Originally from Buffalo, New York, in the late '80s Malevolent Creation flew south and quickly became ensconced in the Sunshine State's hugely unlikely but now-legendary death metal scene. It quickly scored a coveted deal with Roadrunner Records, then the ultimate home for death metal, early grindcore, and thrash. Malevolent Creation released its debut album, The Ten Commandments, in 1991 to high scene praise, despite (well, most likely because of) its extreme, breakneck pace and graphically gruesome lyrical content. Some 16 records have followed since then, the most recent, Live at the Whiskey, in 2008.
Like any long-running metal act worth its salt, the band now boasts a list of former members three times as long as that of its current ones. Still, the present-day lineup is a legitimate one: Frontman Brett Hoffman sang on the first three Malevolent Creation records, on two more in the '90s, and then returned for good, it seems, around 2005. And of course there's guitarist Phil Fasciana, pretty much the only steady member of the group since its inception. And while technically based in Fort Lauderdale, the band's global reputation far eclipses its reception in its hometown. Sunday's gig at Culture Room provides a rare look at the band at home — it comes on the heels of a mini tour through Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia.
