Malevolence - Where Only The Truth Is Spoken (Album Review)

Malevolence - Where Only The Truth Is Spoken
‍Released: June 20, 2025

Lineup

Alex Taylor // Vocals
Charlie Thorpe // Drums
Josh Baines // Guitars
Konan Hall // Guitar & Vocals
Wilkie Robinson // Bass

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Patience is a virtue. But that's only if you’re okay with waiting out for what is potentially to be dealt to you in permissions. If Hardcore has taught us anything in its continuous evolution, life waits for absolutely no one. So why be patient for no guarantee? In the case of Sheffield's dominating force Malevolence it’s never been about waiting for permission from any one else; they grant their own glory and we just have to deal with it. As the band has just finished a massive Australian Regional tour with local heavyweights Alpha Wolf, the band is gearing up for the release of their 4th album Where Only the Truth is Spoken. 

Following on from the earth shattering 2022 release Malicious Intent which only continued an upward propel of these UK Hardcore titans to main stages at the inaugural Knotfest Australia, supporting fellow heavy titans Lamb of God and Mastodon on their ‘Ashes of Leviathan’ anniversary tour across the US in 2024 as well as their own gigantic headline tours of the UK/EU; just how much crazier could life for Malevolence get?

Coming out of the gate swinging with ‘Blood to the Leach’ you really couldn't ask for a stronger 30 seconds to lock you in to a Hardcore listening experience. Fast duelling riffs, impeccable beating of the drums, Alex Taylor busting out a curdling scream and a foundation built to open a floor into a two stepping chaos? It’s all there. As tempo changes scurry from circle pit speeds into beatdown mayhem through multiple well placed breakdowns, does an intro track really get much better than this? ‘Trenches’ follows with one of the toughest openings of 2025. “Everybody's always looking for a handout. Who the fuck are you? Never fucking heard of you” It’s your class-A chance to throw down (as those who attended Alpha Wolf’s regional tour would’ve seen first hand) we hear guitarist Konan Hall step into chorus vocals for the first time this record, providing an all powerful hook to an even more sonically powerful lyrical battering ram. 

The hooks continue into ‘If It’s All the Same To You’ but where a well structured chorus can throw off from the intent of Hardcore punishing the mind, body and soul, the passion and honesty behind each word will stand out to those having their own personal living room concert. When discussing the lyrical matters of the record, Taylor says “It’s not all just about anger or aggression; there’s a lot of weight in the words across the whole album, whether that’s addressing personal struggles, the state of the world, or the highs and lows of life”. This can also be said about ‘Salt The Wound’ dropping the fast paced tempo to an acoustic open with clean singing from Konan. The intensity of these tracks are still there but redirected in its vocals more so than a senseless beating. It’s not going to be everyone's favourite and where it doesn't stand out on a more musical approach, you have to admire the group's efforts to reinvent the wheel whilst it's still spinning.

But don’t worry if that isn’t for you, because the fury that ‘Counterfeit’ follows on with will be sure to get the heart racing. And make sure your laces are tied and you’ve done your stretching because ‘So Help Me God’ will bring even the most decorated Mosh Veterans out of retirement. And its chorus? Don’t even get me started. What I am hearing on this record isn’t just a fuelled attempt to continue causing chaos for the sake of it. The structure of this record is set in the foundations of cohesive genre binding that reshapes intensity. Each bar that passes doesn’t feel the same. It could be as simple as a slight kick pattern change from Thorpe, a ride where a crash should be, a slight increase or decrease in bpm. It keeps the brain engaged through its listening experience. It’s not the finest art of all time, but it’s a display of an art that often gets lost.

That being said, the appeal to Hardcore souls is still there. ‘Imperfect Picture’ is Malevolence delivering what long tenured fans would be expecting. It's melodic, explosive and bone crushing but it feels bigger than what the band have already created. ‘Heavens Shake’ does exactly as its title suggests. I hope your stank faces are ready for this one, because when I tell you that even God himself would be impressed at the sheer velocity of the impending breakdown, you best believe in that at least. And if you thought the sheer heavyweight power of this album wasn’t already enough, ‘In Spite’ recruits the godfather of American Heavy Metal Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) to bring his signature grit to an absolute blinder of a track. If you think this collaboration looks good on paper, just wait 'til you hear it. 

‘Demonstration of Pain’ is a listening experience and half for all the drummers out there. Charlie Thorpe is off the chain here turning sections of atypical double kick & crash into almost prog infused pieces of structural shifting glory. Guitar solos galore fuel the fire of my aforementioned comments on keeping the mind engaged. You could just chug your way through the back end of an album, but Malevolence won’t do filler for anyone. And where the finale of an album should set the tone of the end, ‘With Dirt From My Grave’ feels as if the album is starting right back up again. If you were to leave the album on repeat, you’d honestly forget the first track had come back on. And in the best way possible, I hate that. Because as the final note rings, I’m left wanting more. It’s like that one meal you had at that upscale restaurant one time. It was one of the most tasteful meals you just want to demolish but also savour. Call me gluttonous, greedy, selfish, but boy do I want more. 

Where Only The Truth is Spoken isn’t just your typical hardcore album. It’s as welcoming as it is unforgiving. It takes the highest pieces of Malevolence’s career and amplifies it from the underground for the world to hear. Its well crafted recipe for destruction will not only set Hardcore up on a higher path for the next few years, but may have it as one of its key blueprints for generations to come. 

Rating: 9/10
Where Only The Truth is Spoken is out June 20 via Nuclear Blast Records. Pre-order/save here
Review by by Cody-James Henderson @cody_j_henderson