To their credit, MALEVOLENT CREATION has been regularly releasing albums since their debut in 1991. In fact, I would argue that out of all the early Floridian Death Metal bands, MALEVOLENT CREATION has been the most consistent, despite seeing a minor drop in quality during the late 90's. Yet for whatever reason, despite their hard work, they never quite achieved the status of their peers like DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL and OBITUARY.

However, their reputation was tarnished a bit recently when founding guitarist Phil Fasciana claimed to single-hand foil a convenience store robbery by wrestling a gun from the robber and shooting him in the face. The problem with his heroics is that they were later revealed to be completely fabricated. Instead of apologizing or offering a plausible explanation, Fasciana instead released a poorly worded and unintentionally hilarious statement, attempting to insult the internet community while kind of saying the story is true but kind of... well you'll just have to read it for yourself (a quick search will pull up the story). However, Phil, despite you being right about me writing this from my parents computer, I am 23 years old and only living with my parents until I pay off my university loans (did you even go to college?). Oh and I still probably make more money than you.

But I must digress. Despite my feelings about this issue, I must be unbiased in my judgments of their music and specifically "Invidious Domination." The fact is, I actually really like a lot of MALEVOLENT CREATION's back catalog. They distinguished themselves from their peers because they always kept that thrash element to their riffs; resulting in a sound that is kind of like early DARK ANGEL on steroids. On again, off again vocalist Brett Hoffmann is behind the mic and I say that maturity has only improved his vocals, which straddle the line between Thrash and Death Metal.

Thanks to producer Erik Rutan, everything is mixed perfectly. The drums hit hard and the guitars have a nasty bite to them. The stellar sound can even, at times, cover up some lackluster riffs or drumming. Songs like "United Hate" and "Lead Splitter" will please longtime fans due to their intense nature. MALEVOLENT CREATION is not a band to listen to if one wants epic songwriting or ballads. The songs hit hard, make their case and end without overstaying their welcome.

Criticisms for this album are only minor. I sort of wish more was done with the riffs, I feel that certain points could have used increased quality and/or quality in regards to rhythm guitars. Also, some songs could have benefited with some guitar solos, or higher quality guitar solos. Some may gripe about the fact that the album is only 35 minutes long, but I see that as a positive, because this album is lacking in filler and keeps its intensity pretty much throughout. In an age when Death Metal has become stale and boring, MALEVOLENT CREATION has proved with "Invidious Domination" that the Death Metal well has not gone dry.