UMUR "Doomsday X" is the 10th full-length studio album by US death metal act Malevolent Creation. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in July 2007. "Doomsday X" marks the return of original vocalist Brett Hoffman, who returns for a third stint with Malevolent Creation. He replaces Kyle Symons who sang on "The Will to Kill (2002)" and "Warkult (2004)". But also bassist Jason Blachowicz makes a return as well as guitarist John Rubin. The former hasn´t been part of the band since "In Cold Blood (1997)", where he also sang, while the former hasn´t recorded with the band since "Eternal (1995)". The usual suspects are drummer Dave Culross and guitarist, bandleader and only member of the band that has always been part of the lineup Phil Fasciana. So while this is not a reunion of the original members, it´s as close to the real thing as it gets.

...and it´s heard..."Doomsday X" is the sound of a revitalized band. Faster, more aggressive and out for blood. Malevolent Creation are back in business after releasing a string of albums that have only occasionally and too seldom hit the excellent mark. I´ll go as far as to say that this is their best release since "Eternal (1995)" (their 4th full-length studio album). Tracks like "Cauterized", "Deliver My Enemy", "Strength in Numbers" and "Bio-Terror" are simply killer death metal tracks full of aggressive energy, caustic snarling growls, brutal and fast riffing, and even faster drumming. The fact that the album features the most powerful and well sounding production that has grazed a Malevolent Creation album in years is not exactly an issue either. The music style is the same as always, which means a combination of US death metal and fast and aggressive thrash metal greatly influenced by mid- to late eighties Slayer. As I mentioned above fast playing and blast beats are a big part of the band´s sound, but they fully understand the importance of variation, and the music features heavier mid-paced parts too and most tracks feature tempo changes and breaks to keep the music entertaining.

While the music style is no surprise and the fact that the band are well playing isn´t exactly a surprise either, the high quality of the material and the conviction behind the delivery did surprise me quite a bit. "Doomsday X" is the return to form I´ve been waiting for since the mid-nineties, only to be met by one more or less standard sounding release after another. Thanks boys!...and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.