Review by: Justin Donnelly - Metal Forge Webzine - 2006

Looming as a force to be reckoned with

After having played within a whole host of acts in the Perth metal scene throughout the years, vocalist Cain Cressall (Ex-Centaur/Pathogen) and guitarist Jarrod Curley (Ex-Malice Unity) decided to join forces in 2003, and together they formed Malignant Monster. As a duo, they released a three-track demo titled Welcome To Your Doom! in 2004, which helped announce the duo's return to the scene. Although recorded primarily as a way of finding suitable band members and gauging general feedback, Welcome To Your Doom! received an overwhelming reaction from the press, as well as capturing the attention of drummer Ben Stanley (Ex-Centaur), who then joined the duo's cause.

Twelve months on, and the trio have returned with a new seven track E.P. titled Foul Play released through Prime Cuts Music (The label run up ex-Pathogen/Choke guitarist Glenn Dyson), and what a transformation the band has gone through in their short time.

Opening up the E.P. is the new track Old Corpus Delecti (Which also represents the band on the recently released double album compilation Underearthed 4, presented by 2RRR), and it's immediately clear the fire power Malignant Monster can dish out, with a sound that combines the brute force of thrash, with shade of melodic death metal influences felt within Stanley's blast beats and Cressall's demonic delivery. Drive The Nails is noted for its cleverly utilised keyboard enhancement in the opening minute and a half before it reverts to a more thrash/death format, while the shorter Consequences Of Indecision is a straight out thrash attack, punctuated with some classic melodic solo work mid way through.

All three tracks from Welcome To Your Doom! (Line Of Fire, the punishing extremity of My Rage and the groove/gang vocalised Turrets Of Blood) have benefited from a re-recording (The E.P. was co-produced by Nexus guitarist Geoff Eaton), and all sit well in amongst the newer material. Finishing up the disc is a faithful rendition of the old Megadeth classic Liar (From 1988's So Far, So Good& So What!), which has been given a slight death metal twist, along with a bonus C.D. Rom component featuring the professionally shot promotional video clip for Old Corpus Delecti.

Foul Play is a huge step forward for the group over their original demo (And previous projects I might add), and considering that since the recording of Foul Play the line up of Malignant Monster has been bolstered with the addition of guitarist Nathan Spargo (Ex-Sacritual/Avantgard) and bassist Dave Elzer, this is sure to be one hell of a malevolent creature to watch out for in the not too distant future.

Review source: Malignant Monster - Foul Play Review

Review by: Militia - Hailmetal Webzine - 2006

Recently I received swag of Aussie records to review from various people in the industry and the release of 'Foul Play' by a Perth based band Malignant Monster has unsurprisingly spent the most time in my CD player meaning, it's most impressive. It's a truly very solid thrash action packed release with a hint of melodic death metal with blackened vocals to spice things up. Three of seven tracks found here are new songs while the rest are re-recorded material which originally came from their 2004 demo titled 'Welcome To Your Doom!'. A Megadeth cover of Liar coming of 1988's effort titled So Far, So Good...So What! is also jam-packed here as is a very high resolution bonus video 'Old Corpus Dilecti' which looked amazing and quite enjoyable to see. If you could get your hands on this limited edition CD (try Perth based label Prime Cuts Music) it would introduce the band to you very well and would keep you thrashing on your feet for a long time coming.

Now I have a question for those that do purchase a lot of local releases as of late: Is it my imagination or do videos now days come standard with every album release? Take your time answering. It's a definitely good idea especially for the promos; EP's or demo albums where the length is significantly shorter than normal with most cases... Back to the music, it is extremely sharp, tense and ultra fast. Theme of blood is exercised quite a bit throughout the opening track where the band showcases their ability to play old school thrash metal and not being afraid to take it further with Cain Cresall's very talented blackened vocals (still retaining the gruesome and brutal growls) and Ben Stanleys's heavier blast beats pushing the envelope on more than one occasion on the album.

With each track the band definitely displays more diversity within their music style introducing melodic guitars every now and then without sacrificing their original thrash sound. The lyrical theme is all about blood, exile, rage and death so much so that it reflects on the booklet as the colour of blood is painted throughout which makes it very hard to make out most of the text print as the font size used was quite small. I am sure this was intentional but perhaps tried to be tad too clever?

The Megadeth cover at the end is played faultlessly and gives us a nice comparison of arrangements between the two thrash bands. Perhaps the band will look to do some more covers but this time of Exodus or Kreator as I believe it will reflect their music much more than Megadeth does. If you are looking for ripping fast thrash/death material with amazing black metal vocals at the helm and some interesting instrumental trickery, look no further. You found Malignant Monster. Favourite tracks: Line Of Fire & My Rage. Rating 4.5/5

Review source: Malignant Monster - Foul Play Review

Review by: Wayfaerer - Harm Webzine - 2006

Foul Play, Malignant Monster's debut, is supposedly an EP but when it clocks in at almost 32 minutes, I'm tended to think otherwise (considering most brutal death discs run about 30 mins). The upcoming band from Perth, Australia plays a unique brand of thrash metal in that there are occasionally some old-school vibes, bits that feel more melodic death, and even a slight dabbling in black metal. Despite the awkward name and awful artwork, Foul Play shows some serious potential.

For the first 5 tracks, Malignant Monster come out with guns blazing. The speed is mostly frantic, with occasional emphasis on mid-tempo grooves, and it works. Even with lengthier material ("My Rage" surpasses the 6 minute mark), the band keeps it quite interesting with their blend of influences. The thrash/death is certainly most prevalent, but its the small nuances that nod to melodic death that keep the album from becoming boring. The black metal-ish beginning and later death metal groove of "Drive the Nails" make it my cut of choice, but the more relaxed, melodic moments and sprawling solo in the middle of "My Rage" (complete with some background keyboards) and the old-school thrash nature of "Old Corpus Delicti" are also worthy of note.

My biggest problem with this release pertains to the vocals. Granted, the blackened rasps suit the adrenaline pace of the music and are a more traditional thrash choice but they took a few listens to really digest. The other issue was the last 2 songs. "Turrets of Blood" just didn't have the speed and stuck with a repetitive mid-tempo groove that felt more Devildriver than thrash (especially with the verse vocal patterns). The last song was a cover of Megadeth's "Liar", which fell into the catagory of well done but ambivalent. It just did nothing for me. I think the band's strong point is going at full blast, and these last 2 tracks just never reach that level.

Foul Play is a nice introduction to a band that we'll hopefully be hearing more from. The first 5 tracks are solid thrash, and the band has the potential to appeal to fans of more traditional thrash (Exodus, Kreator) to the newer Swedish death/thrash market (Carnal Forge, The Crown). If you're a thrash fan, this is worth looking into.

Standout Tracks: Drive the Nails, My Rage, Consequences of Indecision

Review source: Malignant Monster - Foul Play Review