Malevolent Creation is a death metal band which originally hails from Buffalo, New York. When they moved to Florida in 1987, they became a part of the emergent local death metal scene, landing a deal with Roadrunner Records. Their debut album, ‘The Ten Commandments’, became something of a landmark in the death metal underground, expanding on the early work of Slayer and fellow Floridians Death.

The band recently completed work on their eleventh album, "Invidious Dominion", which was released recently via Germany's Massacre Records. The new album was recorded at Mana Recording Studios (Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains, Goatwhore) in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse). The band has also just signed a management deal with Extreme Management Group (Suffocation, Origin).

Commented guitarist Phil Fasciana: "Malevolent Creation have found a winning combination working with Erik Rutan, putting together an album filled with every bit of hatred, speed and aggression the band has ever recorded. 'Invidious Dominion' contains 10 full-throttle songs from start to finish and will be embarking on a massive world tour upon the album's release in August 2010. See you then!"

It appears that there is much to talk about and so we tracked down Gio Geraca (Lead Guitar), who’s currently on the road with the band in the U.S.A. in support of their latest effort. Here you can read what he had to say. 

First of all, how are you doing? Could you start this interview off with  a little update about Malevolent Creation, it’s been 3 years since you released your previous album ‘Doomsday X’?

Gio: I'm fine thanx, well as you know we have just released the new CD produced by Erik Rutan @ Mana recording studios and are currently on tour with Exodus and yes 3 years have gone by since ‘Doomsday X’ ..time flys man.

How did you launch into writing the material for ‘Invidious Dominion’ , did ideas come easily so that you just had to write them down or was it more of a careful composing thing?

Gio: Man, Phil’s a riff monster, I really don't know how he does it , he would come by my house with full arrangements written, the whole thing was written really quick and we collaborated on a few things as well plus Gus wrote two tracks so things just naturally progressed really quick and before we knew it, ‘Invidious Dominion’ was complete .

Which approach did you choose to create this album, did you go for a more raw exposition.. or something more reminiscent of your previous other works, or something all together different?

Gio: I think everyone wanted some speed on this album and the focus was short, fast and sweet . Not too much focus on a certain sound, just 5 pissed off dudes retaliating through music in a hot warehouse !

What were the goals you had in mind when you started to record ‘Invidious Dominion’, any elements you definitely wanted to include on the album?

Gio: Dark Angel came to surface a few times. You know, just that old relentless angry sound they had. Not that riffs were copied, more of an attitude thing is present on this Album, but like I said it just came out the way it came out with minimal effort.

Was it a conscious decision to do it this way?

Gio: You mean pissed off,short ,fast and to the point ...yes!

How hard was it to come up with a follow-up for your previous album ‘Doomsday X’?

Gio: Not hard. You know Phil’s definitely got riffs running around in his head  24/7 and we had some new inspiration in the song writing department, being me and Gus, we kind of both knew what direction Phil was going in after we heard the first song he wrote. It wasn't hard at all.

Did you spend a fair amount of time working on the album before heading over to record it? How much time did you spend in the studio?

Gio: We only spent about 3 months rehearsing and writing for ‘Invidious Dominion’ and 2 weeks recording in the studio, the whole thing was really fast.

How did the recording process proceed, did you work differently this time than you did with your previous works?

Gio: Hmm hard question to answer being this is my first album with these guys .

Is there a typical process for Malevolent Creation when you are in the studio?

Gio: Get it done man !

Could you please describe the implications of the title ‘Invidious Dominion’, what does it stand for and is there a special meaning behind it?

Gio: World of hate, it fits the whole sound and theme of the album. Plus, it was a great title for the art work and we were able to bring back the demon from the first album cover, everything just fell into place.

Of course the main themes of the songs are clear, where do you get your inspiration from? Can you tell me something more about the lyrics, is there a story behind them?

Gio: Brett man, he's a library of knowledge I mean that dude is really smart and he's got a real gift for story telling, there's not too much symbolism with the lyrics on this album, everything is pretty much straight forward. "Slaughterhouse” is about a human slaughterhouse, “Compulsive Face Breaker”  is about Phils brother breaking heads and so on, but as far as inspiration I think he's just pissed off like the rest of us.

How important is it to you that people pay attention to the lyrics apart from listening to the music?

Gio: Well it always helps paint the final picture when you can read the lyrics with the music so I think it's very important.

