Customer Reviews

The Will to Kill

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used to listen to Malevolent Creation when I was in high school, and thought they were really good. Intro to 2002, where after 2 years in Florida I become acquainted with Rob from Malevolent through my guitar player Jeff, and Rob lets me listen to "The Will to Kill" before it came out. I thought it was good then and now that I have a pressed copy it sounds even better. If you have the chance to see Malevolent, you will be impressed, I assure you. I just saw them in Orlando with Cannibal Corpse and you wouldn't believe how many people were there, heavy music is making a comeback for sure in the States. The new vocalist has a different style and register than Brett so it may take some getting used to for some people. For me, he fits right in there, and I honestly think his voice is stronger anyway. Their new drummer is also solid. To give credit where it's due of course you have to say that Cullross is impossibly good, but it is so hard to find people who can play this stuff, and DiPinto is there. You also cannot overlook living legend James Murphy's contribution in "Assassin Squad", two of the best solos I've ever heard, period. Let's all hope he gets well. Go out and buy this album, and go see Malevolent Creation, support one of the bands who are still true to the ultimate brutality of the heavy music underground. Thats it.

The loss of Hoffman and Culross on this album clearly makes for a different listen than traditional MC releases, hence this album should really be looked at as its own entity separate from previous MC releases (like, say, their devastating previous album "Envenomed").

With that said, this album is truly fantastic when taken in its own right. The technicality has been turned down ever so slightly from what the typical MC fan may be used to, but that really does not take away from the feeling and groove of this disc. For those of you not familiar with Kyle Symons's vocals, they sound exactly like what you would get if you crossed Max Cavalera (circa his "Chaos AD" days w/ Sepultura) and the vocalist from Pro-Pain. Personally, I think Kyle's vocals are awesome, despite the fact that they sound a little more standard as some other reviewers have noted.

Another absolutely wonderful part about this CD is the blast beats. The drum production on this album is terrific (at least in my opinion), and they REALLY mic-ed up the double-bass so it pounds your chest (as opposed to say, the drum production on Krisiun's "Ageless Venomous" where the drumming was phenomenal, but the double-bass hardly sounded, or felt for that matter, any different from the snare). The blast beats and drumming on this album aren't incredibly diverse or rich when compared to someone like Tony Laureano of Angel Corpse/Nile fame, but they pound so hard & fast any metalhead will just have to love 'em. (On a side note, if the blast beats here were put on Bloodbath's "Resurrection Through Carnage" album, it'd be nearly the best album of 2002. However, since that disc only has maybe 2 songs with remotely decent blasts, I think that even this new MC release suprasses "Resurrection Through Carnage". See my review on that album to understand my issues with Dan Swano's drumming!)

If I had to pick contemporary influences/comparisons for this album, I'd say it's close to what you'd get if you crossed Arch Enemy's "Wages of Sin" with Slayer's "God Hates Us All", and made the musicianship tighter than either of those albums. Even though this new release by Malevolent Creation is much different than when they had Hoffman & Culross, this is still a solid, excellent release and you should really check it out (at least listen to the samples!). All tracks on here are great, but 'All That Remains', 'With Murderous Precision' and 'Rebirth of Terror'are my faves.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars, but only when looked at as separate from other MC releases. Check this out!

I honestly thought I would hate the new album when Kyle Symmons joined this band. Reason being because I can't stand Hate Plow (his "other" band). Hate Plow is a generic death metal act, but "The Will to Kill" is not.

Malevolent Creation somehow topped the brutality of "Envenomed" with this release. It is a drum and guitar inferno from beginning to end. Also, although I would really prefer Bret Hoffman (MC's degenerate,...addict former vocalist), Symmons fits in nicely. (I think it's because they turned down his vox--unlike in Hate Plow, where his voice grates the ears throughout.)

I probably wouldn't have given this as many stars had it not been Malevolent Creation, but I cannot deny the energy and power of this release.

BTW: If you don't have Envenomed, go buy that. It is better than this simply because of the vocals. Nevertheless, this album shines in its own right...

Even though the "Will to Kill" starts off with the thunderous title track, this album mirrors the previous period in the mid-90s where the albums were without Brett Hoffmann. Kyle Symons from Hate Plow replaces Hoffmann on vocals. No Dave Culross which is maybe an even bigger loss for the band since he's a great drummer. The only lineup from the early 90s MC is Rob Barrett and the only constant on any MC release, Phil Fasciana.

Despite using the gory cover to real people into listening to this release, a common trick used amongst Death Metal bands to sometimes hide an inferior product, "The Will to Kill" has it's moments. The title track, "Lifeblood", "Rebirth of Terror", and "Divide and Conquer" are all listenable and better than most of the younger generation of Death Metal bands that started around this time, but compared to earlier or later MC work...it just doesn't hold up. The riffs are bland, Symons vocals are flat and don't project, the drumming is mostly bland and just keeps the time by thrashing along. This album doesn't have the vision or intensity of yesteryears "Envenomed" and certainly nowhere near as good as "Retribution" or the debut album.

