GuntherTheUndying on metal-archives.com said - There is no such thing as a band that can constantly create masterpiece after masterpiece without a bad release. No matter how strong a band starts out, they'll eventually run out of ideas and make something not up to par with their other releases. Malevolent Creation suffered from this painful reality back in 1993 when they released the disappointing "Stillborn" after receiving incredible feedback from their first two albums. The fans expected another grand Malevolent Creation disc, but what they got was a poorly produced CD with faults up the ass. The title of this album pretty much sums it up: Malevolent Creation tried to give birth to another fantastic record after releasing two legendary CDs, but it was a dead effort before it was born, if that makes sense.
Malevolent Creation's first two albums had brutality and power that tested the limits of death metal and redefined the genre, yet "Stillborn" is the exact opposite of that because of its generic nature and lack of creativity. The guitar work is just a lame collection of repetitive riffs with foreseeable changes and no technical elements whatsoever. There are usually two riffs for each song that switch at predictable intervals with an occasional slow part thrown in. Some of the solos are ok, but most of the guitar work on "Stillborn" is completely forgettable.
Alex Marquez's percussion is severely restricted here because half of his performance is just simple drum patterns. There are many parts of this album that have slow beats during fast riffing, which end up sounding out of place and disorganized. Marquez brings some satisfactory aspects when he lives up to his chaotic potential, but most of those moments are rare and don't come very often. It's rather painful knowing the musical effort here could have been great, but it's instead a poorly written LP with few good features.
This record is also cursed with ghastly production that sounds totally rundown and cheap. Brett Hoffmann's vocals are way too muzzled and distorted whilst his bandmates are shrouded with faded guitar volume with an unnecessary emphasis on the drumming. The loud percussion eclipses most of the riffing and it all just sounds like chaos (in a bad way, of course) when Hoffmann's growls enter the scene. To get a better picture of "Stillborn," just imagine "Retribution" with recycled music, distorted vocals, and awful sound quality.
Knowing the same band that created "The Ten Commandments" and "Retribution" was also responsible for this disaster is a tough pill to swallow. Just about everything else Malevolent Creation has done beats the crap out of "Stillborn," so unless you truly love this band, I suggest you stay away from this album.
God_of_Emptiness also said similar review on metal-archives.com - This is Malevolent Creation's third full lenght album, and the title pretty much says it all. Stillborn was actually the first MC album I ever heard, and I didn't completely realize how bad it was until I heard their classic sophomore release "Retribution".
Hearing a band say that the recording of an album was a bad experience is usually a bad omen, and this album proves that theory. Phil Fasciana himself told me they had a terrible time recording this album, and it shows in the music (Suffocation's Breeding the Spawn comes to mind).
You see, MC's first 2 albums ("The Ten Commandments" and "Retribution") were two frantic, savage slabs of thrashy death metal, with some crushing slower moments thrown in for good measure. This album, however, completely lacks that energetic, balls-to-the-wall feel that made those 2 albums so awesome. For one thing, the production is very weak and the songwriting is not much better. Some of the songs don't seem to go anywhere. The vocals are drenched in reverb, and they sound very muffled. It's painfully obvious that Brett Hoffman was not trying at all.
This album does have some bright spots, but they are few and far between. The first 3 songs are pretty decent and the leads are better than those on "Retribution", but other than that, I really can't think of anything positive to say about this album.
Bottom line, skip this one unless you're a die-hard fan.
Tracks
- Dominated Resurgency
- The Way Of All Flesh
- Dominion Of Terror
- Geared For Gain
- Stillborn
- Ordain The Hierarchy
- Carnivorous Misgivings
- Genetic Affliction
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Disciple Of Abhorrence
If you like the album, please buy it originally on their offical website/store.
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