Album Review: The Malefic Grip - Yesterday's Problems Today
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Never heard of The Malefic Grip? Well, you need to sort that out. Formed in Bristol in 2015, it’s fair to say that they didn’t really get their shit together until 2017 with their first gig in 2018. If you like big riffs, then you’ll probably like The Malefic Grip. If you like cider, you’ll probably like The Malefic Grip. If you like chugging cider whilst listening to big riffs, hell you should love The Malefic Grip!
This album summarises everything that the band stand for. It’s a rage filled half hour of frustration, born out of decades of anger at the way those who wield power have treated so many with contempt. As the band’s biog say, “preconceptions over facts, cultural victory of selfishness and self-obsession … and a bit of stupid wordplay”.
This 30-minute trip provides screams, lots of screams. It also offers thick, fuzzy riffs, stomach churning space tripping journeys with the likes of ‘A Neglectful Throne’, the opening slab of the face pulping Piss Hassle and the intense heaviness of ‘Vitality Leach’. It’s a massive fusion of styles, but just for reference there’s a bit of the Melvins, some Monster Magnet, as well as Iron Monkey to name but three. Whilst the sludgy onslaught is dominant, there’s a punkish attitude that bubbles underneath all this spine crushing home grown and home-made outrage.
And once you’ve waded through the bile, you reach the psychedelic swirl of ‘Worms’, an eight-minute exploration which transports you far away from the madding crowd, before snapping the neck with an outrageous explosion of additional riffs and blood curdling howls, lyrics that are spat out with real venom. This exercise is repeated and ensures that any comfortable position assumed is rapidly shattered. With extra screams from Simon Mason, this is a harrowing conclusion to an album that is designed for maximum discomfort.
Developed and created during lockdown, ‘Yesterday’s Problems, Today!’ is the product of the warped minds of Liam S. Wolf: Bass, screaming, general factotum and Helen Kinsella: Guitars and screaming. If you want to channel your rage, this is the soundtrack you’ve been looking for. Try it. You wont regret it.
