Track By Tracks: Malefic - Impermanence (2026)

About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

IMPERMANENCE is a sonic rollercoaster. You can find almost any sub-genre of metal within its walls. Where I think we succeeded most is that they all feel completely coherent and even connected in some ways. I think the musicianship here is top-notch. It’s not as overtly skilled as, say, a tech-death band, but the nuances within the songs show a passion and a refinement of years of playing and writing music. There is a lot of melody; more than you typically find on a “blackened death metal” record. Pair that with the thrash influence on the drums, and you get a very brutal and pummeling album. There is also a level of technicality here as well, and I think a lot of that comes from the progressive rock/metal background and influence as well. It also doesn't feel overly bloated. Coming it at under 40 minutes, it begs for repeated listens.

The mix of the album is also a very important part of telling the story musically. Far too often, bands these days use the same templates for mixes or the exact same drum samples. It all feels very “cookie-cutter”. Everything sounds the same and is overly compressed, and just downright hurts my ears to listen to. We wanted something different. Something that still showcased the nuances in the guitar work, the dynamics in the drumming, and allowed for mistakes. It just needed to feel human. We get all that here, all while the mix still sounds modern and refined. I think this, in and of itself, is why a lot of the emotion in metal has been pushed out. Everything sounds too sterile. The emotion in the performance itself still needs to be showcased. And Alex absolutely nailed that here.

When it comes to the lyrics, they were more of a collaborative effort. However, when we put the final over-arcing work together, we realized that there was a flow to it. The personal struggles, the current socio-political issues, and the societal struggles all seemed extremely relatable. So while they aren't necessarily telling a story or trying to hammer in one particular point, they do tell the tale of the ever-changing nature of life as a whole. Which gives rise to the idea of impermanence, really. And how we came upon that title is a beautiful thing.

Track by Track

1. Blood of the Throne:

Starting off the album with a bang, Blood of the Throne is a blistering blackened thrash song, with high tempos and unrelenting aggression. This song definitely showcases each member's abilities to the extreme. Very fast, precise picking on the guitar, overly ornate drumming, and excellent use of leads, melodies, and harmony.

The lyrics to this song talk about the struggles of capitalism and global control of the masses.

Blood of the Throne is on par with slaying the monarchy, but in this case, we are referring to a more modern idea of power (CEO’s, Congress members, world leaders, etc.) Ironically, the song was written by former guitarist Cory (who fell hard to the ideologies of the Alt-Right movement and the Trump-train during the early part of the decade) but the lyrics were still very fitting with the times and desperation present in the music. They are also easily relatable, no matter which side of (American) politics you fall under. The point being: we all know who the real demons of our society are; we just don’t agree on what the solution is.

Being such a hype, high-tempo song, we really felt the album should start out with a banger. Something that says Malefic isn't here to play around. Initially, this song was going to be the album title, and there was artwork made for it, we ended up using that to release a four-song demo on Bandcamp and subsequently a tape. Blood of the Throne (title and all) has been around as a song since the early days of the band, but has transformed significantly with the modern lineup. The song builds up tension perfectly encapsulating the desperation of the music in the vocals, ultimately opening up into a super melodic break that is reminiscent of more 80's style heavy metal. The song then concludes with an outro verse/solo. Initially, I felt the space at the end gave a somber vibe, almost like a reflection of the sobering reality that capitalism and global politics chew people and spit them out. Ultimately, the band decided to fill up that space, so more lyrics were written, and ultimately, a solo vamp underneath that served as a final statement.

All in all, this song is a crowd-pleaser and one of our favorites to play live. However, it is also one of the most difficult songs to play for our drummer/vocalist due to the sheer ferocity of all the parts included

2. In Darkest Dreams (the Reaping):

The second song on the album definitely showcases more of the death metal influence in the band while still retaining the blackened, thrashy vibe. One of the few songs on the album with an actual chorus, yet the song still has a very neat, progressive structure to it. The middle section “breakdown” does a lot to show the band's versatility in rhythm and tight playing style, ultimately culminating in a “rippin” solo by Sam, which really shows off his skills as a soloist. Each section of this song is wholly unique, offering a different foray into the versatility of the writing.

The lyrics of this song are really a reflection of the old band. Written by Cory initially after Devin left the band, the lyrics were altered slightly by Aaron to make more sense in the overall story. The older lyric’s style definitely comes from a more horror-influenced background, in this case, telling the tale of what is assumed to be some kind of reaper figure. To me (Aaron), they don’t seem to make a lot of sense at times, but they sure as hell sound cool. I think in the future I may still try to visit some of these style lyrics, despite it not being something I typically write about.

