fact a human drummer.  I despise albums with a drum machine and have no issue with triggers and a solid production, but the drums here are way too overproduced (though not quite as bad as Ingested’s Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering, still the worst typewriter drums I have ever heard).

The guitar work is pretty damn awesome, courtesy of Dan Rogers and Charlie Leduc, who also handles the vocals.  His death bellow fits the music very well, and never gets old or tired.  Each song has some swingin’ groovy sections, and a nice guitar solo thrown in for good measure.  A solid production, courtesy of Dan Rogers at From The Frost Audio in Ottawa, really helps the music here, especially with so much going on.

The inspiration for the album is pretty damn cool as well, with Malediction as the first installment in a series of concept albums revolving around Saväel, the creator of Darkness, and the original source of pure evil. In Malediction, the story follows the discovery of the sacred incantation text, his re-awakening, and the subsequent obliteration of the Light, the Heavens, and all remnants of humanity.  Definitely beats the whole murder-death-gore unholy trio of death metal songwriting.  Can’t say as I’ll be buying this one, but a very solid start to 2016 nonetheless.

[Visit the band's website]

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