Easily one of the two worst MC creation albums.

By far, Malevolent Creation's best release in recent years. Imagine a much more brutal In Cold Blood, and this is what you have. They do nothing to elaborate on their music except make it interesting this time. There's really nothing else to say because this album is just really that good.

this cd features the band's best produced and mixed work they've ever done and its a shame it does not capture the band at their best. "the will to kill" marks new vocalist kyle symons' contibution to malevolent creation. the result is a rather generic performance, both vocally and lyrically. suffering from the loss of two key members vocalist brett hoffman and drummer dave culross, "the will to kill" is simply a quality malevolent creation release that fails to prevail as the next step malevolent fans may have been expecting and here's why.
the vocals and lyrics are way too simple. a lot of the time the vocal lines just follow the guitar lines which in my mind shows a lack of ability. the voice itself sounds a lot like vocalists in other death metal bands that failed to ever make a dent in the scene. in other words, it is just a death metal voice, with no added effort, agony or attempt at individulality. kyle's lyrics do not reflect or uphold the former ability of original vocalist brett hoffman, who was fired from the band yet again due to massive drug abuse.
musically, the cd shreds. rob barett and phil fasciana are tighter than they have ever been on cd, despite the fact that the drummer is a little sloppy. an added bonus to the cd is a solo by legendary lead guitarist james murphy on the track "asassin squad". this is a four star cd and a great malevolent creation release, however "envenomed" still reigns supreme as the band's masterpiece and their best album overall.

Even though there aren't many reviews to go by with Malevolent Creation's 2002 effort "The Will to Kill" I was a bit surprised by the album getting the high praise that it did, as I think this might be the weakest album in Malevolent's catalog, including the new release (2007) Doomsday X. If you enjoyed Malevolent's first three albums and hated "In cold Blood" and "Envenomed" then you will I think you will dispise "The WIll to Kill" as it sounds more like those albums, but its just a bit to repetive with some really corny lyrics (f**k with bull, you will get the horns, sounds like something that should belong in a Hatebreed or other lame Metalcore band) and "Will to Kill" does seem to have some elements of Metalcore here, which kill it even more. (Please note that this is Kyle's first album and Brett and Jason arent present here on vocal) Out of 11 tracks, only four seem to stand out as different and really kick you in the teeth like Malevolent usually does. The best tracks here are Pillage and Burn, WIth Murderous Precision, Suprior Firepower,and Divide and Conquer.One other track "Burnt Beyond Recognition" could is passable, but the only real good part is toward the end with a decent guitar solo.. The rest of the songs really suck and seem more metalcore and un-Malevolent like. Maybe its just me but Its up to you to purchase this and see if it will become part of your daily rotation either in your changer or in your MP3 player, but I give fair warning that this isnt the best that Malevolent has to offer, so dont be dissapointed if you find this a wee below average as I did, and maybe just a hint of Metal-core for this band is a bad thing (does anyone else here elements of this either..please comment..)

I was kind of bummed out when Malevolent Creation booted Brett Hoffman again, but realistically, you can't have someone around with those problems. I won't state them here, research them if you really want to know.
Kyle definately has a different vocal flavor, but it fits in perfectly with this album. The writing style has gotten more technical and I believe this was the next logical step for MC. Envenomed was my favorite release until this one came out. Right from the beginning you have a break neck pace that stays consistent throughout the album. I can't believe MC is still improving after all this time, but I couldn't be happier.
I saw them live and they are still putting on killer shows! The best death metal performance I've seen yet was weilded by these masters and I know they won't let up soon. Even the loss of Dave Culross couldn't slow them down. And if that doesn't, I don't know what will.
This album is just brutal from start to finish and every song on it is tighter than the last.
Any death metal fan should have this thing. Any other metal fan can learn a lot from this album. And I don't give a sh** about any other type of music fan. They probably couldn't comprehend the raw power behind this.

Like some of the other reviews before me I didn't think I would like Kyle Symons on vocals (new singer) But he does work with this band.......he's no Bret Hoffman..........but he is good. Rob and Phil sound devistating.....their riffs are so d*mn tight. And the new drummer is very good to. They have suffered from the loss of Dave (the man) Culros......but who wouldn't suffer from the loss of such genius. This album grew on me with time. If your looking for a first or second MC album then get Envenomed.(one of my all time favs) In closing, I believe you should give a new line-up at least a second album chance to get comfortable with the other guys. Just know that phil would not have chose these guys unless they were top notch.

If you read my review on Malevolent's previous album 'Envenomed,' then you obviously know how I feel about this one. There's no doubt that this is one of the band's best, and like 'Envenomed,' everything is perfect on this CD for an extreme metal album! The one thing that I like most though is the drum work, it's absolutely INCREDIBLE!! The drumming is like a jack hammer going rampant in your head & it's just so clear & precise like all metal albums should have the drums recorded, but not always are. Oh, and as for the "Brett Hoffman's not in the band so I don't like it" people, get a life! You don't know what you are missing!