This is also one of the oldest Malefic songs. It dates back to pre-2010 and has changed significantly over the years. Mainly in the approach to drums and lyrical cadences. Devin was known for ad-libbing, so not a lot of lyrics were actually written in stone (does anyone ever pay attention to black metal lyrics? haha). The chorus to this song, however, is a pretty good example of something that stayed. In fact, it is believed that the lyrics were written around the chorus, being what they were from before, without even knowing the rest of the original lyrics. With the drums, my background (as far as metal goes) really comes from thrash and high-speed, technical music. I personally like to reserve more groovy beats for the middle, instrumental sections of songs, or the breakdown. My playing style is also very heavily influenced by Progressive Rock, in which the drums change the pulse a lot even within the same riffs, and a lot was done here on this song to revamp the rhythm so that it didn’t feel so monotonous (or maybe that’s just my ADHD coming through). I feel like this song is an excellent example of the pulse changing frequently. There was also definitely some back and forth in the studio on the chorus section of the song as to whether it should remain upbeat the whole time. Obviously, a compromise was made.

3. Of Gods and Man:

The third track on the album is a huge change of pace from the first two songs. This song showcases more of the melodic elements of black metal from various eras, as well as shows off some tasteful bass lines from Jason. The song is basically three separate movements; the first being very triumphant with an almost urgent feel to the verses, followed by a break into some really intense, fast, intricate picking that ultimately breaks down into an outro featuring some chunky riffs with a dueling solo section in the middle.

Initially, the lyrics of this song were to be about the story of Faust and how he traded his soul for eternal greed, and how that relates to the modern world, where everyone is so consumed with consumerism, instant gratification, and the next big thing that they forget how to be in the moment and actually be human. But the themes morphed into a more existential thought process about dealing with one's own relation to a creator-type figure. Struggling with acceptance of one's own mortality as well as one's own desires. Still, the themes presented here are more ambiguous overall, I believe, and thus open to interpretation. The melodies of the song really gave me (Aaron) the feeling of being let down on a grand scale, and I think I was able to still portray those emotions through the lyrics. A common thing I like to do with lyrics is use off-rhymes. One will probably notice it throughout this album if they read the lyrics, but in singing (especially in metal), words tend to “rhyme” that wouldn’t normally, depending on how they are presented. This song also utilizes a lot of “call-and-response” type lyrics written with the intention of using multiple vocal timbres. This is something that happens a lot over the album.

I think overall, this is one of the finer songs on the album from a musical standpoint. It was co-written as a band using everyone's ideas, and it really came out magnificent. Being in a 12/8 almost waltz style allows for the rhythms to be interpreted in many different ways. Typically, we use this song as a set closer because it is such a good way to say goodbye. However, it didn't really seem to sit quite right as a closer for an album, and we felt it was good to push it early to really show off the dynamics of the band as a whole. There was a huge point of contention when writing this song as to whether it should just be intense drumming the whole time. I (Aaron) really wanted to open it up so that the rhythm in the guitars could shine through and give the song a more “floaty” vibe. I feel like far too often in metal music in particular, bands tend to jam-pack songs with everything they have from all the instruments at all times and never really let the music open up and “breathe”.

4. Idiocracy:

Track four follows up the change in dynamics with a different, more black-n-roll type song. This song is surprisingly heavy yet still very melodic. The middle section really digs into the arpeggios that are very popular in black metal, as well as in Devin's writing style. Overall, this song has a very "head-bobbing" vibe, and its triplet pulse leads to a lot of neat picking patterns, especially in the verses. The outro of this song is very heavy and epic, and is probably one of my (Aaron’s) favorite moments on the whole album.

Lyrically, this song follows more of the political and philosophical themes of modern society. I (Aaron) really wanted to showcase cleverness with the word choice while at the same time poking fun at the part of society that is "drinking the cool-aid," so to speak. What was kinda sad to watch was our guitarist/vocalist at the time, Cory, falling hard down the conspiracy/alt-right train despite our best efforts to level with him. So seeing him sing these lyrics literally about himself and people like him was extremely juxtaposing and almost comical. Because, as in the lyrics and real life, these people don't even have a clue as to their own ignorance. Thus, the title of the song.

