To this very day, this record is best described by a statement made by Malevolent Creation themselves: "We sound like Slayer on steroids!". This statement alone sounded kinda interesting to me and made me wanna find and listen to this album, and see if it's worth the huge reputation it has.
This album has a lot of elements that give a classic status to it. It was released in 1991, an undisputed golden year for death metal. It wad produced by Scot Burns, the absolute guru producer of DM. Plus, the band comes from Florida, a place famous for its DM bands. and of course, it has one of the most iconic covers in DM history.
Having listened to other Malevolent Creation albums prior to this, I will admit that I wasn't expecting something so thrashy from this band's debut album. The vocals aren't even death metal, they are almost thrash. The sound is definitely DM and there are even hints of brutal death metal going on in the riffs and drum patterns, but the vocals make it more of a death/thrash album. It is solid and tight as fuck, but when I listen to DM I need something harsher I'm afraid.
Not to say I was dissapointed, but I really expected something heavier. In 1991 there were already bands playing heavier and faster than this. However, The Ten Commandments will stay in my music collection and I will play it in the future when I want to listen to some hyper speed, anabolic death/thrash.
Here is what I think is one of the heaviest songs on the album:
