Malignancy

Having formed in 1992, it's surprising that Yonkers, NY's Malignancy are just now releasing their third full-length, Eugenics, 20 years later. What isn't surprising is that the new record, which is the follow-up to 2007's Inhuman Grotesqueries, features more of their trademark brutal tech-death. As one of the pioneering bands of the NYC death metal scene, along with Suffocation and Incantation, Malignancy offer up new material that's nostalgic and raw, with an early '90s atmosphere, but with slightly more polished production. Opening track "Type Zero Civilization" encompasses every element the band have honed over the years: fast and brutal riffs, unpredictable song structures, blasting drums and squealing guitars, as well as a mix of high screams and low gurgles (albeit not as awe-inspiring as on 1999's Intrauterine Cannibalism). It's more of the same from here on out, and although that's not necessarily a bad thing, in terms of giving traditional tech-death fans what they want, it does get somewhat tiresome by the time the second half of Eugenics rolls around.