Arising from the shadows...

Let's get serious. Real serious. It's been five years between albums for Bloomington's (IN) Medusa. That's plenty of time to exhale the tar and recharge the band's venom glands. And with Divine Malice, Medusa continue to strike with viper like precision with their brand of stark, riff-centric fury and might. Divine Malice sees Medusa continue where En Raga Sul left off. It's thrashing, bombastic, often furious, and concentrated on each riff leveling the listener. It's efficient while stripping away all pretense. The beast indeed rises again.

Upon opening the limited addition 12 inch EP version, one is greeted by a one sided, six song smokey black and grey picture disc. Auris Apothecary, once again, shines as the label's effort, skill, and dedication are on display with Divine Malice. The b side is embossed with a limited edition silk screened illustration by Colin McClain (check out his tattoo work: colinmcclain.com/home). The LP comes with an eight page lyric booklet and a download card with two bonus songs. As this is a limited edition release, it would be wise to jump on this before they are gone.

Now for the meat... Divine Malice is a fifteen minute excursion in hammered horror. After the initial sample on Bleeding Ocean, Scott Vanburen's vocals wail and screech in an octave or two higher than those of En Raga Sul making the aural derangement instant. His ever present wail remains a possessed conjuration over the course of the six songs, as the rest of the band begin chugging forth their brand of black bile. The guitars are laden with detuned sludge and heavy with viscous shards of malign acrimony. The bass is the thunderer to the drums pounding incantations. The longest song stretching a mere three minutes and fourteen seconds means there is little fat on Divine Malice. Medusa get down to business and bellow riff after riff. Medusa excel at stripping away filler and gristle, leaving only space for their plundering heft. Nothing exhibits this better than song five: Come Alive. Sample, wail, boom... The repetition in the opening riffs enforces the quick crescendo's ability to snap necks back. As is the case with bands that share members from previous or current bands, Divine Malice has a distinct Racebannon influence that occurs throughout the EP. It's most noticeable on Ashes & Glass, as it's a song that would not be out of place on the later Racebannon releases. With that said, a little Racebannon leaking in is never a bad thing. As a whole, Divine Malice is a swaggering collection of charred and damaged songs. As good as the illustration is on the b side, it would have been a whirlwind of devastation to have an entire LP's worth of music. The brevity and pace of the exposed riffs and rhythms combined with the wailing vocals on Divine Malice are an uncomplicated amalgam of craft and sorcery. Buy the limited edition version from Auris Apothecary if you want to hear the bonus tracks.

medusarules.bandcamp.com

aurisapothecary.org/AAX-095
aurisapothecary.bandcamp.com/album/aax-095-divine-malice