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Album Review: I Declare War ‘Malevolence’

Published

16 years ago

on

‘Malevolence’, the third full length release by Seattle, Washington Tech-Death metal band I Declare War, is a solid release with 11-tracks of blistering, down-tuned heaviness. The lyrics are just as in-your-face as the music (should you be able to understand them) and if you’re feeling particularly pissed-off at the government, religion, etc…, this may just be the album you need to get some of that aggression out. 

idwmalevolence
Make sure to check out Jonathan Huber’s Top 10 horror list HERE.

The album starts off with the title track, ‘Malevolence’, which is an intro for ‘New Age Holocaust’. I’ll talk about these two songs as though they were one, for the sake of being able to talk about each instrument. ‘Malevolence’ starts off with about 25 seconds of sampled noise and snippets of the rest of the song, just heavily EQ-ed to sound like it’s coming out of a broken TV or an old AM radio. Then the full produced band kicks in and the production of the album becomes a bit clearer. The guitars are heavily saturated in distortion, making it difficult to distinguish what notes are being played in the lower registers. The tone of the bass adds to some of that muddiness. The cymbals are poorly mixed throughout the album, with some being far louder than others and the overall sound of many of the cymbals is very trashy and thin. The bass drum, however, has a great thump to it and the snare has a sharp ‘pop’. Jonathan Huber’s vocals are not really my style but I’m constantly impressed at how low and evil his vocals sound. They are mixed in very well but, due to his vocal style, I have troubles understanding what he’s saying. Ah well, that’s what album liners are for. Lastly, the album seems to be missing that top end ‘sparkle’ that might’ve countered the muddiness in the low end. 
Also, the track ‘Malevolence’ is musically a great soundtrack to the artwork of the album, which is done by the same people who have done some of the artwork and photography of Strapping Young Lad, Nevermore, Jeff Loomis, Lazarus A.D. and others.
Musically, these guys know what they like to play, the stick to it and they do it well. There are very clever passages where the guitars (Evan Hughes and Chris Fugate) don’t so much duel as they trade off riffs and harmonies. The drummer (Ryan Cox) plays what the song needs and doesn’t overplay, adding in clever passages here and there. The bassist (Brent Eaton) keeps it simple and low, filling in some voids where necessary and keeping silent when he should. Lastly, singer Jonathan Huber’s vocals perfectly match this style of music.
Lyrically, this album is full of anti-government slogans, critiques against the health administrations and foreign policies and a great deal of animosity against religion. The lyrics are nowhere near subtle but they drive the point home: These guys are pissed. 
Overall, ‘Malevolence’ is a solid tech-death metal album that boasts some heavy, intricate songs that are marred by some production problems. 
3.5 out of 5
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Music

Marco Beltrami’s ‘Scream’ Score Gets Deluxe Reissue For 30th Anniversary

Published

3 days ago

on

July 9, 2026

By

Seminal slasher Scream rewrote the rules in 1996, and for its 30th anniversary,  Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings are celebrating with a new anniversary reissue of Marco Beltrami’s landmark score.

The original 14-track album returns to vinyl in a collectible “blood-soaked” sleeve on August 28.

If blood red isn’t your color, there’s good news: the reissue will also be available in many different limited-edition exclusive pressings.

In addition to the wide “Woodsboro Bloodbath” red vinyl pictured below, look for the following exclusives:

An Extended Cut Edition of the Scream (Original Motion Picture Score), featuring all 40 of the film’s cues from the 2022 Scream boxset, will also be available on CD. All formats are available to pre-order or pre-save today.

Top L-R: “Knife’s Edge” silver vinyl with poster (Target), “Surprise, Sidney” metallic blend vinyl (Barnes & Noble), “Don’t Hang Up” clear vinyl (Books-A-Million),
Bottom L-R: “I’ll Be Right Back” blue vinyl (Urban Outfitters), “Final Girl” splatter vinyl (Hot Topic), “Wrong Answer” Blood Red Splatter vinyl (Varèse Sarabande/Craft Recordings), and “Final Phone Call” blue vinyl (Indie Retail)

Marco Beltrami composed the iconic score as a then young, up-and-coming composer—one who, ironically, had never scored or even seen a horror film.

Yet just three years after he completed the University of Southern California’s rigorous scoring program, Beltrami submitted 13 minutes of music for Scream’s opening sequence and his future was forever changed. “We knew in half a minute that we had found our composer,” Craven told Variety in 2012. “The music was haunting, beautiful and totally original. Marco turned out to be shy and soft-spoken, but a fountain of ideas and innovation. I never looked back.”

Scream (Original Motion Picture Score) (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

CD Tracklist

1. Dimension Logo (0:19)

2. The Cue from Hell (10:33)

3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1:52)

4. Sid’s House (1:12)

5. Red Herring (2:13)

6. Killer Calls Sydney (2:52)

7. Chasing Sidney (1:29)

8. Cell Phone (1:00)

9. Backdoor Gale (0:49)

10. Schoolyard 2 (1:17)

11. Sid’s Doubt (1:23)

12. Bathroom (2:58)

13. Mr. Himbry Gets It (2:11)

14. Sherriff and Dewey (1:21)

15. Tatum’s Torture (2:46)

16. Sidney Wants It (3:09)

17. Dewey and Gale (1:57)

18. Off to See Himbry (0:41)

19. Killer Stabs Billy (2:50)

20. Randy Almost Gets It (2:33)

21. Gale Crashes the Van (1:33)

22. They’re Crazy (9:42)

23. Sid Stabs Billy (4:24)

24. Billy’s Back (0:52)

25. End Credits (1:40)

26. Sid’s Window (0:26)

27. Gut Someone (0:13)

28. Sid Looks (0:16)

29. Billy Looks (0:24)

30. Billy to Cell (0:34)

31. Killer Calls Again (0:35)

32. Bang Into Billy (0:12)

33. Girl Talk (0:54)

34. Video Store (0:45)

35. Why She’s Here (0:16)

36. Billy Sting (0:13)

37. Prescott’s Car (0:29)

38. Hairbrush (0:38)

39. The Cue from Hell (Orchestra Only) (6:28)

40. I Don’t Care (Vocals Performed by Dillon Dixon) (3:01)

Scream – Original Motion Picture Score

Vinyl Tracklist

Side A:

1. Dimension Logo (0:19)

2. The Cue from Hell (10:33)

3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1:52)

4. Red Herring (2:13)

5. Chasing Sidney (1:29)

6. Backdoor Gale (0:49)

7. Schoolyard 2 (1:17)

8. Bathroom (2:58)

Side B:

1. Sherriff and Dewey (1:21)

2. Tatum’s Torture (2:46)

3. Sidney Wants It (3:09)

4. Killer Stabs Billy (2:50)

5. They’re Crazy (9:42)

6. End Credits (1:40)

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