There's a point in Metal that really has, at the same time, a good and a bad side. Even carrying the problem that some bands in the future could not be able to actualize the style for their needs (this is the bad aspect of it), a style of Metal, once it is created, will never die, and some day, bands will start to do that again (the good aspect). And sometimes, there are bands that really know how to make things very interesting on their works, as the Australian quartet THE MALEDICT. Just give a listening to their first album, "Dread".

On their work, we can hear a Doom Death Metal band, but as they need something to make their music more personalized, they use some very good clean vocals and more melodic insight of their work. Obviously it's heavy, slow and bitter, but you can feel a whole melodic influence from traditional Heavy Metal entering their work. But don't worry: as I said before, they are a Doom Death Metal band, so you have as well aggressive and harsh moments as well.

Ian McLean (the band's guitarist and vocalist) made the mixing and mastering of the album, and did a fine job. The sound quality is good, heavy and bitter, keeping their aggressive musical side evident, but having the needed clearness for them to show their work. And he did as well the design and artwork for "Dread".

Keeping the aggressive side evident in many moments, the entire album is very good, indeed, and even counting the fact the greater part of their songs are very long, they do not bore us until we sleep.

"Tenebrae" (where melodies and heavy aggressiveness are bounded together, changing brutal and tender moments in many parts), the more traditional Doom Death Metal song "Fast Unto the End" (to be honest, due the more aggressive side of their work is evident, it's almost a Death Metal song, in the vein of old Swedish titans), the depressive and intense "Frozen" (with it's very good vocals changes of tunes, from clean and depressive to guttural ones with harsh screams, and a very good work on bass guitar as well), the long nightmare in form of music called "A Muse in Requiem" (where some funereal keyboards appear in the middle of bitterness), and the introspective horror called "Deadened Eyes to the Horizon" (with very good work from bass guitar and drums) can be named as their finest moments.

A very good first coming, indeed, and their work is really very good.<