Initially called “Rot”, this was one of the first ones not fully yet written that was jammed with Devin in my (Aaron’s) basement in 2017. Parts of the song had existed for years, but we deconstructed and reconstructed the song entirely from there. For me, this was the first one that didn't feel like I was forced to learn someone else's parts, regardless of any of the other ones ever being recorded. We played this one live for many years, but it has since fallen to the wayside. We hope to bring it back into the fold again soon, as it really is a great song. Mix-wise, I think the heaviness of this song really stands out on the overall album, and the solo that was added towards the end of tracking by Sam is absolutely fantastic. Perfectly capturing the vibe of what was there before but completely adding his own style and technicality to the mix.

5. Deserter:

This song is a homogeneous mix of death metal, thrash metal, and, of course, black metal. We think this is the one song that perfectly captures our mix of genres. It starts off showcasing the drums and builds into a super, groovy riff, laden with intricate leads. Out of nowhere, it blasts the listener into a magnificent thrash riff that morphs and changes as the drums and guitars move around it, ultimately landing on some very black metal sections. Before you know it, we are off to the thrash again, leading the listener into a barrage of death metal riffs with some “call and response” guttural vocals. The syncopation between the bass and drums on this song is unrivaled and really shines through.

This song's lyrics were also written mostly by Cory before our falling out. Although quite a few lines were rewritten that never really sounded right or made sense with the "story" of the lyrics. This song tackles feelings of being abandoned and/or wanting to die, which supposedly fits alright with the overall theme of the album. A lot about personal struggles and some existentialism.

Deserter was mostly written before the current lineup, but it has morphed into an almost completely different song. The guitars are much tighter and intricate; the drums went from a monotonous death metal groove to a barrage of thrash beats and blasts; and the vocals were broadened and meticulously written out, all of which drastically changed the feel of the original song. The middle stop into the syncopated interlude section is probably one of the most hype moments for me (Aaron) personally live. Since most of these songs were written with a guitarist singing in mind, the drums were always pushed to be extremely intricate and technical. This often made certain things very difficult when switching over to me (the drummer) doing the lead vocals. A lot of my lyrical style involved “call and response” type sections, where there would be gang shouts or other backup vocals, which helped a lot when deciding to sing; however, certain sections needed to be the “main” vocalist. This middle part was one of those that I initially thought was going to be impossible to pull off because of the fact that I had every limb doing something different, and the vocal cadence didn’t match the drums. I am very proud of myself for working up this section; It just makes me feel so unstoppable to nail that syncopated section with the vocals over top of the drums and the bass locked in with the feet live.

6. Disembodiment:

It is a song rife with technical brutality and a mood that's set immediately upon its haunting introduction. The first track to feature an acoustic intro, but not the last. This song probably has the most black metal elements of all the songs on the album. It is also one of only three songs that actually has a "chorus". The dueling chordal harmonies of the chorus section make this one of the more emotional high points of the album, while the instrumental section leading up to the breakdown is a perfect example of the progressive, technical nature of the band. Disembodiment is a path to despair amongst a litany of beautiful dissonance.

Lyrics, huh? Ugh, well, in hindsight, I (Aaron) honestly wish I could rewrite the lyrics to be a little less obvious, but it follows the story of a very terrible person who enacts immense harm to those around them. One of the newer experiences I have had in my life was dealing with a narcissist (actual NPD), so with the emotional journey that I felt this song took the listener on, it only seemed fitting to write about this experience. Anyone who has ever dealt with NPD, gaslighting, or any kind of emotional manipulation probably will be able to relate to these lyrics. I could probably write a lot about this even though the experience is well behind me, but the lead-up and the disbelief that a person could be, in fact, this harmful, are all there, leading to some pretty harsh words towards the end. One of the things I am big on is not repeating lyrics for the "chorus" moments in songs. I feel, as a lyricist, it is a clever way to propel the narrative forward while keeping the same cadences or melodies but changing certain words.

I (Aaron) can't honestly remember much about how this song came about. I do remember the basic layout was written, but the drums helped shape a lot of what was to come. I do remember there never being any real lyrics to the song, and the second "chorus" was a guitar solo that was eventually ditched for a more complete, song-like structure. Ultimately, I had an idea to bring a solo into the breakdown section with the key change (since we were working with an incredible player, Sam), and I kinda had this crazed, controlled madness of a solo in my head. I think I made some noises with my mouth over the music to give Sam an idea of what I thought would fit the best, and boy, did he absolutely crush that one. It perfectly showcases the fiercer side of Sam's solo abilities as well as his extreme technicality. It is definitely a high point for the song, too. This song is super fun to sing live, especially with how ferocious the chorus is on drums paired with the epic, emotional guitar melody over top of it. When everyone is synced up and super tight on the breakdown section, it feels like being part of a well-oiled machine, pummeling its way through the audience.

