Style: Progressive death metal, death metal, technical death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Gojira, Black Crown Initiate, Rivers of Nihil, Cognizance
Country: United States (Texas)
Release date: 1 May 2026

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The magnitude and importance of a great riff can’t be understated in heavy music. Sure, atmosphere and epic guitar solos go a long way in giving an album staying power, but without a meaty riff these garnishments fall hollow. Metal was born from the opening riff of “Black Sabbath”, while the subgenres of djent, thrash, and death metal were manifested in the guitar hooks of Meshuggah, early Metallica, and Death. Why there isn’t an international riff day is beyond me, but I digress. Texans Malconstruct surely understand the central importance of a well-constructed guitar phrase to their brand of groove-filled death metal. Now on their third LP, Entanglement, Malconstruct have been quietly churning out heavy guitar licks since 2013, and they clearly understand that without riffs, we are nothing.

While concocting their guitar lines, it’s clear that Malconstruct maximized the amount of groove that can be packed into a seven song, twenty-five minute album. A familiar Gojira-like stomping rumbles consistently throughout Entanglement, as an attention-grabbing groove immediately declares Malconstruct’s presence in the opening track “Misery Epoch”. While at first the effect induces involuntary headbanging, the impact diminishes with each subsequent track due to a lack of variety. The individual riffs of Entanglement are well constructed and appealing to those like myself that require groovy death metal as a sustaining lifeforce, though within tracks and throughout the album as a whole, Malconstruct stack the riffs on top of each other, failing to create a coherent flow. Often a burst-and-pause phrasing is employed to verses, where a flurry of notes are followed by a brief pause and then repeated. Due to the overuse of these punctuated riffs, “Misery Epoch” and “Mutual Consumption” become tedious with repeat listens. Awkward attempts to match the instrumentation to Garret Webb’s vocals in the verses of “The Vacuous Nothing” add to the tedium.

Within the riff salad, Entanglement largely lacks the tasty (and sorely needed) additions of guitar solos and surrounding atmosphere. By infusing these, the monotony of riff after riff may have been nicely broken up and become more palatable. When Malconstruct changes pace, which occurs sparingly—like the appearance clean guitar draped in reverb that appears in “Mutual Consumption” and “The Vacuous Nothing”, or the opening harmonized guitar wailings of “Amalgamate”—Entanglement is effectively infused with needed breaths of fresh air amongst the onslaught of increasingly bland death metal riffage. Album closer, “I Am All That I Am Not”, is a different beast altogether compared to the preceding songs. Mid-note guitar lines meander and overlie a satisfying groove which transitions to a well-placed clean guitar that is plucked alongside that mid-tempo distorted churning. Later in the track the tempo slows to a crawl as Aiden Oldnettle’s drums synchronize with the strings in an infectious drunken stumble. The track contains intrigue and dynamic contrasts that are missing from the album’s preceding tracks and should be used as a launching point for future releases.

Undoubtedly, if in a pinch and a groovy death metal riff is needed, Malconstruct’s Webb and Mark Spinks could be relied on to provide a delectable guitar lick. Though when it comes to constructing a coherent progressive death metal album with natural flow, one may need to look elsewhere. Because while it is true that as metalheads we are nothing without riffs, it is dynamic contrasts, enveloping atmosphere, and soaring guitar solos that add the spice to progressive death metal and has us coming back for more.

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Recommended tracks: Misery Epoch, The Fly, I Am All That I Am Not
You may also like: Dyscarnate, Alustrium, Soreption, Vredehammer
Final verdict: 5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Glorp Records

Malconstruct is:
– Garret Webb (vocals, guitars)
– Mark Spinks (guitars)
– Aidan Oldnettle (drums)
– Lyric Ferchaud (bass)