Mala In Se

L'épiderme suinte la matraque. Gardien et victime de l'abattoir, Mala In Se construit de ses propres mains et fournit les coups de bâtons. Pas entendu une telle boucherie hallucinée depuis Today is the Day quand il est au mieux de sa maladie. Un trio fraîchement débarqué de Cincinnati dans l'Ohio, détruisant les codes du metal avec une ferveur, un acharnement hystérique, une anarchie contagieuse pas ressenti depuis la bande de Steve Austin et son regard de sadique. Le résultat possède sa propre marque mais les intentions sont identiques. Vous faire perdre les sens, vous broyer, vous lacérer la chair. De la musique diabolique. C'est psychédéliquement pervers, sauvage, cru et complexe. L'art de pervertir les bases metal et hardcore, à la manière des morceaux les plus evil de Converge mais en rajoutant encore une couche de détraquement et de sulfureux, parsemant les morceaux de samples qui ne sont pas que de simples bouche-trous mais participent à l'élaboration de climats terrifiants. Ca blaste de tous les cotés, ça vous fige dans l'élan comme un méchant coït-interruptus pour partir dans une direction inattendue (Devil's Dung). Les deux chants du bassiste et du guitariste hurlent à la lune, accordent leurs violons le temps d'un Disease Auction démoniaquement accrocheur, rappelant la folie d'un In/Humanity. A chaque écoute, vous découvrez de nouvelles sonorités, des percussions, des riffs de guitares encore plus barrés, vous happant encore plus profondément dans les entrailles de la bête comme les sept minutes d'anthologie de Line On, aussi lyrique que cauchemardesque. Les presque neuf minutes finales de Outro, long titre instrumental, pourraient presque permettre de respirer si l'ambiance ne se révélait pas si flippante et tordue. Mais ce n'est toujours pas la fin. Le téléchargement de cet album permet un rab de deux titres supplémentaires qui ne sont pas sur le CD, montrant une fois de plus que Mala In Se est loin d'être un groupe metal comme les autres. Leur champ d'investigation sonore est multiple, heurtant de plein fouet la sphère noise-rock avec un Conjoin et Five Percent plus mesuré dans le rythme, savamment torturé et viscéralement prenant. Un disque dingue. C'était totalement inattendu et c'est pour ça que c'est encore meilleur.

SKX (25/06/2011)
- Perte Et Fracas (France)

Wonderful, shouty stuff that packs just enough melody to be utterly catchy. Kinda like Knife the Symphony. Oh, wait, Andy Perkins plays guitar (etc.) for both.

I don't know if that's the entire point of similarity, but Perkins's driving riffage (to repeat from the last review, pleasantly reminiscent of Kepone) keeps these songs from descending completely into the sludge.

And boy, things do get heavy from time to time. Nonetheless, the tempo generally stays brisk. Don't know if the boys get bored easily, but these songs move along with aplomb.

Also like KTS, this band does sound like it is a bit of a time warp. One that I wholeheartedly endorse, but then, I'm a certified geezer. In any case, this rocks. Hard. Very hard.

- Aiding And Abetting

Mala In Se, Latin for 'evil' or 'wrong itself', are a crushingly dark powerhouse metal band from Ohio who sprinkle their chugging, ten ton hammer heavy riffs with a dash of punk rawness and oddball yelped vocals.

This, their self-titled debut, is a perfectly loud and abrasive introduction to their sound and should grab any fan of High On Fire-esque guitar mangling or Primus-style wackiness by the throat and pull them into their lair without any trouble at all. Macabre titled opener 'Time Lapse Photography of Decomposing Animals' sets proceedings rolling with slabs of boulder-heavy riffage at a pace faster than a pack of rabid wolves and it doesn't let up for the rest of the album save for sudden ominous passages of eerie post-rock, best demonstrated on closer Outro, that give their sound an interesting tension. Disease Auction is a standout and the punkiest track on the album, comprising spiky riffs and bile-dripping gang vocals alongside a lurchingly heavy riff, although this is certainly not an album that focuses on lyrics or vocals, you can truly hear the anger pouring out of the speakers throughout the track's entirety. Elsewhere, Lie On allows a 'Blackwater Park'-era Opeth influence to be heard with its twisting guitars and carefully paced drums bringing in elements of a black metal-tinged prog and Portions for Trade comes forward as the stand-out track with its bendy guitar line bringing in a sudden but very welcome sense of melody.

