In the early nineties the amount of Dutch Metal bands that combined Death, Thrash and or Black Metal tortured our ears in the Netherlands. I actually was involved with one, DELIRIOUS, and loved their music to bits. Now I have the chance to review another band from that era, and even though our band played quite a few gigs during that time, we never encountered this version of MALIGNANT, a band that combined Black Metal with Death Metal. They originated from a small town called Neer in Limburg, which is in the south of our country. They were able to record and release two demos. Now VIC Records have taken it upon themselves to release a record that showcases what these guys were able of. I have to say that I'm disappointed that he first demo, "Day Of The Lord" from 1990, isn't on this record.

What you do get on "Segruocs Lacitsaiselcce" is the full second demo with the same name, plus the rehearsals for the (unreleased) third demo "Sacrilegious Writh" and some rehearsals from 1993. All together the band in combination with the record company have been able to compile over 78 minutes of material. And as I have to say that the sound on this whole MALIGNANT release has exactly the kind of sound that I remember from the demos from that era. And to be fair, the band sounds very good and convincing here. Plus, I love the fact that they were able to write their music in such a way that there is a lot of cohesion between the songs, without there being any that are exact copies of others.

As this is all music in the same vein, and with a good but not outstanding sound, I have to admit that going through the whole lot of 78 minutes in one go is quite the ordeal. That this happens is mainly because all the music might differ slightly, it still all is in the same ballpark, not because the songs are bad. What MALIGFNANT never recorded was a slightly slower or even really slow song, or maybe something that could be considered a power ballad in their case. Instead they opted to go fast, furious and in your face. That doesn't take away the fact that "Segruocs Lacitsaiselcce" is a very valuable asset that gives us the possibility to hear what we missed over thirty years ago. For that I applaud MALIGNANT and VIC Records.