Malconfort

United Kingdom · last active 2024

Malconfort is a London trio named after a Deathspell Omega song, and on their 2024 debut Humanism (Transcending Obscurity Records) they take black metal apart from the inside. Guitarist/synthesist Fas, vocalist Nuun, and drummer/vocalist/synth player Kopczak build songs around dubbed-out basslines and jazz- and electronic-indebted drumming, with jutting, non-cyclical song structures. Harsh vocals appear sparingly, interlaced with whispers, barely audible crooning, laughter and spoken-word asides, drawing critical comparisons to Virus, Oranssi Pazuzu, and Mick Harris's Scorn.

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SCORE PROFILE

JazzyBalkanHardcoreSurfBarbershopDeathBlackTechnicalGlitchTheatricalFolkDoomDroneShoegazeAmbient8-bit
Jazzy5
Balkan0
Hardcore0
Surf0
Barbershop2
Death0
Black6
Technical6
Glitch2
Theatrical1
Folk0
Doom0
Drone2
Shoegaze0
Ambient5
8-bit0

Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.

WHY THOSE SCORES

  • Jazzy 5Sound incorporates 'jazz- and electronic music-indebted drumming' and 'free-form jazz' per Last Rites review of Humanism (yourlastrites.com).
  • Barbershop 2Vocals are 'interlaced with whispers, barely audible crooning, laughter, and spoken word asides' (yourlastrites.com Humanism review).
  • Black 6Band and album are described as 'avant-garde black metal' with shrieked/harsh vocal passages (yourlastrites.com; Bandcamp genre tags).
  • Technical 6Song structures are 'jutting and jagged, rarely cyclical, moving from one thought to another,' per Last Rites review.
  • Glitch 2Bass work is 'dubbed-out' and drumming is 'electronic music-indebted,' evoking Bill Laswell/Mick Harris's Scorn (yourlastrites.com).
  • Theatrical 1Vocal performance includes laughter and spoken-word asides layered atop harsh vocals, a mildly theatrical touch (yourlastrites.com).
  • Drone 2Album is called 'darkly psychedelic' with 'sparse atmosphere' and described as living in 'perpetual monochrome strangeness' (yourlastrites.com).
  • Ambient 5Reviews repeatedly cite 'sparse atmosphere' and atmospheric, progressive passages as core to the sound (yourlastrites.com; malconfort.bandcamp.com).

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