This is a rarity however and the album often ventures into the realms of noise-rock being evidently designed to crush as opposed to resonate with its audience. In a way this is where criticism arises in that, at times, it can become almost heavy for the sake of being heavy and thus meanders slightly, equally the band's sound is occasionally similar to Norway's Kvelertak, another up and coming band, who perform such a sound with much more skill, diversity and accessibility. That considered though, this is still nasty and unrelenting stuff and shows potential to solidly join the ranks of the sludgier powerhouse side to metal in time to come.
- Room Thirteen

Mala in Se is this metal punk noise outfit from Cincinnati, Ohio which could be art if you consider huge cannon like nailguns something you’d want to hang in a audio gallery. This is what the music sounds like. Have no fear for a trio they sound like 10 men battling to an epic death with their guitars on fire on Phratry Records. If you like the boredoms you surely will pick up on the strangeness of music that Mala in Se sculp. Not sure what the hell the band name means but they do their thing fast too with classic thrash style tweeps and twerp notes that will fuck with the sense of what you think your inner metal actually is. Decide for yourself but enter exposition at your own risk.

- Review Stalker

The latest Hard Hitters from the tri-state area (MALA IN SE) will soon be releasing this debut CD with help from local PHRATRY RECORDS that has been putting out the goods for quite some time now, but this might be the most brutal disc I have heard to date. This one takes things to a whole other level. There is nothing that even comes close to this band. Take Speedmetal and make it faster, Screamo and make it louder and combine as many instruments into the mix as you can imagine...and you still wouldn't be close. This is Level 12 on a scale 1 to 10.
Check out this band and Judge for yourselves...and wait for the release. Dave Fishwick
- Neus Subjex

Dark, strident, and confrontational, Mala In Se take the animosity of metal and integrate elements of avant-garde noise, pained vocals, and even jazzy time sequences to create a disturbing listening experience that is impossible to ignore. Despite only a trio, eighteen different instruments are on display here by my count, but my math is terrible so I’m probably too low, including zills, ebow, and banjo. Consider this for a moment: a dense, metallic assault, relentless in its intensity that is accented by…banjo! This band is in a world unto themselves, and while the influences are many, the final product is entirely original. The magnificently titled opener, “Time Lapse Photography of Decomposing Animals” highlights the band’s bombastic talents, while “Devil’s Dung” and the particularly piercing “Portions for Trade” are schizophrenic bursts of controlled chaos. Vocalist Joseph Thompson’s wails with the urgency of a torture victim, spewing forth his lyrics with vitriolic anguish while still delivering a limitless collection of sophisticated, highly technical riffs. Accompanying him are the incredibly gifted Andy Perkins and Keith Leeds. Both help to provide a tableau of power behind Thompson, shifting time and tempo with dizzying prowess. “Stay Afloat” is a prime example of this staggering skill, as the band blends the best elements of hardcore, metal, and post-punk into a swirling beast of an effort. However, this is not blind fury-Mala In Se deliver violence with a supreme sense of style. Even the closing ambient “Outro” is engrossing as it concludes the disc on an ominous note. This is brilliant.

- Jersey Beat

Spotlight Band: Mala In Se
Locality: Cincinnati, OH
Current Release: Self-Titled on Phratry Records
FFO: Lightning Bolt, High on Fire

Blow The Scene Spotlight Band Q & As re-launch this week! Straightforward feature that gives readers a quick skinny on up-and-coming bands from around the world in their own words. Bands featured in our Spotlight section are those that have contacted us and we decided to pass on to you lovely readers, or were perhaps refereed to us, or even bands we hand select. Today we feature Cincinnati’s experimental metallic rockers Mala In Se. If you dig the high-energy experimental sounds of Lighting Bolt or the multi-genre approaches of bands like High on Fire, give these guys a spin.

Joshua BTS: Tell us, What is Mala In Se and who are the key players?

Andy Perkins: Mala In Se (wrongs in themselves; acts morally wrong; offenses against conscience) is a three piece experimental metal, noise, post-punk band from Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky. We get called a lot of different things. You be the judge. Danny McPherson-drums, Joseph Thompson-guitar, vocals, percussion. samples and, myself, Andy Perkins-guitar, bass, vocals, samples.

