Malevolent Creation

Arising from the death metal hotbed of Florida in the early '90s (but originally from Buffalo, NY), Malevolent Creation tend to be somewhat overlooked in discussions of groups who helped define the sound and style of American death metal. Initially inspired by the sonic and lyrical extremity of Slayer, the group landed a deal with Roadrunner Records at the dawn of the '90s, featuring a lineup of vocalist Brett Hoffmann, guitarists Phil Fasciana and Jeff Juskiewicz, bassist Jason Blachowicz, and drummer Mark Simpson. Their 1991 debut album, The Ten Commandments, became something of a landmark in the death metal underground, expanding on the early work of Slayer and fellow Floridians Death. Its sequel, 1992's Retribution, was just as strong, featuring two new members added from Solstice -- guitarist Rob Barrett (who replaced Juskiewicz) and drummer Alex Marquez. Barrett and Marquez were replaced by John Rubin (who had been in a very early lineup of the band) and "Crazy" Larry Hawke for 1993's Stillborn, which disappointed many of the group's faithful and signaled an acrimonious end to their relationship with Roadrunner. Those label difficulties nearly broke the band apart, but they eventually resurfaced on Pavement Music with a more progressive, technical approach and an even more revamped lineup on 1995's Eternal. Hoffmann was gone, with the vocals now handled by bassist Blachowicz, while guitarists Fasciana and Rubin were joined by ex-Suffocation drummer Dave Culross. The remixes/outtakes/demos collection Joe Black appeared in 1996, followed the next year by In Cold Blood, which featured guitarist John Paul Soars taking Rubin's place, and drummer Derik Roddy replacing Culross. For 1998's The Fine Art of Murder, Fasciana (now doubling on keyboards) brought vocalist...