The term “avant-garde” gets thrown around a lot in music whenever a band releases something even slightly off-kilter. The reality is, however, that only a handful of bands actually meet that mark, and do it well — notable examples including Sigh, Imperial Triumphant, and Igorrr. So, who is Malconfort and why would they be considered avant-garde? To answer this set of questions we must first ask: what is an avant-garde band? The simple answer to that would be “a band that pushes the style of music they specialize in to its absolute limit, and incorporates other genres seamlessly”. All three previously mentioned bands are masters at this, but do newcomers Malconfort have the necessary skills?
Hailing from England and composed of members from Sea Mosquito and Amaltheia, all while being named after the Deathspell Omega song, Malconfort seek to prove themselves as a new contemporary in the avant-black metal scene. The experimental nature of Humanism comes from how most songs are structured, with a key element being softly spoken word vocals over slightly discordant guitar lines. However, these vocals don’t have the intended impact, rather sounding more as an attempt at a monologue, which makes them feel a bit silly. The guitar parts aren’t very interesting either, as the guitar lines feel meandering and unfocused compared to the rest of the performances. “Carnivore (God)” is the highlight of the album though. While I wish the vocal style at large was different, there’s a distinct broody, melancholic feel to this song that resonates more than the others on Humanism at large, and it’s definitely the song I keep coming back to. The drumming also provides nice, jazzy breaks at points such as on “Inertia (Condense)” and “Cruelty (Elation)”, which works well in spicing Humanism up from sheer monotony.
Criticisms aside, Humanism at the very least sounds nice from a production standpoint. However, Malconfort aren’t at the level they could be in the avant-blackened sphere of metal. They played it too safe on Humanism, and I would like to see them branch out more into unsharted territory much like Imperial Triumphant or even how their direct namesake, Deathspell Omega, approaches songwriting. I’m always keen for a good dive into the weirder side of metal, and this being just under thirty minutes is a good springboard for that, but there’s just not enough weirdness in it to really sink your teeth into.