Joshua BTS: Mala In Se just released a new full-length. Give us the skinny. Where and when did you record? Any unique or particularly special pieces of equipment you guys are implementing with your sound?

Andy Perkins: The new album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Joe and I in our personal studio, for better of for worse! We started this in late 2009 and of course when you record yourself, it takes way too long. Basic tracks were done in a few weeks and the remainder of the year was overdubbing and mixing. We wanted a balance of a very raw, aggressive sound mixed with our layered, indie, atmospheric side. We try to reproduce these layers with samplers, handheld cassette players, and auxiliary percussion. Oh, and a ton of guitar pedals. We’re very busy onstage! Secret weapons are our alternate tuning and Andy’s 1964 Danelectro double neck guitar/bass. It has a very unique tone and just roars through the speakers.

Joshua BTS: These are some interesting songs. Tell us about them. What does your writing process look like?

Andy Perkins: We have a lot of influences. Hopefully they’re not too apparent. We really set out to define our own sound, although it happens pretty organically without too much thought. We work hard on keeping things fresh for ourselves and the listener. The writing process is varied. We’re in the middle of another batch of new songs. Sometimes ideas have been floating around for months or even years, just waiting for the puzzle pieces to fit. Other times songs are born out of improvisations and we’ll try to get back to that essence of the first time you play something. We record a lot of these moments and try to extract what we think works. So we have a left brain, right brain, no brain approach I’d say.

Joshua BTS: What are some of the lyrical focuses on the new record?

Andy Perkins: Lyrics are all over the map. We try to stay open as a band and not focus on one aspect of life. Joe and I both write lyrics so songs can be very different. Joe tends to write more objectively from a third person point of view and I write from a more internal, first person style. That being said there are no rules. On this particular album we cover topics such as the great (and current) depression, apocalyptic environmentalism, animal testing / cruelty, black market organ trading, serial killer thought processes, and boredom induced self-realization.

Joshua BTS: Where can fans expect to see you playing in the coming months?

Andy Perkins: You can see us regionally around the Cincinnati, OH area and on tour this summer around the midwest and east coast. People, let us know if you want us to play your town!

Joshua BTS: Where is the best place for fans to keep up with your current and future endeavors?

Andy Perkins: Go to www.malainse.com for all things Mala In Se. You can link up to our Facebook, Bandcamp, myspace, Reverbnation, all that good stuff from there. Also check out our label www.phratryrecords.com for more info.

Thanks for talking with us!

- Blow The Scene

Mala In Se's self titled album is punishing directly from the start. Their eclectic blend of sludge/hardcore will take you on a musical journey, grinding you through an intense, chaotic battlefield of sounds, and then suddenly drop you off into a swirling, ambient trip through the cosmos of your own mind, all while maintaining a down to earth, punky feeling to it the whole way through. Basically, the songs remain fresh and continually growing without going over the top, unlike many of their musical peers. Definitely worth a listen, and it even comes packaged with a free 2 song EP not originally conjoined with the album. Enjoy!


- the Hitchhiker's Guide To Downloading Music

These kids plant their flag in a lotta terra simultaneously—metal, noise rock, hardcore, ambient soundscapes, and just straight-up noise—and end up releasing one doozy of a listen. There’s precious little here that could be described as “melody” and the going’s pretty much a full-bore assault on one’s hearing with nary a letup in sight. That said, underneath all the skronk and slam-banging can be heard a lot of texturing and layering of sound and the utilization of a wide variety of instrumentation, sampling and such by folks who clearly know their way around what they’re plunking on. The results show a bit more sophistication than the average pack of assholes with little more than a yen to damage some eardrums. Far from easy listening, those who can manage to hold on tight and weather the ride will find the effort worthwhile. –Jimmy Alvarado (Phratry)
- Razorcake

I’m going from loudest to softest during Phratry Week, so Mala In Se‘s self-titled release is the clear and easy choice for starting point.

The phrase means “wrongs in themselves,” “acts morally wrong,” and/or “offenses against conscience.” I immediately thought that the brutal thrash/noise/post-hardcore songs were the offenses, but it instead refers to animal cruelty and governmental excesses. I picked that up from the press release and song titles (“Time Lapse Photography of Decomposing Animals,” “Disease Auction,” “Lie On,” “Devil’s Dung”), because I’ve never been adept at picking up screamed/shrieked lyrics.

