If you play the third record from Sheffield, U.K.-based metalcore act Malevolence on a road trip, the rearview mirror warning will suddenly change to, “Band might be more sensitive than they appear.” Given the earth-shattering brutality and stadium-sized hooks on display throughout Malicious Intent, out May 20 via Nuclear Blast, you’d be forgiven if you thought the band were a bunch of tough guys. However, the band’s most earnest, most progressive, and easily their best album yet reveals a stunning blend of emotion and positivity.
While longtime fans of the band may not be totally surprised at the shift from the more expected demonology and bravado-based lyrics to inspiration, but for vocalist Alex Taylor, the shift was all part of Malevolence’s necessary evolution.“I mean, for example, it is a stark contrast. But the first album, there was a lot of, if I’m being brutally honest, lyrics that didn’t really mean that much. It’s like demons and souls, kind of what (we felt) you’re expected to sing about in a metal band. And we wrote the songs, like, 11 years ago now. I’m 28 now, so I don’t want to sing about (that) anymore. I want to speak about things that affect my life. For example, men’s mental health. That was a big thing that I wanted to touch on with this album which I’ve not really touched on before.”Malicious Intent takes frustration and turns them into being a better person, having malicious intent to destroy those negative feelings. It’s about taking a negative attribute like malice and putting it on an empowerment kick. Taylor concurs and expands:
“I want to be at the forefront of the bands that have something to say, that are motivating kids to go out and have a better day, smash their goals, do something that’s positive. While it’s heavy, and it’s screaming, and aggressive, I want to put that positive aggression out into the world. And from the EP, when I wrote ‘Remain Unbeaten,’ that’s still one of my favorite songs lyrically. When we released that song, I think it was four or five months into the first lockdown. And I feel like there was a lot of fear around at that time. So that song kind of coincided purposely with that general feeling of fear in society. And I think that resonated with a lot of people. I want to inspire people, motivate people, and all within a solid heavy metal album. You know what I mean? We’ve always been a band that’s pushed that positivity. So yeah, I want to keep doing that.”
Aside from the broad positivity, what is Taylor hoping people take out of Malevolence as an entity, as it relates to men’s mental health?
“I’ll start right off by saying when it comes to mental health, I’ve never been an expert. I can only speak on my personal experiences. I first started talking about men’s mental health last summer at the first festivals that we played after the lockdown. What motivated me to start talking about it was the number of friends that we’d lost to suicide during the pandemic. I feel like, obviously, it’s such a huge thing right now. No matter what social circle you go into, someone knows someone who’s taken their own life or not even just gone that far, just struggles with their mental health. When we first sat down by those shows, I (told the band that) I wouldn’t feel right going out to play these shows and not acknowledging the fact that we’ve lost a lot of our friends this year.”
“There were friends and families of those people in the crowds,” Taylor adds, “so it just felt right. I found that the more I actually spoke about it and put out that message that it’s OK to talk to the people around you, and it’sOK to not feel OK and speak up, the more people around me that are not even friends and family, but people on Instagram, on Twitter reached out that it spoke to them.”
He pauses for a second and adds this on reflection: “I want to break down the walls people have built for themselves. I feel like for a band like Malevolence, who’ve definitely been guilty of the whole macho, tough-guy thing. We’ve come across a certain way on the inside on YouTube, and just because we are in a band, come across a certain way on internet, it doesn’t mean that we’re any different from anyone else. But really and truly, it was just kind of one of those things where I felt like it was right to say my experiences and say what I needed to say. The fact that it kind of resonated with so many people just shows the fact that a band like Malevolence coming out and saying it, and ourselves coming out and talking about it, is a positive thing. And if I say one thing that inspires someone or just makes someone talk up about their struggles, then that’s a good thing.”Part of that positivity comes with enjoying the ride when you can. Taylor reflects on a particularly impactful moment at a recent show:
“I remember being still on a stage in Australia, just before the pandemic started. We were playing in Sydney, and it was chaos, like, there was kids jumping off of speakers, it’s like, singing along, everything. Just a crazy show. I just remember standing in the middle of the stage, just smiling, like, this is crazy. Like shit, the concept of screaming has taken me to the other side of the world, and these kids are risking their own lives to do a front flip over a speaker stack to our music. That’s just so weird, man. And it’s hilarious, but it’s sick at the same time. You’ve got to smile, and then you got to enjoy it.”
Watch the video for “Still Waters Run Deep” here:
For more from Malevolence, find them on Facebook, Instagram, and their official website.
Photo courtesy of Nat Wood
