Mar 312026
 

(Today we follow up yesterday’s NCS premiere of Malauriu’s new album The Third Nail with this interview by Comrade Aleks of bandmembers Schizoid and RM.)

Malauriu (“Bad Omen”) was formed in Sicily in 2013. The band’s lineup has changed several times, fitting its anarchic black metal image. Today, all of Malauriu’s members have relocated to the UK, and the only remaining original member is guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist Schizoid. Having recorded two full-length albums, five EPs, and participated in nearly ten splits, Malauriu have prepared their third major effort, aptly titled The Third Nail.

The album’s cover, which depicts a unique scene from a Sicilian religious festival, is undoubtedly a highlight, but for a more complete picture, check out the tracklist, which includes a cover of GG Allin’s “Abuse Myself, I Wanna Die,” featuring the growl of the monstrous Mentors’ founder Dr. Heathen Scum. This unbridled ode to self-destruction is delivered with a distinctive, unbridled punk drive and extreme vocals, and its lyrical content, as well as its destructive delivery, generally matches the spirit of the album. Fueled by nihilism and prickly malice, the blackened “Death Celebration,” “The Curse of All Flesh,” and “Empowerment Rites”, or the slower, dense, textured “Purple Ceremony” grant everything you may expect from the songs with such names.

In order to reveal some details behind The Third Nail’s production, we organized this interview with Schizoid himself and the band’s vocalist RM. Continue reading »

Mar 302026
 

(written by Islander)

On April 3rd Adirondack Black Mass will release the third album by Malauriu, fittingly named The Third Nail (though we suspect that name has other meanings besides the fact that it’s the band’s third full-length). We’re giving it a big showcase, not only providing listeners a full stream today but also publishing an interview of Malauriu’s founder Schizoid and their vocalist RM tomorrow.

Those of you seeing the album’s cover art for the first time will likely be perplexed by how strange it is, and it’s worth sharing Schizoid’s explanation, because the cover image connects to the album’s lyrical themes, and indeed to the often macabre nature of the music. Here is an excerpt from the interview we’re publishing tomorrow: Continue reading »

Feb 152026
 

(written by Islander)

Getting a late start today. In yesterday’s roundup I mentioned that I had a cold. I took some over-the-counter stuff last night to help me sleep through it. I woke up 10 hours later, so I guess it worked, and hence the late start.

I picked all of today’s recommendations yesterday, and though my head is infected, these songs proved to be both more viral and more virile than the rhinovirus. I’m very happy with the choices and hope you will be too.

By way of preview, things begin in what we might call avant-garde territory, and then move in more punk-influenced directions, and then you’ll get blistered and beaten. At the end is an album that’s outside the usual boundaries of this column, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to give it a further push. Continue reading »

Aug 242022
 

The Sicilian band Malauriu have been a prolific source of black metal and dark experimental sounds for almost a decade. As detailed in an interview of mainman Schizoid published here at the beginning of 2022, Malauriu have tended to release their music mainly through EPs and splits. In March of this year they departed from the tradition by releasing their second (self-titled) full-length, but they now return to shorter works with a new EP named De Natura Obscuritatis that’s set for release on September 15th by the Italian label Black Mass Prayers.

To help spread the word about this new EP, we have already premiered a profoundly disturbing yet also frighteningly spellbinding song from it named “The Locust“, and today we reveal the whole soul-staggering work. Continue reading »

Aug 052022
 

The Sicilian band Malauriu have been a prolific source of black metal and dark experimental sounds for almost a decade. As detailed in an interview of mainman Schizoid published here at the beginning of 2022, Malauriu have tended to release their music mainly through EPs and splits. In March of this year they departed from the tradition by releasing their second (self-titled) full-length, but they now return to shorter works with a new EP named De Natura Obscuritatis that’s set for release in mid-September by the Italian label Black Mass Prayers.

To help spread the word about this new EP, today we premiere a song from it named “The Locust“. Continue reading »

Jan 252022
 

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks had a conversation with Schizoid, the mastermind of the Italian black metal band Malauriu, whose latest release was a 2021 split with Malvento and Abigail.)

I have a very vague impression regarding the Italian black metal scene, and this interview with Schizoid (a.k.a. Asmodeus) helped me to learn a bit more about the Sicilian non-doom underground.

Schizoid started in the thrash / black duet Urlo Nero in 2011, then after its disbanding in 2013 he founded Malauriu (black metal) and its far less productive twin Sintenza (black metal). A year ago he returned to his thrash / black roots with the Ossario band, but after all Malauriu remains his main creature.

So how do the dark powers work through this band? Schizoid knows. Continue reading »