Local Review: Recidivist – Madness Malformed

Recidivist
Madness Malformed
Creator-Destructor Records
Street: 11.01
Recidivist = Gatecreeper + Morbid Angel 

Yet another incredible entry in Salt Lake’s legacy of over-the-top contemporary crossover bands like Mask …Recidivist’s debut LP Madness Malformed, their first release on Creator-Destructor records, crushes standards and, in many ways, is an indicator of the momentum that contemporary hardcore/death-metal has been accruing over the last couple years. With Zachary Williams on vocals, Alex Humphries on drums, Conner Smith on bass, and both Andrew Margetts and Matt Williams on guitar, the group has managed to carve out a space among the culture of Salt Lake City hardcore and consequently have been making a splash for some time now. However, with this release I can only imagine how much further they could potentially go. Themes of ‘80s horror are delivered in the opening track “Radiation Apocalypse” and the latter, “The Curse (feat. PLIGHT)” put the ambient setting of the album into play by leaving the listener trapped in a sense of nostalgic terror, then we jump straight into the incredibly heavy and dynamic riffs that characterize the musical component of the album with “Zombie Invocation.” The tasteful use of blast beats in conjunction with carefully juxtaposed chuggy, head-banging madness can be found on every song through the entirety of the album, especially on one of my personal favorites off of the release, “Ceremony of Flesh,” an entry in the Recidivist discography that truly scratches an itch that can only be satiated by ambitious yet unrelentingly raw crossover music. If you were to listen through the album in order as I did when I first delved into it, you will find that despite the unrelenting horror, limb contorting composition, and crowd-MURDERING energy that permeates every song aside from the aforementioned ambient tracks, you would find that the order of tracks has a significance worth taking note of. I would highly suggest giving the album a run-through from top to bottom. Another favorite of mine is “Altar of Skulls,” and when it comes to Salt Lake music, I feel this song best encapsulates what it means to be a part of this community (at least within the context of this album). The slammy main riff and death-punk feel nestles this one deep into a special place in my heart, and reminds me of one of the first bands I had the pleasure of hearing when I first moved to Salt Lake—Mask. The album comes to a close with its final track, “Mortal Gate” and I couldn’t imagine a more fitting ending in both title and musical content. The intro evokes a dark yet fantastically enthralling feeling while the body of the song provides a wonderfully brutal finale to an incredibly destructive (in a good way) body of work. All in all, this album is definitely worth listening to if you have any interest in the contemporary scene or have been speculating about the future of hardcore-crossover, as this concept and its execution by the hands of the boys in Recidivist is a viable source of inspiration for countless bands in the future. If you enjoy overwhelmingly intense slams and beautifully constructed musical composition, Recidivist’s Madness Malformed should be your next listening venture. –CJ Hanck

Read more local album reviews:
Local Review: Chegoya – I GUESS
Local Review: Little Moon – Dear Divine