Forgotten Gems: Malice-In the beginning

Atlantic 1985
Re-issue: Wounded Bird 2005

For this Forgotten Gem we will both be chiming in with our views on it. Enjoy!

Andy's Take-L.A. band Malice got their start on the first Metal Massacre compilation. After securing a contract with Atlantic Records the group delivered In The Beginning which should have launched the group into stardom. With lights in their eyes the band set out to try to build upon a loyal local fan base and bring their Priest style metal to all of America. But in 1985 there was already one Judas Priest and as is too often the case once they were labeled clones they couldn't shake the tag. Blame it on James Neal really. The guy has an amazing voice and does indeed sound like Halford on a few tracks. Add to that the guitar duel of Mick Zane and Jay Renold (and their sounding exactly like those two guys from Judas Priest-do I need to spell them out for you?) and you could see where people might get the idea that they worshiped all things Priest. But peel back the layers and what you have is old fashioned metal that straddles the line between traditional and power metal. Songs like the opener "Rockin' With You" are top notch catchy 80's metal at it's best. Sure song's like "Air Attack" and "Squeeze It Dry" sound like watered down Priest. But "Steeler Masters" and the awesome "Hellrider" make up for it. And the band closes things out with "Godz Of Thunder" possible one of the best metal songs ever to come out of 80's metal! So yes, Malice do sound like Rob Halford and company at times. But they make up for it with a nice mix of catchy hard rock/metal riffs,soaring vocals and (always a bonus in my book!) cheesy lyrics. I can't help but feel this is a guilty pleasure. Maybe given more time to flesh out their sound Malice could have been another Armoured Saint. But instead they folded after another album and EP. Too bad as In The Beginning is a great slab of vinyl worthy of much better than the Judas Priest clone title.


Mark's Take- I saw small black and white ads for this one im the backs of a few metal magazines back when it was released. However it never popped up in my local record store. Just the band name and the simple had me thinking that they must very cool, real fist pumping metal. Fast forward about twenty years to 2005 and I saw this CD pop on eBay from a seller I dealt with regularly and for a fair price so I nabbed it and it's follow up. They were both the re-issues from Wounded Bird with bonus tracks. On first listen they were Judas Priest sound alikes. After a few more plays I was realizing that although the influence is strong that Malice were a little more raw around the edges and I mean that in a positive way. That goes for the playing and the production. If I had heard in 1985 it's likely I would have taken to it more quickly because I was kid then and far less discriminating. Still it's solid metal and easy to enjoy. As for why they didn't become more successful in the 80's my guess is it could have been that they sounded so much like Priest that they never really established their identity or it could have been due to lack of promotion. Yes, that is a dig at their label Atlantic. Okay, they did well with Twisted Sister (for a while) and Ratt, but heavier bands like Raven, Loudness and even Savatage (at least at first) didn't do quite as well on Atlantic. No matter the case I still enjoy listening to this album.

***So there you have it, our views on the debut from Malice.