In Malice’s Wake are a thrash metal band from Australia formed in 2002 releasing five albums to date – ‘Eternal Nightfall’ (2008), ‘The Thrashening’ (2011), ‘Light Upon The Wicked’ (2015), ‘The Blindness Of Faith’ (2020), and ‘The Profound Darkness’ (2026).
Showcasing a brutal blend of blackened thrash and death metal, Melbourne thrashers In Malice’s Wake return with nine new songs across forty ferocious minutes, the bands current line-up featuring drummer Mark Farrugia, vocalist/guitarist Shaun Farrugia, bass player Karl Watterson, and guitarist Leigh Bartley (Harlott) – the new album set on its way with the title song ‘The Profound Darkness’. And with a barrage of harsh bluntness to slam everyone to the floor and through to the fucking basement to boot! The oomph pouring outta the albums opener is devastating, the band pulling no punches as the accelerator is pressed hard around the two minute mark to send ‘The Profound Darkness’ (the song) flying down the freeway at full speed – the head of every listener around the world rocking back and forth at a neck breaking pace! And the vocals: rough, tough, gruff and immensely menacing as In Malice’s Wake maintain the barrage of brutality with a little groove metal thrown into the mix courtesy of ‘Beyond Death’, the ground shaking more vigorously than a rattlesnake’s tail! And with more venom too, ‘The Profound Darkness’ (the album) bludgeoning everyone with a barnstorming opening brace!
A “barnstorming brutal barrage” perfectly sums up the album so far – and is likely to sum up the album as a whole, ‘By Tongues Of Demons’ accelerating furiously outta the gate, the howling, growling vocals full of aggression and ferocity as the band continue their unforgiving, and quite frankly terrifying thrash metal onslaught – In Malice’s Wake showing absolutely no remorse as ‘The Last Song’ smashes everyone right in the fucking face! There’s just no escaping the bands brutality, no-one anywhere, even has a split second to duck outta the way of the violent assault marauding out of Melbourne, the four-piece outfit sending shockwaves rippling right round the world – I swear I just felt the ground tremble beneath my feet! And tremble is what listeners without a thick skin are gonna do while listening to this album, the band at full throttle as ‘Numb To Paradise’ slams everyone through the wall and into next fucking week! Next month, next year, and even the next decade such is the power pouring outta the album right now – power that’s even greater than gravity! And we all know how powerful gravity is – it stops us all from falling off the face of the planet! And with unrelenting aggression and force, ‘Upon My Flesh’ enters the fray as the fastest song heard so far, the band sending every mosh pit fucking crazy with a level of head bang ability higher than the Australia 108 tower, widely recognised as the highest building in Melbourne!
And as ‘The Profound Darkness’ (the album) moves into its final third, the barnstorming brutal barrage remains as strong as it’s ever been, ‘The Great Purifier’ a menacing thunder-stomp of groove, thrash and death metal with blistering changes of pace, power and head bang ability, In Malice’s Wake at their most varied right now – ‘Away From The Light’ storming into sight with just the smallest hint of the iconic traditional metal gallop! And when I say a small hint, you may need a microscope to see it, ’cause hearing it is blatantly obvious – I can hear a traditional metal gallop from a million miles away! ‘The Profound Darkness’ (the album) is brought to a close with the searing ‘The Darkness Below Us’, In Malice’s Wake remaining on the front foot right to the albums end – the barrage of brutality, aggression and ferocity as strong now as it’s ever been, the devastating array of blackened thrash and death metal leaving a desolate wasteland in its wake!
Overall, a barnstorming brutal barrage of ferocious thrash infused with black and death metal elements, ‘The Profound Darkness’ is bone crushing!
TRACKLIST
The Profound Darkness
Beyond Death
By Tongues of Demons
The Last Song
Numb to Paradise
Upon My Flesh
The Great Purifier
Away from the Light
The Darkness Below Us
In Malice’s Wake: Facebook
Release Year: 2020
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
