Yorkshire Titans Malevolence On New Album ‘Where Only The Truth Is Spoken’

‘If you like riffs, if you like breakdowns, if you like good singalongs, and if you like going mad at the show, then Malevolence is the band for you.’

Alex Taylor, the imposing voice in Yorkshire titans Malevolence explains as they prepare for not only a mammoth tour of Australia with Alpha Wolf, also their new upcoming slammer of an album Where Only The Truth Is Spoken out June 20.

The album already promises to be to the biggest output the band have done in a career that just keeps levelling up with such consummate ease that even Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God lends his vocals to the band. The band are humming so much that even actor Alan Ford, or Brick Top from the Guy Ritchie film ‘Snatch’, lends his explicit-ridden talents to current video ‘If It’s All The Same To You’.

‘When we came up with the concept of the video being like an art gallery heist, to use it as the big album artwork reveal. I just pitched the idea to the lads, I was like, it’d be cool if we could get an actor to be the mob boss sending us out on the job. We brainstormed a couple of ideas, and then I just happened to be scrolling Instagram one night and a clip from ‘Snatch’ came up and I was like imagine if we could get Brick Top. He was fully down for the idea and that was it. He came down to the shoot, learned his lines in twenty minutes and then came in, delivered it. He was an absolute legend.’

‘It was pretty funny, really, because everybody on set was really nervous to go and speak to him. everyone thought he was going to shout at them or something. But he was just a lovely bloke, really nice guy, really invested in the project. He said, listen, you make sure you send it me when the video comes out because I want to see it. So, I sent it him last week and I was like, thank you again for being a part of the project. And he was like, oh, thank you so much for letting me be a part of your world. I’m really proud of it. It was sick, and it’s pretty cool to say I’ve got Brick Tops phone number in my phone!’

The end of the video shows the new albums artwork for the first time and it’s where we head in the conversation in preparation for opus number four.

‘I feel like this album is a level up in every sense of the word. Lyrically, sonically, production wise. We are digging deep into the sound that we’ve kind of formed for ourselves, but this is our first time working with Josh Wilbur, who’s the producer on this record. It was our first venture into working with a producer. We recorded the whole album in LA and Josh has really helped us bring out the best of our abilities in our own unique way. It was fun to work with someone who gets it, understands what we’re trying to do, the music we’re trying to write. Who understands that the music that we write is the music that we want to hear. We’re not trying to copy anyone else’s style or anything like that. So, writing with him made it a lot more of a fun experience as opposed to previous albums where it sometimes can feel like a bit of a slog. If you’re a Malevolence fan, then you’ll like this album because it’s Malevolence in its best possible current form.’

Is this best possible form a reflection of giving up production duties to Wilbur?

‘Oh yeah, a hundred percent. Me, for example, when we were recording the vocals, normally on past albums, what we’ll do is every song, we will record every single line on the album bit by bit seven or eight times, then we’ll pick the best takes. Whereas with Josh, he understands that sometimes it’s better to just let me flow if I’m recording the vocals, and that will then in turn get a better take rather than chipping and chipping away at it. So that made the whole process go a lot smoother, and I think in turn, that just brought out a better result in terms of the lyrics and the delivery of the vocals.’

‘I found it a lot more fun and engaging. I feel like it is reflected in the music and it’s great to have Josh there as well as a mediator of our ideas. When we were still in the writing phase and bringing all the ideas together, sometimes Malevolence can be our own worst enemy and we’ll shoot an idea down before it’s even grown legs. But having him there was like, oh no, no, let’s explore that idea. Or if we’re getting hung up on a certain word or something like that or a certain riff, then he’ll just pull us back and be like, it doesn’t matter. Focus on the bigger picture.’

While talking abut vocals, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe brings his unique roar to the Malevolence world on the new album.

‘We’d met the Lamb Of God guys the year before last. We played some shows with them in Germany and we got along well. Whilst we were out in LA recording, Josh, who is also Lamb Of God’s producer, got a text from Lamb Of God’s manager and said, we’re doing a re-release of ‘Another Nail In The Coffin’, which is on ‘Ashes Of The Wake’. Does Alex want to be a part of it? yeah, I’d love to.’

‘Then I hit Randy up and I was like just while I’ve got you, do you want to do a feature on the Malevolence album? He was on board straight away. It was pretty organic how it all came about and a huge privilege to have him on. Someone who we’ve looked up to for as long as I can remember in the heavy music world. It’s awesome to have someone like that. Lamb Of God is a huge influence for us.’

There also is the mammoth regional tour of Australia with Alpha Wolf next month, which does include a few of their own sideshows.

‘It is one of my favourite places in the world to come and play, to be honest. The crowds are sick, everyone’s really welcoming. The sun’s shining, it’s warm. You’ve got beautiful scenery, beautiful beaches, what’s not to love? Every time we go there, we have a great time. So, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m looking forward on this trip as well to seeing the places that we haven’t been before. Like you said, the more rural spots, slightly off the beaten track and seeing what their places are like. It’s one of our favourite places to come. So yeah, we’re very excited.

‘I sometimes tend not to watch pre-sale numbers too much or look at the venues in advance because it kind makes it more fun on the day. I know the tickets for the headline shows that we’re doing, the side shows there, they’ve been selling really well because it’ll be our first time headlining in Australia, so that’ll be sick. So yeah, I like leaving it up until closer to the time to finding out what the vibe is.’

As a fellow northerner, I can appreciate the allure Australia can have, however Taylor is quick to stake his flag in hometown Sheffield, a city that over recent years has graced us with While She Sleeps and arena headlining titans Bring Me The Horizon.

‘I love Sheffield. I mean I just bought a house here, so I love it here. I feel like Sheffield is a music city. We’ve grown up having a lot of local venues available to us and it helps to have a fairly good scene to build. I think it’s probably just the working mentality of you’ve got to go out there and nothing’s handed to you. I think that’s what it boils down to. It’s generally a northern trait I feel like.’

‘I mean we’ve known those (While She Sleeps) lads for as long as I’ve been in Malevolence, so it must be coming up to seventeen years now. We’ve grown up with them basically. Some of the earliest Malevolence shows were supporting Sleeps, so they helped put us on the map in the UK regionally. We actually did our first tour with them at the end of last year, which is crazy to think it took that long to make it happen really. I got a lot of time for all of them and we see each other quite a lot because where our unit is in Sheffield, where we practice is thirty seconds away from where they practice. So, there’s one little area in Sheffield where you’ve got, While She Sleeps, Bring Me The Horizon and Malevolence, all within a stone’s throw of each other.’

The last word on the tour goes to Taylor.

‘The side shows are the first headline shows that we’ll have ever done in Australia. So, we’re really excited for them. They’re going to be intimate sweat boxes and the tickets are selling really well. Come and celebrate with us because we’re looking forward to it and I’m really looking forward to seeing all the places that we haven’t been before, seeing a side of Australia that we haven’t seen before. New album coming June 20. Thank you to everyone who’s already pre-ordered. It really does mean the world!’

Interview By Iain McCallum

Where Only The Truth Is Spoken, set to be released on the 20th June via MLVLTD in partnership with Nuclear Blast Records. Pre-Order HERE…

On tour with Alpha Wolf, tickets from Destroy All Lines…

Australian headline shows, tickets from Destroy All Lines…