Review of the Album "the Ten Commandments" by Florida Death Metal Band Malevolent Creation

Malevolent Creation is a death metal band from Tampa, Florida that I would hear about back when I was in high school but I just started to browse their material. Their 1991 studio album called The Ten Commandments is their debut studio album and features the rough, yet raspy vocals of the late Brett Hoffman who passed away in 2018. We take another look at the debut album of one of the earliest Florida death metal bands. In terms of the song titles, they are similar to other extreme metal bands of that era such as Cannibal Corpse. But then again, that’s extreme metal for the fans.

"Memorial Arrangements" and "Premature Burial"

The album begins with the song called “Memorial Arrangements” as there is the sound of wind blowing plus the heavy, slow riffing. Premature Burial features the death metal growl of Brett Hoffman as lyrically, Malevolent Creation resembles Cannibal Corpse. How can someone be deceased before they are dead? Musically though, these guys resemble the band Death founded by the late Chuck Schuldiner and that’s a good thing because he was one of the finest guitar players of the entire Florida death metal scene. Even Malevolent Creation as a band is still better than bands such as Obituary that lacked anything impressive when I first analyzed them. Anyway, on the topic of this album The Ten Commandments, this is a decent start to this album. “Premature Burial” is one of those songs that really sees Brett Hoffman really showcase his death metal vocals. With his death in 2018, we lost one of the earliest and best death metal vocalists in Brett Hoffman. Near the end of the song, drummer Mark Simpson provides a solid finish!

Stylistically though, let’s give these guys credit for their technical skills and this sounds like music we would have heard from Individual Thought Patterns which would be released in 1993, not long after this album was released. There is a Chuck Schuldiner style growl from Brett in the song called “Impaled Existence.” The song lyrically paints an ominous picture as omens suggest that the end of the world is near. It is these kinds of apocalyptic lyrics that defined this time period and it is understandable because by this time, the world had witnessed a sort of battle between two economic powerhouses, the US and the then Soviet Union. “Injected Sufferage” lyrically is about living in a world ravaged by the AIDS virus.

Some of you may be wondering since this is the first album from these guys, are there any pros to this album? In terms of speed, decent drumming, and good death metal vocals, this album is not lacking in that way which is very good. Overall, “The Ten Commandments” is a good release and in terms of death metal albums I have heard better ones but I write this review with gratitude for the Southern US heavy metal scene! The drumming in some instances is impeccable! Upon analyzing The Ten Commandments in 2023, it is a better album than previously thought. The first song that builds up and there is narration about laying a man to rest that has perished. This sets the stage for what is to be a dark album but the solos and the drumming are what makes this album stand out. As Brett Hoffman says, “No one can destroy this malevolent creation.” It is rather interesting that they have a song on this album that is also the band’s name.