Dutch death metallers BODYFARM have spent the last fifteen years establishing themselves as one of the best new death metal acts in Europe. Every since the release of their debut, self-titled EP, the Utrecht-based quartet have created consistently powerful and ferocious music, taking a lot of their musical cues from classic death metal whilst adding a sharper, modern edge to it that makes them sound lean and vicious, which each of the band’s five records being progressive better than the last. Their latest EP, Malicious Ecstasy, rather than being a throwaway release, showcases some great cuts that didn’t make it onto their most recent album, Ultimate Abomination, along with some impressive live tracks, showing that whether it’s on record or on stage, BODYFARM are a force to be reckoned with.
This record starts with an incredibly strong statement in the form of Retaliate, a song centred around razor sharp leads, intricate drums and huge, muscular rhythms that all combine to make this opening track sounds exceptionally tight and focused, with only the coarse roar of the vocals standing out in this uniformly lean and punchy offering, kicking things off in a ferocious fashion. Pervitin carries forward the weighty undercurrent that informed the previous track, and shifts to a chunkier, groove-laden sound that is every bit as noxious as the last track, with the brief bursts of punky energy and chaotic flourishes that are interspersed throughout the song suiting the harshness of the vocals and the less spartan approach to the guitars and bass, without sacrificing any of the slickness and catchy hooks of the opener.
Onward Doomsday, with its monstrous gallop, frenetic drums and biting guitar work, is classic death metal done extremely well, without feeling as though its parodying that style or relying too heavily on it to carry the music. There’s some great, meaty riffs and savage vocal deliveries that similarly match the primal aggression of the music, with just the right amount of soaring melodicism thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. Gates Of Malignancy, a decidedly slower and more ponderous song, utilises steadier drumming and a less animated guitar style, allowing the vocals and some of the subtler touches from the guitar to carry the music here. Although it’s not the most intense effort on the album, it possesses a cavernous and imposing sound that makes it sound powerful, bringing the main part of this EP to a close in a huge and dramatic way.
The final five tracks on this record are all live renditions of some of BODYFARM‘s most celebrated material, from the excellently punchy and brooding Dreadlord through to the fast and furious Unbroken, with a heavy emphasis being placed on material from the bands latest album, 2023’s Ultimate Abomination. The two songs from this album, The Swamp and Charlatan Messiah, standing up well alongside their older material, although the latter did originally appear on their debut in a different form. The Dark Age, originally from 2015’s Battle Breed, closing this album out with an incredibly strong and impressive version of one of the band’s biggest fan favourites.
Malicious Ecstasy is a great piece of music as a whole, but it does feel as though the new material and the live versions could have been two separate records. The four new tracks that feature here are all great, with even the most subdued tracks on here feeling incredibly solid, showing that even on an EP, where the band could reasonably have shed themselves of some weaker offerings they had lying around, the quality of the music on display is every bit as high as it is on their full-lengths. The live tracks feel completely out of place, and probably should have been part of a stand alone live album of their own right, as these recordings sound great and illustrate just how impressive and tight BODYFARM are as a live act. Nonetheless, this EP could be seen as a great companion piece to Ultimate Abomination that possesses some excellent moments in its own right.
Rating: 8/10
Malicious Ecstasy is out now via Edged Circle Productions.
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