Malevolent Creation : " the 13th Beast"

Guitarist Phil Fasciana is the only original member. This band has had a rotating cast for so long it almost is a mute point. The opening song kicks a lot of ass so it makes this more forgivable. But most extreme metal bands can get that reaction out of me on the first which can grab my attention on sheer heaviness alone as long as it's well done. After that the novelty wears off and finds me asking  "What More Can You do? "

This might make you ask " Well what more do you want from a death metal band". The answer is this

I want all genres of music to give me the same things, dynamics, songs that make me want to come back for more, along with sonic intensity and darkness. On the second song they make more of an attempt at this than many band of their ilk , yet they have the kind of single minded aggressive streak that tend to befall most death metal bands and is even more pronounced on "Agony For the Chosen". This begins to color things with a one dimensional monochrome sound. Some people might be into the simple things. Some people also sniff glue in trailer parks. They are however good at coloring with this one shade of angry red.

I understand the need for fans of any genre to have enough familiar elements in order to give you what you are looking for, but at what point do you say"Wait, Haven't I already heard this before. I am not asking bands to re-invent the wheel. I am asking them to show me who they are and what sets them apart.  There guys do get further than some, because they are so good at what they do. With only one original member it's not all due to experience. They slow down enough to find a groove for "Born of Pain" . It's when they rely on speed that the song writing feels less inspired . They are in better form when they give some accented punches and things to help distinguish the songs. Once we get to "The Beast Awakened" it all begins to become a blur of  run of the mill death metal riffs . This is mainly due to their unrestrained need for speed. "But death metal is supposed to be fast " you say.
But at the risk of every song beginning to sound the same ? It begins to get obnoxious by the time we get to "Knife At Die" , until they slow things down for a second, but rather than take the song in a cool direction they revert back to fast for the sake of fast.

The guitar cuts like razors and the drums are powerful and precise, but that is what death metal is supposed to be about and brings nothing new to the table in this regard. They slow down going into "Release the Soul" .When they bring more thrash influence to the table they are more effective. Slowing down to allow you to breath it in is a good call. If you are a fan of this band maybe you are content with heavy for the sake of heavy. I'll round this down to a 7.5 as their is a good chunk of this that sounds the same despite the excellence of execution, which offer only meager shreds of inspiration.