7. Obsidian Earth:

For all intents and purposes, this is the title track to the album. The magnum opus, if you will. This song is unrelenting and angry. Melodic and grandiose. Chaotic and evil. It takes the listener through a barrage of black metal motifs and blasting, melodic hooks that build up to one of the sickest thrash riffs. Periodically bouncing between fresh ideas and the old, it finally lands on an epic solo by none other than Jason Davila. Obsidian Earth is a powerhouse of a song with some of the strongest drumming and playing on the whole album.

Obsidian Earth always gave me (Aaron) very epic but also uncomfortably angry vibes; almost in a high and mighty, commanding way. Initially, I had started with this idea of using the hypocrisy of Christianity to paint an almost pathetic depiction of them, but that trope has been done far too much in black metal. We are, in fact, vehemently anti-religion of any kind, but our lyrics tend to be written about more things like personal struggle or political idealism. Initially, during the demo process, Cory had ad-libbed some vocal patterns, and then I filled in the space with lyrics. Over time, I changed and added a lot of lyrics to certain sections, but the general idea was there. "We are barreling towards a man-made extinction with nothing slowing us down." It’s honestly quite sad and anger-inducing. I could say a lot about this because I am personally a very nature-loving person, but the gist was that I want to shame humanity for what they have done. Thus, the anger of the song really lets the lyrics push that emotion through to the listener. This song also being the "title track" it more or less encapsulates the current state of humanity and the struggles ahead. Each song is kind of a reflection on selfish decisions that have been made almost entirely out of self-preservation. Except maybe the few "horror" themed songs, but even those can probably be tied in somehow.

This is the song that broke my neck (given that I ended up throwing a disk out and exploding another shortly after finishing tracking this song); well, at least that's how the story goes. Obsidian Earth had all been more or less written prior to the current lineup. The initial drum machine parts seemed a little too monotonous, and at 230 bpm, a lot was thought to be too fast for me to play. I remember Cory struggling with some cadences in tracking the vocals towards the end of his tenure. We all graciously tried to help (because they are difficult cadences given all that is going on), but I believe this was the icing on the cake that ultimately led to his decision to step away. This was the last song tracked on drums, the last song tracked on guitar, and the last song tracked vocally. It is probably the hardest song to play, given its high tempo and unrelenting momentum. We haven’t played this one live since 2019.

8. Echoes of Silence:

Once again, we find ourselves with an acoustic introduction; this one is a bit more ominous. The last in a slew of epic songs, this one is probably the most progressive on the entire album. The melodies are craftily interwoven with each other, carefully delivering the listener to the next section of the song. The counterpoint in the “middle-section” of the song really pushes the narrative forward on the dual nature of addiction. The riffing chaos is dispersed with heavy black metal-laden chords and cries of desperation. Everything seems to build up and carry the listener to the moment of realization, “guitar solo”, which is the seemingly notable “break” in the tension unleashed. The final “chorus” is a reminder of how fragile life can be in a world of emotions.

The lyrics to this song center around our drummer’s history of drug and alcohol addiction and the emotions surrounding it. I (Aaron) knew I wanted to write something along the way about addiction because I have a very personal experience with drug and alcohol addiction; something I am proud to be free of for almost 14 years. In this case, I wanted to write as it pertained to the constant feeling of just wanting to not exist. Any moment of profound effect on my life and emotional state over the past decade never really makes me feel like I want to “use” to escape my reality; my hope is that if I “use,” I might die because I am too much of a coward to do it myself. That is the nature of many people who struggle with addiction. Even with 14 years sober, I still have to deal with these thought patterns in my brain as they come up. They aren’t normal, but nothing ever is for an addict. Oftentimes, the people who try the hardest, the ones who really want to escape, end up being the ones who die. It just seems to unfortunately be that way. I definitely wanted the listener to be able to relate to the struggle, as there is a constant mess of emotions always going on in an addicted mind and never any way to make sense of that (at least not until you put the substances down, but even then, you have to put in work and want to change). I felt the musical journey of this song was perfect to encapsulate a myriad of ideas surrounding being deep in addiction. (Negative thoughts of self-harm, moments of no control, sobering reflections, a glimpse of hope, and ultimately dealing with consequences) The chorus gave me a unique opportunity to write sort of past vs. present in a way (I wasn’t necessarily satisfied with my final version, but an artist never really is).

