Pestilence's "Malleus Maleficarum" is death/thrash
While Pestilence's 1988 debut album “Malleus Maleficarum” is generally regarded as a thrash metal record, I would argue that it’s a genuine death/thrash release because it maintains a level of ambiguity throughout the ten tracks included with many of the riffs sounding like they’d be equally at home on either side of the line of segregation. Pestilence often showcase an angularity that would seep its way into the death metal scene through heavy-weights like Death but also maintain the visceral thrash metal edge that the Teutonic thrash metal scene had built its reputation on. The other element worth mentioning in the death metal argument is the vocal delivery of legendary death metal figure Martin van Drunen (Asphyx/Grand Supreme Blood Court/Hail of Bullets) which may not be the psychotic howl he’d build his career on at this point but is deathly enough to be significant in the argument for a dual tagging. Overall, I’d suggest that “Malleus Maleficarum” takes the potent thrash metal of Sodom, Kreator & particularly "Schizophrenia"-era Sepultura & combines it with the early US death metal of Possessed & Death for a best-of-both-worlds sound that ticks all of my boxes in emphatic fashion. As a result, I'd like to see "Malleus Maleficarum" added to The Horde under the Death Metal (Conventional) subgenre on top of its existing position in The Pit.
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
I can't vote in this judgement submission, but I agree, Daniel. Even in the album with the most thrash, Pestilence has always had their death metal sound (or in some albums, technical/progressive death metal).
I always felt like it could easily pass itself off as death, so I voted yes.
The Death influence is unmistakeable, so a big yes from me.
I've decided that the YES 5 NO 0 vote tally is enough to get this one over the line so I've added "Malleus Maleficarum" to The Horde & the Death Metal genre on top of its position in The Pit under Thrash Metal.
0 votes for no. Now I know for certain: everyone here has taste when it comes to death.