Pestilence
Malleus maleficarum

THE REVIEW

Here we are facing the debut album of this Dutch band, which over time has become part of the pantheon of death bands. Have you ever heard of the sacred triad: Atheist-Cynic-Pestilence? In any case, in 1988 they recorded this album of simple and direct thrash metal, unpretentious and eager to make some noise. Easy to digest, Malleus maleficarum is a typical headbanger's album: fast rhythms, granite riffs, and a singer spitting his tonsils out. At the time, Patrick Mameli and company didn't have great technique: the songs are quite linear, with solos inspired by the guitar noise of Hanneman and King. But after all, this was their first big step into the music world, a kind of trial. In part, they were still a band of young men who wanted to have fun imitating their idols. In short, this album is recommended if you are die-hard Pestilence fans and want to know their origins, or if you like the "butchery thrash" genre that was all the rage in those years. Or again, if you're as crazy as I am, for its decent collectible value (many who listen to Pestilence don't even know that this record exists)!

The album (from 1988) is practically impossible to find. However, ten years later, an interesting reissue was released by Displeased Records, containing the band's two demos: "Dysentery" dated 1987 and "The Penance", from the following year, for a total of 18 songs. Malleus maleficarum earns an honest passing grade. It's certainly not a masterpiece, but it is a respectable debut album, the result of four guys who had good ideas in mind and took the plunge to show them to us.