Malevolent Creation - Stillborn (1993)

It's always puzzled me how this album gets royally dissed on the constant while its chronological successor, 1995's 'Eternal' gets all of the props from all of the death metal nerds that know better. Well, I'm no Rhodes scholar, but I know what sounds good to these ears and I have to say, after the overblown festival of mediocrity that was 'Retribution', I felt that 'Stillborn' was a pleasant return to the ideas that made 'The Ten Commandments' a winner in my book.

At the time of its release I thought that Brett Hoffman's vocals were just fine on this album, in fact, I was somewhat impressed that he was attempting to go lower in pitch. These days I can clearly hear the wear and tear undoubtedly wrought by his performance on the first two albums, not to mention the band's extensive touring. He does sound a little shot and the album may have been a bit more successful in warding off its detractors had the volume of his vocal delivery been lowered in the mix some. Nonetheless, I've heard way fucking worse from bands whose albums are considered to be the cream of the crop, so...

Aside from that microscopic gripe I've always felt that 'Stillborn' was a worthy addition to the MC discography and if anything it serves as the final album to carry with it the feeling and sound of the albums that precede it. Sure, there's no shortage of momos who cry and complain about this album, but I've long fancied that I have quite a sharp ear for music and I truly can't find much to gripe about here. Hey, I like it better than 'Retribution', so there.