Lyrics aside, the songwriting is incredible. In the 3:46 of opener “Time Lapse Photography,” the band rips through thrash, hardcore, punk, post-hardcore and doom, never landing in one place for longer than thirty second. I’m a big fan of the punk section at 2:45-2:59.

“Devil’s Dung” has a supremely mathy opening section that drops into an eerie single-note guitar section (indie rock? what?), proving that this band can do more than just hammer out various loud genres. Then they throw in some Asian themes around 4:30, in a surprising and fascinating move. The band deconstructs the idea of genre to achieve the desired effect of totally blowing the minds of those who usually listen to heavy music. These guys are composers.

Mala In Se is an achievement that should not be overlooked by fans of heavy music.

- Independant Clauses

Although extrapolating from anecdotal, personally-experienced trends is pretty much a big no-no, I have to say that of all of the punk and hardcore records I’ve been sent for review so far this year, very few have been lyrically concerned with the world around them except as metaphor. They’ve mostly been introspective rather than outward-looking. That’s no bad thing in itself, but as someone who was drawn to punk rock as a teen because of its fiery, passionate potential to engage with the larger ills of the world, it is a little disappointing.

In contrast to that, the two noise-rock bands who’ve sent me material to review – United Sons of Toil and now Cincinnati’s Mala In Se – have both been lyrically concerned with the world around them. USoT’s Marxist politics came through clearly; Mala In Se, by contrast, focus more on animal rights and environmental themes, but there are songs critical of government corruption and conspiracy present here. I’ve not actually got a hold of the lyrics so I can’t go into them in any more depth, which is a shame, but the music should come foremost in a music review anyway.

Mala In Se is the three-piece’s first release, and it sees them exhibiting their cluttered but taut take on rock/metal noise hybrids. Despite the cacophanous volleys of noise seeming to threaten to overwhelm the listener each instrument remains distinct; the production has done a fine job of bringing every component of these songs out. The vocals are perhaps the most buried element of the band’s compositions, which suits the sound well.

One particular highlights is track two, ‘Disease Auction’, built around a horrible-sounding (in a good way) riff, multiple vocal strands and some subtle lead. Then there’s ‘Devil’s Dung’ to follow, which opens with a haunting, drawn-out intro before kicking into a fat thrash metal-esque riff and thudding drumbeat. It steadily builds over its hefty duration, growing toward apocalyptically big noisecore violence, before dropping into a delicate breakdown featuring chiming percussion with a faintly Far East vibe. (The band’s name, “Mala In Se”, apparently means “wrongs in themselves; acts morally wrong; offenses against conscience”; the press release doesn’t specify in which language this is so but it still underlines their thematic concerns and the geographical origins of some sources of inspiration.)

A few other likes are the thrashy, ferociously intense ‘Stay Afloat’, the scrappy and affectedly messy ‘Portions for Trade’, and the lower-key, dischordant but somewhat bluesy ‘Conjoin’. I did find that the album blends together a lot and that I don’t find parts of it memorable enough to immediately tell apart from others, but that’s also true when I listen to Lightning Bolt records and it doesn’t change the impact they have. Yep, all told Mala In See is a pretty cool slice of noise rock and definitely one for fans of ear abuse to check out.

- Nostalgia for Infinity

EXTREME Noise and screamo for fans of [ Lightning Bolt ] and [ High On Fire ]. Truly an amazing blend of various elements. We talking mainly noise-core, post-hardcore and math-core here. On a high noise level, you name it… it’s all there.

- The Sirens Sound

I haven’t heard the term art rock used for a while. I think you could call Mala In Se art rock without ruining anyone’s life though. This is a complex album, doing a lot of different things. It has its abstract, minimal moments. It has moments of panic-inducing screaming noise where the band sound like they’re channeling the same thing Drive Like Jehu & The Icarus Line did. I go back to the art rock thing, because the band sounds like they’re as equally interested in pushing out in all these directions. For as chaotic as the sound is, you can tell there is a lot of organizing thought behind what they’re doing; being able to combing a lot of dissimilar sounds into an extremely tight whole.