Writing this song was done mostly as a group. There were a lot of ideas that had been established prior to the current lineup, but most of that was deconstructed with the current members when actually assembling the song. This is also the newest song on the album. A noticeable element is this song's very swing-y “chorus” riff, which led the song to always be referred to as “the pirate song” and then “Mortis” for a good bit thereafter, before official lyrics had begun. We knew we wanted to get a guest solo on this album mainly because at the time we didn’t have a strong lead player (until Sam came along), so who else to ask than our good friend Taylor Washington (Paladin, Bit-Brigade). Many of us had played in a band with him before; he’s always been a huge part of the local scene, and he is an incredible lead player. This song stands out for many reasons, but I think the technicality of the musical passages is probably the best thing we have written together. This song was almost entirely written in the studio and wasn’t “vetted” live like all the rest of the songs. Pushing ourselves to get this to the point of playing live was an arduous task.

9. It Haunts:

After establishing a solid foundation, we sound off with a steep drop back into the blackened abyss. It Haunts pummels the listener with its rifling intensity and fierce vocals. The song takes the listener on a journey laced with brutal riffs and haunted memories, while never straying too far from the black metal. After an epic solo, the song explodes with an outro that commands your attention, leaving the listener with a super unique rhythmic texture that is sure to endure in one’s subconscious for days to come. The lyrics to this song mark the final lyrics written by Cory before his departure, and they became pretty commonplace among the band, so we kept them mostly intact. Not quite sure what this is about outside the generic “horror” theme. Clearly, some kind of haunting of some sort. The ending chant was definitely added

A lot of this song was written by Jason and Devin right before I (Aaron) joined the band, so it is most certainly an older song. A few extensions were suggested in order to add an element to drums, but mostly it has remained consistent. Definitely some truly unique playing by all on this song, especially the drums during the outro. Lots of neat harmonies and intricate guitar work all over the place on this one. I always think an album needs a strong closer, something that can be released as a single but also feels right as a conclusion when it begins. This one has that “final moment” vibe as soon as the first two chords hit. “The end of the journey has come at last!” Pair that with the extremely repetitive chanty outro, and it was the clear winner.

Interlude (kinda). There is an acoustic section that was initially written to go to the end of Idiocracy (at the time it was called “Rot”);  however, having Idiocracy segue into Deserter had a much better flow and didn’t break the pace of the album. Thus, we decided to throw this idea at the end of the album and put some leads on it, and it kinda makes it a fade-in thing after all is said and done. More so, a haunting conclusion to the overall work of music.

Conclusion:

Overall, we are extremely proud of this product. As avid music listeners of all different genres, we feel that every song is super strong and stands on its own. A culmination of many years (a decade maybe?) of hard work and dedication, and a lot of nitpicking. We are hopeful that all the extra attention to detail and waiting pays off.

Initially, we wanted to title the album OBSIDIAN EARTH; however, the album has gone by many names at different times, all drawing from the lyrics of Obsidian Earth, before ultimately we came across IMPERMANENCE. Not only did this describe the overall vibe of the album, "that everything ultimately comes to an end," but also a lot of what we struggled with during the myriad of lineup changes and perseverance through all of that.

To me (Aaron), one of the big overall themes of the album was that every choice we make has consequences. And almost every decision is always selfish in the sense of self-preservation. A lot of topics were talked about, from politics to drug use to existentialism, and in each one of these, very deep personal choices were made. The consequences of which will always leave their mark. Perseverance through these moments is what makes us human and uniquely individual.

As some people may know, there were a lot of setbacks during the process of recording this album. Devin's leaving initially fueled the fire to really get stuff done and put together one of the most powerful lineups Atlanta has ever seen. For a good bit, we're almost there. Then, Cory's leaving after the tracking of all the vocals was very unsettling. He tried to blame Aaron (Jews were always his scapegoat), but the fact was he had been slowly drifting down the whole Q-Anon/trump train the entire time during the pandemic and distancing himself on an intellectual level from the rest of us. The way he went about it was very disrespectful, and thus the choice was made to re-track all his parts, ultimately leading to another year in production for the album. There are a few things left, of course, with him in it, as in lyrics and some backup vocals, but the way that he "left the band" was almost unforgivable. It was a very trying time indeed, but Jason refused to let it take the band out and became the rock during those moments.

Being with a group of musicians who all like to contribute and are all excited about the music is often hard to find among the higher skill levels.

Overall, this album establishes a foundation. One in which the fusing of multiple influences behind a singular purpose can make for very engaging music. There are many strong points on this album: the over-the-top drumming, the technical riffing, the lead work, the crispness of the vocals, and the emphasis on lyrical cadences. All of which never seem to be overbearing or tiring and are tastefully executed. The melodies are there, the production quality is there, and each member's performance is all there, catapulting the music to the forefront of metal evolution.

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