History

Portuguese Malevolence were formed in the dawning of Anno 1994. They recorded their debut demo 'Pleasure of Molestation' in the middle of the same year with a straightforward metal approach. The 'Pleasure of Molestation' release soon receive a strong world-wide recognition and acclaiming in countries like Germany, Italy, England, Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Argentina including some others. This Strong recognition was also reflected later on the 1000 units that were sold of this release in only 7 months.

The final results achieved with this work by Malevolence world-wide, caught immediately the attention of the independent label Danger Records, that realized the band's potential as a powerful upcoming extreme metal act. Malevolence were then signed to that label for the release of 2 full-length albums. In August 1995 after the release of couple of rehearsals and some live shows around Lusitania shores, Malevolence entered on Digo Daí Studios with the producer Armando Glória to record their debut album 'Dominium'. After some delays from Danger Records the album is finally released during the very own beginning of March. 'Dominium' contains 10 tracks of melodramatic art fulfilling their own first visionary horror soundtrack conception of pain & suffering.

Soon the band started a National promotional campaign "Under Inhuman Tour 1996" supported by their own throughout the most important Lusitanian cities while their debut album was getting an extreme and amazing rejoinder from the media and fans in general all over. 'Dominium' soon was acclaimed as a very diverse work full of intelligence musical structures containing already a very strong conceptual lyrical approach. In every underground radio & magazines the band started to catch more and more media attention, establishing the band as one to watch out in the very overcrowded Portuguese Scenario of Violence. 'Dominium' reached phenomenal marks all over the world during 1997 with a fine example that can be observed on issue #117 from Rock Brigade in Brazil, attributing them 8 out of 10 possible marks.

During the fall of 1997 the band suffered some line-up transformations and entered again in Digo Daí Studios to record the unreleased song 'Funeral Sunshine' for the National CD compilation of Magazine Promusica with a running print of 10000 copies. This year was also very good in terms of live shows and the band showed incredible power & mayhemic destruction by sharing the stages the likes of: Cradle Of Filth, Moonspell, Heavenwood, Genocide, Candle Serenade, Unnatural, Agonising Terror, In Darkness, Vertebra, Absorbed, Dismal, Please Remember, Xharathorn, Tortura, Soulless, Dramafall and Howl among many others. This is also the moment when Malevolence decide to broke their 2 album deal with Danger Records due to the lack of support & promotion they were receiving from this institution.

And than we arrive to 1998, the year when the band is reaching a great mass of population and being considered as the 5th best band on the National Musical Spectrum on the listeners "Top 20 best National bands" of National Radio Show Hipertensão broadcaster in Antena 3. This recognition slowly overpass the Portuguese borders and besides being invited again to feature another unreleased track on National CD Compilation from Promusica Magazine, they also accepted the same invitation coming from the Spanish shores by Necromance Magazine to feature the same track on CD compilation 'Necromance Volume I'. Malevolence entered again on Digo Daí Studios to record a new version of one track previously title Ashes of Disgrace that was featured on their 1994 debut 'Pleasure of Molestation' demo. The final result in the comes in the materialized & astonishing horror song 'From Thy Ashes/Messenger of Disgrace'.

Just after the recording of this track and one more sold out show in their town, their long time drummer is fired from the band due to cause some internal problems to the rest of the members. Due to this deconstruction happening the band cannot be present in the "Lusitanian Sundown Festival" in Portugal & "The Repulsive Night" in Spain together with the bands Nightfall and Avulsed. Within a couple of weeks the keyboard player leaves the band along with the current bass player to form their own projects, leaving only Carlos Cariano with the final decision of proceeding or not with the evolution of musical approach of the band.

We are on March 1998 when Carlos decides to keep the band going on with some of their long time musicians mates from their area. With only 5 rehearsals together during the same year, the actual quintet takes the time to refine new tracks composed alone by Carlos Cariano for the follow up to 'Dominium's brilliant success. After some indecent proposals from some interesting labels around, Malevolence signs a new deal for 3 albums with Maquiavel Music Entertainment LDA. With out losing any more of their precious time the band entered on Fredman Studios in Sweden along with the producer Fredrik Nordström (At The Gates, Arch Enemy, In Flames, Hammerfall, Dark Tranquillity...) to record their 2nd full length album 'Martyrialized'. The album was recorded during the first two weeks of January 1999 and the final result is simply devastating. Nine conceptual hymns to remember with a crushing edge production are easily the slowly constructed base to set the band as one of the most interesting best bands to come out of Portugal & Europe in a long time. The brilliant guitar harmonies and skilled solos full on high intensity of Frederico are couple and reinforced by a dueling shredding rhythmical section of extreme proportions by Carlos Cariano. Add the talent and original grooving bass lines of Aires Pereira to the slaying vocal assault of Carlos Cariano with the cathartic hybrid of macabre & bizarre keyboard elements of Paulo Pereira and perhaps you've got the most interesting musical passages for the end of this millennium. Perchance the most surprising element of this album is the unrelenting and unstopping ferocious drumming attack of Gustavo Costa which truly elevates this release beyond anything the band has ever done before. The diabolical passages and machiavellian literature for all those who break the rules are finally twisting & contorting you...

(source: old Malevolence website)
(discography incomplete)