I grappled with this one listening to it, I’m had a hard time writing about it, but ultimately I think it’s brilliant. It’s art. It’s also free on Bandcamp, I am going to recommend you check it out.

- To Eleven

Feels like someone is using your head as a battering ram to break through a wall of sound constructed of recordings of jackhammers, rejected AmRep demos, and the screams of the damned.
- Rocktober

These Cincinnati boys blend punk and metal for a combination that will scorch your eardrums. - Snob's Music

My first thoughts on the band which I shared with the label when I was asking for a hard copy, “the shit kicks ass in seven different ways.” These guys definitely can play their instruments, but that isn’t what makes them good, even though I kinda dig them. First band that came to mind was Creedle as far as what in my experience they sound like. Creedle maybe have the upper hand musician wise but, Mala In Se are all over the place. A pretty wide variety of sounds, reflecting numerous influences, with kind of that technical progressive jazz feel. Not a boring moment on this thing, even though the songs are longer than I like them (I have to get over that, shit I love Black Sabbath’s first album). The songs with all the changes don’t seem to have that boring old 4/4, verse/chorus thing going on. Still trying to wrap my head around the vocalist but these guys are well worth a listen. - Mustard Relics

“Noise Rock/Art Metal” trio Mala In Se releases its self-titled, debut full-length Friday at the Southgate House Parlour, with Kry Kids, Black Signal and Sometimes (featuring members of 1000 Arms and Kasparov) opening. Admission is $5, which includes a copy of the album and a download card giving access to two newer bonus songs.

Mala In Se has a diverse pedigree, featuring former/current members of 24hourflu, Hilltop Distillery, Knife The Symphony and Angels Of Meth, all bands known for having a singular slant. That combination of members lends itself well to an open, adventurous collaboration, and Mala In Se’s zigzag song structures and fearless progressiveness are certainly a reflection of that. Brutal, creepy, dissonant, sludgy, angular and spontaneous with Math-y rhythmic switch-ups, huge, lacerating riffs, primal-scream vocals and the ability to go from earth-shaking to pin-drop quiet in a blink, Mala In Se is like a Black Flag Progressive Rock album written and produced by Mike Patton.

Though played with unbridled creative energy and deft precision, the compositions are intricate and complex, making it a challenging listen for the average music fan. But for those who get off on the thrill of music that consistently surprises, Mala In Se is like musical porn.
- City Beat

Damn, this band totally kills. Mala In Se are a Cincinnati, OH based band who play blasting/ spastic noisecore that brings to mind bands such as Swing Kids, Majority Rule, and Pg. 99 mixed with European bands such as Lack or old Jr. Ewing. The end result is a noisy, messy and discordant style of music that incorporates post-punk, thrash, noise, and math-rock into a whiling dervish of chaos and destruction . Mala In Se's debut album is incredible. Highly recommended! Enjoy!

- The Elementary Revolt

These past few days I completely melted my brain with various black metal bands and found myself in need of some new stuff completely out of the norm. Plus, I haven't written a release review in quite a long time, so this seemed like a good excuse to get back on track.

