"OH WHAT A JOKE THE HUMAN RACE HAS BECOME"
"POLITICAL CORRECTNESS" - MALEVOLENTS
Nanaimo's own Malevolents are not just a metal band. They're every kid in their bedroom playing air guitar to their favourite song. They’re every kid blasting their favourite bands, filled with loyalty and a passion for heavy metal music.
Gladiator is the title of Malevolents’ upcoming record, out August 11th. This is the band's second studio album in a three year run, with their first studio album, Dead to Rights, released just one year prior in 2017. Gladiator is an intro class to the heart of metal that gives a nod to Malevolents' roots while also bringing something new and fresh to the table. The album holds true to its name and is sure to put up a fight.
Their recent single, "Political Correctness," comments on modern society's pit of oversensitivity and, what feels like, a loss of free speech. Our need to tippy-toe around everything that comes to mind out of fear of being offensive, seems to be doing more harm than good in this day and age, and Malevolents makes this message unapologetically clear.
The album's first single, "I'm Going to Hell" is thrashy, remorseless, and in your face. Liam Borns, lead vocalist and guitarist for Malevolents, spoke with us about their new album and how far they have come.
"It seemed kind of natural because it was the first song on the record that we actually wrote," says Borns. “We wrote that and then nothing, literally no songs for a year and a bit, so we just figured, ‘Hey, this song has been a thing for forever. We should just put this out see what people think of this.’”
"I'm Going to Hell" went on to pave the way for the tone of the record with a positive reaction from loyal fans and even receiving radio play. Borns even goes on to tell us the triumph of Gladiator and growing as a band with a new member.
“It's a totally different vibe. We have our full-time bass player now, Colton. He is an incredibly talented songwriter. He contributed several songs to the album, like he co-wrote Gladiator,” says Borns. “He wrote a song on his own on the record called “Crooked Path" and that's one of my favourite songs on the whole record."
For the band, it seems things fell right into place in the studio.
"We were a cohesive unit. We were all together and nothing could stop us. Everything was just going, banging on all cylinders and you could feel it in the record.“
Coming from Nanaimo, Malevolents’ hard work will take them further than the island. With Borns mixing the record himself, the band hopes to share their music with the rest of the world, starting with a British Columbia and Alberta tour.
"Everything sounds as good as it could be for a local band doing it on their own, and I'm really, really proud of that."