Live Review : Malevolence + Pain Of Truth + Rough Justice @ O2 Academy, Liverpool on February 12th 2024

Despite releasing their debut album, “Reign of Suffering”, almost 11 years ago, Malevolence have been on something of a meteoric rise over the past couple of years. I was first made aware of them during the 2021 Download Pilot event, in which they were positioned as one of the first couple of bands on the opening day of the event. For me, this was one of those sets that go down in Download Folklore. Malevolence and their trademark dose of sheer brutality provided the perfect antidote for those 10,000 lucky souls in attendance, who had been devoid of any form of live music for the best part of 18 months. 

Since then, the band have continued to move from strength to strength, having been billed in prominent positions at Slam Dunk festival, headlining the Pulse Of The Maggots stage in 2023, have toured with Trivium, Knocked Loose, Architects (review here) among others. Fast forward to 2024, one of the first major tours of the new year sees Malevolence embark on a tour that many would consider intimate, given their newfound status as British Metal icons. 

By the time opening act Rough Justice take to the stage, the O2 Academy is not even close to being full. This Sheffield hardcore collective set the scene for the night, one of relentless energy, aggression and passion. Whilst a majority of their set was what you would expect from a band like Rough Justice, breakdowns, half time, blast beats etc.. , they also showcased moments of absolute brilliance that i found mightily impressive. Their closing song especially, the title track to their latest album, “Faith In Vain” had this incredible chorus that was a complete shift in style from their previous 20 minutes or so. It gave the audience a teaser to the type of band that Rough Justice could be evolving into and if they utilised these clean vocals a bit more, then they could be on to something truly special. By the end of their set, they were playing to a larger and more receptive crowd and there was a buzz in the air that Rough Justice could truly be one of the next best things. Definitely a band to watch out for.

Hardcore is that perfect melting pot, where two of my main musical passions, Metal and Hip Hop collide. Seeing a band like Pain of Truth serves as a perfect reminder of this. They possess the natural swagger, flow and cool most associated with rap and hip hop, whilst simultaneously being bonafide masters of reducing any room they perform in to rubble. From the second they came on to stage with ‘Simon Says’ by Pharoahe Monch blasting over the PA system, I knew they were going to be a band for me. They were raw, gritty and had a fighting spirit that perfectly complemented their music. The vocals flowed freely over the tight knit chugs and breakdowns from the guitars, creating the quintessential hip hop meets heavy sound that made me fall in love with Hardcore in the first place. Pain of Truth are one of them bands that will appeal to all sects of our world, whether you like Madball, Municipal Waste or Body Count, or a sound more aligned to Thrash or Death Metal, Pain of Truth will be right up your alley. 

Malevolence don’t just do Hardcore. They do Hardcore as if it was directed by Wes Anderson. By definition, it is a genre associated with scrappy production, a DIY ethos and not much in the way of a polished end product. Malevolence however tip this formula on its head. Every intricacy and nuance is refined, scrutinised and refined even further to create a soundscape that is impeccably clear and as tight as even the most technically impressive band. It is this attention to detail that justify the bands self proclaimed titles as “Heavyweight Champions of The World”.

Whilst their professionalism and commitment to achieving their beautifully refined end product will be enough to appease the hardcore sceptics, it also inadvertently creates an air of extreme accessibility to those who may be unaccustomed to the world of hardcore. Their recent success can be considered a by-product to this level of accessibility, if Malevolence were placed in a mid afternoon mainstage spot at a festival, anyone in attendance who may not have necessarily made a conscious effort to catch Malevolence in particular will be able to pick out one or two aspects of their game that would be considered instantly recognisable or relatable. Be that the bone crunching riffs, the pitch perfect southern metal style vocals of co vocalist Konan Hall or the relatable, grounded lyrics orated perfectly by main vocalist Alex Taylor. 

Malevolence show all the hallmarks as being a band right at the top of their game, but you can’t help but think that they have other areas of exploration up their sleeve that will continue to further their star power potential. They already have their live sound nailed down, all they need now is to continue to develop their already impressive back catalogue to create a setlist of absolute hits, ready for when they inevitably bother the larger stages and more prominent festival billings, Bloodstock comes to mind. The sky truly is the limit.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Malevolence, Pain Of Truth, Rough Justice