"Mala In Se" is a trio hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, presumably formed in 2010. I say presumably, since on some places the year 2010 is found as a release year of this album, while on others you will find the year 2011. In the email I received from "Phratry Records" the spring of this year is mentioned as the official release date, so we'll go along with that. In any case, "mala in se" is a phrase in Latin which means "evil in itself" or "offenses against conscience". Once you take a listen to this album you realize how much the name actually suits the band, since the name implies the existence of multiple layers of something (in this case evil if you take it literally, but we will get to that as well). Namely, the band whips out a completely weird mutation of noise, mathrock /core, psychedelic and quite a few other tidbits as well. The instrumental section and overall style of song composition is absolutely hard to define, since there are a ton of genres, tempos and layers of sound flying around. For example, the intro song named "Time lapse photography of decomposing animals" starts off with spasmic, pounding and rushing drums which are accompanied by extremely distorted and chaotic strings. After a few seconds of smashing into your brain, the aggressiveness calms down, followed with some howling of the strings, only for everything to explode again in the next instance, but this time with a bit of a sludge-like tone. Things shift between this and the rushing drums from the beginning, yet somewhere at the middle of the song we are greeted with a section that reminded me of something that could most likely crawl from a "Meshuggah" song. One other great example is the song "Devil Dung". The intro is an eerie sound made by the guitar, but it is soon broken by some overtly technical playing, later transformed into a fast metal-like beast. Tempo drops drastically moments after and it lasts for a while until everything acquires a post metal/sludge tone. Yet, once all the behemoth smashing is over, the ending is executed in an extremely minimalistic fashion and just trails off. As you can see, there are really multiple layers per song, but everything is tied together with a sort of unifying undertone that keeps it all tight and orderly. Be it a certain instrument, a repetitive vocal performance or something else, there is always one element keeping a specific track from being lost in utter chaos. Tempo and melody changes are almost omnipresent, yet you always feel as though everything is in order and there are no stray tones.
Speaking of vocal performance, they definitely deserve some special credits as well. Both string players contribute with their voices and the cool thing is that even here some contrasts and different layers are present. On one side you have a screaming/yelling vocal, while on the other there is a sort of half whine, half shrieking one. This not only provides the above mentioned contrast, but also the combination is unique and quite interesting, not to mention how chilling it is especially when the vocals are followed by some gruesome riffs. The vocals justify the name of the band as well, since they speak of animal cruelty, environmentalism and similar subjects, the evil I mentioned in the beginning. However, it is here where I have a complaint, though it is not a real complaint per se, and that is the band not posting their lyrics on their bandcamp page (which is found here, by the way). What little notion I managed to grab from their words was kinda tough and seeing as though the lyrics are in theme of the rest of the band, posting them online would definitely make things much more enjoyable. So yeah, not really a flaw, just a minor suggestion, if anyone from the band reads this.
All in all, I am really impressed by "Mala In Se". Not every band can manage to throw at you such a bomb filled with chaos and succeed in taming it. This trio has a specific talent with that and I am honestly looking forward to hearing some future work from them. Until then, definitely check out their self titled release, you won't regret it! Download link is provided by "Phratry Records". Enjoy!

- Natures With No Plagues

Mala In Se is one of those bands that is really hard to put a label on. Based out of Cincinnati, Ohio the group released their debut self titled album earlier this year and it mixes just about every brand of heavy music that you can think of. There are hints of various metal sub-genres, noise rock, and even some drone and progressive/math rock tendencies that pop up on occasion. It’s a lot to take in all at once, and while there have been a lot of bands trying this kitchen sink approach in recent years Mala In Se is able to pull it off and create their own sound.

One of the most interesting things about this album is that it’s noisy, but isn’t. What this means is that while there are a number of passages that get in your face and turn the volume up to the maximum level, there are just as many where the instrumentalists mellow out a bit and experiment with ambient/drone and even some mellower math rock. Mala In Se is not one of those bands that is interested in hitting the listener full force for an entire album, as they would rather create some carefully controlled chaos that builds up to a roar before dying off to a whisper. And yet, despite the fact that it isn’t quite as loud as some of the other stuff out there this is still an album that takes a few spins to truly appreciate. There are a lot of different things going on, as each song has multiple tempo and stylistic transitions that are bursting with cool ideas. Listeners will find that there are some hooks here and there, but for the most part this is an album that should be absorbed as a whole as the entire experience is more likely to stick with you rather than individual tracks.

The vocals on this album are very high pitched and may make Mala In Se a bit of an acquired taste. While the instrumentals are all over the place, the vocals are very reminiscent of some of the more out there hardcore/punk singers (I am personally reminded quite a bit of acts such as Daughters). Even when the overall music takes a turn for slightly mellower arrangements the vocals remain very harsh and in your face and this creates a contrast between instrumentals and vocals that works extremely well. Some of the noise rock/hardcore bands have tended to bury their screams behind a wall of sound, but Mala In Se has taken the opposite approach and let them stay front and center on many of the songs and this helps to give them a more distinguishable sound.

I like what Mala In Se is trying to do on this album, and they have definitely succeeded at making all of these sounds merge together into seamless arrangements. Their combination of harsh and dissonant as well as technical and loose isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you enjoy noise rock and experimental hardcore punk and are open to some other influences then definitely check this one out. I am very interested in seeing where these guys choose to go in the future, as they are already fairly unique.

- COSMOS GAMING