Cvltvs Diaboli

At present there's not much information about Malvm and their output so far is limited to a cassette and a digital EP. Based on what I've heard of the EP, Malvm come across as a no-nonsense old-skool black metal band, playing very technical melodic BM songs with crisp precision and a high level of consistency. The band reminds me very much of a lot of (admittedly) generic Finnish BM, high on technical ability and a flair for songwriting and melody, if average where individuality and atmosphere are concerned. "Cvltvs Diaboli" are sure to satisfy a lot of listeners on criteria of technical skill and consistency, aggression and raw energy alone, and anything extra the band might offer will be icing on a solidly constructed cake.

The members go hell for leather on first track "Ördögtől Való" - all song titles are in Hungarian - and never pause for breath, just keeping their feet down (but not too hard) on the accelerator as they thrash away on churning chainsaw-grind guitars, constant blast-beat drumming and a sawdust-dry vocal rasp dwelling on themes of Satanic worship and loathing for humankind. Having chewed up the first two tracks as warm-up, with some deep cavern ambience in-between, the band relaxes a bit on the long track "Méreg" and this is where the musicians start to reveal an experimental bent with sound, melody, pace and rhythm, sometimes going slow and then fast, and occasionally bringing the music right down to a solo instrument doing not much more than simply bleed slowly away. In this track the band shows a talent for dramatic, even epic melodies as the music rises and falls, sometimes disguises itself as straightforward blast-beat BM, only to let slip its theatrical side into the open again.

The EP goes out on a high with a highly aggressive song, guitars grinding away and drums whacking until their skins nearly blow out. It's a grand conclusion with a couple of passages of jaunty folky-sounding rhythms and guitar drone at the end blaring into a huge airy black cavern that swallows up the band and takes the guys into an all-enveloping blacker-than-black abyss ... until next time they have a message for us.

While there's hardly anything here that we haven't heard already in the way of straight-out technical melodic BM, Malvm distinguish themselves in the main with enthusiasm, energy, a very crisp sound and good consistent musicianship. This EP stamps the band as a solid and robust unit. The fellas have some talent in creating very brief ambient soundscapes and they play a little with sound and texture here and there. On future recordings they need to risk a bit more playing with their style and include more ambient elements to stand out.