ARCHITECTURAL GENOCIDE – MALIGNANT COGNITION

The short introductory track ‘Precursor to Bloodshed’ sets the scene for the upcoming brutality. Beginning with static white noise followed by a hypnotising circular riff from guitarist Tom Savage and a pulsating double kick beat from Nat Conner on the drums. Short interview snippets from the infamous serial killer BTK are overdubbed leaving the listener with no doubt as to what is about to assault their auditory senses.

Cymbal choking straight into ‘Coercion into Carnality’, we get our first taste of the guttural vocals of Daniel Brockway and it’s reminiscent of the Chris Barnes- Cannibal Corpse era. The guitar riffs are tight and littered with pinch harmonic bends, which are like the screams of the killers victims. The drum beat blasts and the dryness of the snare instantly sits towards the front of the mix. It’s hard not to headbang to this one!

‘Leave it to Cleaver’ could be considered a play on words linking back to the 1950’s US sitcom ‘Leave it to Beaver’, based in the suburbs and exactly where BTK hid in plain sight. It’s a short and aggressive track that keeps building the momentum with dissonant riffs and driving blast beats. It is the first time there is space for Matt Day to slip in a little bass fill.

Track 4, ‘Trophies for my Murders’ sees a change in pace, machine gun snares are replaced by a half time double kick beat and what feels like a crawling, grasping guitar riff. The speed and ferocity hasn’t left but there is a noticeable almost sludgy shift.

‘Malicious Wager’ begins with a quote from another infamous killer Richard Kuklinski, also known as the ‘Iceman’. It continues to build upon the pace change by introducing more space allowing another bass fill and more machine gun snare work.

Blasting straight back in is ‘Decent Deranged’. The riffs certainly give a feeling of derangement as they snake and twist only to have squealing pinch harmonics interjecting. The vocals continue to deliver the darkness of the mind, adding a pig squeal esq dimension. The final minute of the song helps to galvanise the derangement with a dissonant single chord eliciting feelings of chaos.

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At just over 4 minutes ‘Zed Requiem’ is the longest track on the album and reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse’s ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ with the pinch harmonics. Space is again given for another little bass fill, adding more texture.

The final and stand out track ‘Stuffed Under Floorboards’, begins with dialogue and contempt the killer has for the mess and stench his victims generate. There is space left for each of the band members to have their own moment, although there is still a musical connection with the earlier tracks and the constant brutality of the riffs and vocals. The track fades out with the same riff repetition and what feels like the inner voices or turmoil of the killer.

‘Malignant Cognition’ is a violent and brutal assault of the senses with hypnotic dancing guitar riffs, pulsating blast beats and guttural vocals that transport the listener into the chaotic mind of a killer. The guitar tone achieved is full and has depth allowing the riffs to clearly paint the scene. The bass consistently delivers the low end supporting the guitars and drums whilst also adding short fills to add layers and complexity. The drums were ever present providing a solid beat to build the tracks around, although the snare drum was at times too far forward in the mix on some tracks and was in competition with the vocals. However, this could be a stylistic choice as they both sit in different areas of the sonic field. Overall, the production is good and sounds similar to that achieved by Cannibal Corpse on their 1992 album ‘Tomb of the Mutilated’. While this album is much shorter compared to Architectural Genocide’s 2020 full length debut release ‘Cordyceptic Anthropomorph’, the shorter length tracks suit the theme of the album and the chaotic mind and fury of a killer.

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SCORE 8/10

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REVIEWED BY MOTH

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