Malleus
Storm of Witchcraft
Blood Harvest
Interview by hutch
Boston’s Malleus self-released a tape in 2016. Blood Harvest
now resurrects the ornery seven tracks and commits this vile violation to tape,
CD, digital and, of course, vinyl, on October 25th. Answering by
email, The Hammer acknowledges an excitement of finally rereleasing Storms of Witchcraft. Blood Harvest has
been great. We were actually pretty familiar with Rodrigo from his punk label
Putrid Filth Conspiracy in the early 2000's. So when we made the connection
that he was behind Blood Harvest as well, we were pretty psyched. Feel like he
knows where we're coming from as far as our background and inspiration goes.”
Known professionally as The Hammer, the Malleus member
reminisces about the origins of the mysterious Boston trio. “At that time,
everyone we knew in the Boston punk scene was obsessed with Discharge and
really raw D-Beat. So, all these uninspiring dis-clone bands started popping up
everywhere which only fueled our discontent with the current state of punk. I
was absolutely obsessed with the Satanic
Rites tape (Hellhammer) and Discharge as well and decided that instead of
just doing another boring D-Beat band, I'd take my obsessions in a different
direction.”
That obsession spawned Storm
of Witchcraft. “We spent a few years writing, really pouring over every
little detail of the songs and trying to make the best possible demo we could.”
The Hammer’s reluctance to spew retreads of worn paths has resulted in a
classic release. Malleus’ sound embraces Discharge’s legacy of low-tuned sonic
exuberance with crushing riffs which summon Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and
Bathory. The Hammer takes pride in this release. “A lot of time and effort went
into making Storm of Witchcraft what
it is.”
The sound is brutal; low and gritty, but mixed and mastered
well. Clear, clamorous and, well, not shitty. Too many d-beat or black metal
bands think crappy production is a hallmark. I hate that antithetical thinking.
Be gnarly, be subversive – but still sound good. The production is thorough,
elevating each component while keeping the music raw and crusty. Hammer
reports, “We recorded with Chris Corry of Magic Circle at his practice space
and we had our friend Ryan (Side Two Studios) do the final mixing and
mastering. The whole thing took 2 days to record. We did the music on one day,
vocals on the next. CC was recommended to us by a mutual friend and although we
didn't know him personally at the time, we were familiar with him through
growing up in the same circle of the local punk scene. We did know that CC was
obsessed being able to emulate tone and capturing the same sound of bands from
the past so we thought he'd be able to nail early Hellhammer/Frost, and we
think he did with Storm of Witchcraft. We wanted to avoid a lo-fi sounding demo at
all costs but still come out with something that was abrasive, raw, and
energetic. The music itself is super riff-driven and we try to vary the tempo
as much as we can and all that would be completely lost if we decide to record
this with one mic and a 4-track.”
The opener, “Winds of Wrath / Ire” aurally depicts a
chilling wind, gathering intensity, leading to a panning of eerie sounds. This
two minute seduction is quickly interrupted by a crashing of a grinding riff,
punching and punching. The final minute of the “Ire” portion is a flogging
mid-paced riff that pounds away. “Blackened Skies” begins harkening an epic,
but quickly charges forward with purpose. A twisting, belligerent riff in the middle,
for the chorus, is malevolent and bold. While many have emulated the
aforementioned forefathers of black metal, Malleus has remarkable accuracy in
combining homage and originality. In a genre where the majority of ideas are
simply reworked executions of the masters, Malleus take the Discharge model and
apply it to the Satanic ferocity of Bathory and Hellhammer. Again, even I grow
weary of citing Tom G and Quorthon’s early work; pining to infuse a wider
reference spectrum. But these just fit so perfectly. The music is invigorating
in two ways. The pure spirit of the music but also the refreshing aspect of new
takes on this style.
Hammer advises when looking to forefathers to be sure to
inject one’s own fluid into the mix. And do it well. “Just keep the focus of
the band very specific rather than drawing from all these various sub genres
and convolute the sound and direction of the group. Nowadays, it's so easy for
anyone with a computer to record their own demo and everyone needs instant
gratification so instead of taking their time to create something worthwhile,
they rush into making a demo and posting it on the Internet. Then they complain
when it gets passed over and people move on to the next shitty demo.”
Besides the redundant riffs of d-beat clones, The Hammer
also complains of uninspired metal lyrics of vapid party anthems. “I would hope
that Storm of Witchcraft and anything
else Malleus does evokes more emotion or provokes deeper thought than just
wanting to party or get fucked up. If people can listen to our music and gain
some sort of enjoyment or satisfaction from it, that's great. But for us, metal
has always been more than the soundtrack to heavy drinking. As far as Storm of Witchcraft goes, It's obvious
that we take direct cues from the likes of Quorthon and Tom Warrior for our
sound but in the early 80's, bands basically had Overkill (Motorhead), Lightning
to the Nations (Diamond Head), and Hear
Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing (Discharge), and look what they came up
with so what can we do with those records? And that's always been our approach.
Just keep the focus of the band very specific rather than drawing from all
these various sub genres and convolute the sound and direction of the group.
Nowadays, it's so easy for anyone with a computer to record their own demo and
everyone needs instant gratification so instead of taking their time to create
something worthwhile, they rush into making a demo and posting it on the
Internet. Then they complain when it gets passed over and people move on to the
next shitty demo. A lot of time and effort went into making Storm of Witchcraft what it is.”
The Hammer reports Malleus’ plans to finally spread their
unholy gospel. They are embarking on their first tour of the West Coast with
Witchtrap from Colombia, whose 2015’s, Trap
the Witch, is equally carnivorous. They join Hirax, Xoth, and Witchhaven
for Seattle’s stacked Famine Fest, Day 1, Sept. 22nd. Hammer
continues, “We will support Merciless from Sweden on their only East Coast show
in Brooklyn on October 20th with Antichrist Siege Machine. February 16th,
(2018) we will be supporting Morbosidad and Blaspherian in Baltimore, MD.”
Other shows aren’t booked, but Malleus is ready to mesmerize when they do.
“We're going to continue to play anywhere people will have us. Hoping to get in
the studio again by this fall/winter to record a couple tracks for a 7
inch.”
The back to back tracks, “Demonology I” and “Demonology II”
combine to last over nine minutes. Part I drags through its parts in a true
Celtic Frost atmospheric sludge. Slow and ringing guitars set the pace. The
thunder rhythm section dutifully obliges within a few minutes. We then are
treated to a stomping bridge with a solid groove. Part II again delves into a
long strain of feedback before a speed-fueled riff propelled by unrelenting
drums. “The Wolf” follows the same pattern for its three minutes. “Act of
Faith” is a slower, heavier jam. The Celtic Frost vibe resurfaces, that same
tone and distinguished guitar sound CC extracted to emulate Tom G Warrior. The
low end and bass drums weigh in, boasting a sinister gravity to the track. The
imagery and lyrics all tie in with wolves and demons and faith.
Snarling all this demonic terminology, Malleus have a
platform to share their views. The Hammer is concise and candid. Again, The
Hammer eschews clichés and token references for an opportunity to expose his
deeper beliefs. “True evil doesn't actually exist. All people are slaves to
their needs and desires and only act in a way to satisfy them, even
"good" people. Altruistic
people are motivated by innate feelings of empathy in which they feel pain when
others suffer and feel good when others feel good. In the end, everyone is
motivated by internal selfish desires. If evil was only used to describe
actions that cause more harm than good, I could get behind it but too often
evil is just a word used to describe others whose actions conflict with one's
own. That being said, many groups such as Christians truly believe in evil so
the word can be useful if you're trying to antagonize them.”
