Review by Ben for Malevolent Creation - The Ten Commandments (1991)

Malevolent Creation haven't always released good albums, but their first couple were cracking. The Ten Commandments has all the ingredients of a great death metal album. The riffs are constantly superb throughout with a whole heap of variations and memorable sections. The leads are also quite good although not amazing like Morbid Angel etc. Drummer Mark Simpson if exceptional, with tight blast beats, double bass kicking and change ups aplenty. Vocalist Brett Hoffman's vocals seem to split fans with some thinking he doesn't have the necessary growl for this type of music. I personally think they're fantastically aggressive and he has far more range than most vocalists in this style of music. He'd get even better on their next album Retribution as well.

The Ten Commandments is a very American sounding death metal album. It's kind of a mix of Slayer and Deicide, but has a lot to offer of its own. It manages an excitement level that seems to be a bit lacking in the genre today for some reason. Add to all this that it has a fantastic album cover (by the consistently brilliant Dan Seagrave) and you've got a great if not particularly original death metal release. Highlights are Premature Burial, Multiple Stab Wounds and Thou Shall Kill but all of these ten commandments are worth respecting!