What are your main influences on the new album? Is it difficult to sound original these days?

Gio: Mine are the usual suspects / Sabbath, Maiden old thrash, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence and Malevolent. Sounding original for these guys is easy, nobody sounds like Malevolent Creation.

The album was produced by Erik Rutan, what made him the perfect producer for Malevolent Creation?

Gio: Easy, we listened to his work. I mean he is the new Scott Burns in a way plus he knows the band’s history .

Are there songs on the new album in which we can clearly hear his vision and ideas?

Gio: He pretty much had ideas for bits and pieces of all the material, but mostly he liked everything we had written.

What is the utmost important ingredient for a song?

Gio: Not having too many riffs is a plus, it's the art of brain washing and beating the shit out of a few great riffs, that to me makes a great song.

Do you have any favorites on the album?

Gio: Shit man honestly it's hard to pick a fav out, they’re all killer but if I had to I'd say “Target Rich Enviroment”.

Overall, are you pleased with the outcome of the songs or would you have liked to have changed anything in retrospective? Which element of the CD are you most proud of?

Gio: No man everything came out pretty killer as far as I'm concerned.

With several albums under your belt, how far has you career surpassed your original dreams and what would you say is the most rewarding part of being in the band?

Gio: Shit, for me being a long time M Creation fan this is a dream come true. I'm stoked to be able to play these songs I grew up with on stage every night.

How has the band's sound progressed from your first album ‘The Ten Commandments’ to ‘Invidious Dominion’ in your opinion?

Gio: It's changed here and there but with Phil, Jay and Brett in the band you can always count on that good old Malevolent sound ending up on each record .

Do you feel you have to prove yourself with each release due to the metal climate nowadays?

Gio: I don't think Phil even thinks about that kind of stuff, he just goes in there and tries to make the best record possible without thinking or being influenced by anyone .

Which song is your favourite one to play live? Which song do you feel is the most challenging one to play live?

Gio: Well, right now we only play one new song live: "Slaughterhouse" and it's fucking relentless from start to finish so that's been great to play live but my fav is “Coronation” for sure.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and the kinds of things that motivate you in your writing, your poetry and your lyrics?

Gio: Well, you'd be better off to speak with Brett and Phil about that one, but for me I'm always trying to speak from a dark place inside myself.

What is your opinion on the deathmetal scene these days? What do you think about the overload of bands at the moment? Is there anything missing in the scene?

Gio: Wel, the resurgence of metal in general is fucking great to see but a lot of these bands sound so much alike and I fuckn hate metalcore shit.

In your opinion, what makes Malevolent Creation stand out compared to other bands out there?

Gio: Well I mean just listen to the albums man, no one sounds like M Creatio , MC is like a fucking wall of hate rolling forth .

Could you respond to the following terms in just one word or sentence:

Metal : is life

Underground : should stay that way

Internet : revolutionary

Religion : whatever

Politics : no time for endless debates 

The Netherlands : fucking great 

USA : home  

What can we expect from Malevolent Creation in the near future, are there any touring plans?

Gio: Oh fuck ya lots of touring, Europe, South America, Puerto Rico and who knows after that .

Anything left to say to our readers?

Gio: Ya check out my side band at www.myspace.com/evilamidstofficial featuring members of Malevolent Creation, Hate Plow and Kult ov Azazel.

Thanks for your time,

Eugene Straver

Current members:

Brett Hoffman – Vocals

Gio Geraca – Guitars

Phil Fasciana – Guitars

Jason Blachowicz – Bass guitar

Gus Rios – Drums

Former members:

Jim Nickles – Guitars

Kyle Symons – Vocals

Jeff Juszkiewicz – Guitars

Rob Barrett – Guitars

John Paul Soars – Guitars

Jason Hagan – Guitar

Gordon Simms – Bass Guitar

Marco Martell – Guitar

Justin DiPinto – Drums

Alex Marquez – Drums

Mark Simpson – Drums

Dave Culross – Drums

David Kinkade - Drums

Derek Roddy - Drums

Fabian Aguirre - Drums

Studio albums:

(1991) The Ten Commandments

(1992) Retribution

(1993) Stillborn

(1995) Eternal

(1997) In Cold Blood

(1998) The Fine Art of Murder

(2000) Envenomed

(2002) The Will to Kill

(2004) Warkult

(2007) Doomsday X

(2010) Invidious Dominion

Live albums:

(2004) Conquering South America