Year: 2026
Label: Long Live Evil
With certain labels, you know what to expect. This seems to be especially true within horrorcore rap, where a label is often more than just an entity putting out releases. They have a certain aesthetic and sound. In part this is, I suppose, because artists on a label tend to collaborate with each other frequently, and because labels have trusted producers.
All this rings true for the newest addition to the roster of Alla Xul Elu’s own label Long Live Evil, Malakeye. Billy Obey of the masked trio has provided mixing and artwork for the album, and guests on the album. The varied bunch of producers aren’t LLE house names, but despite this, the dark and sombre sound fits to a tee.
But Malakeye isn’t all the way cut from an identical cloth as his labelmates. There’s one aspect that sets And The Fallen Choir apart; this is also my biggest (and only significant) gripe with the album.
The vocals.
Where Alla Xul Elu, for example, have a rather rough and aggressive style, Malakeye’s is very melodic. Frequently, it comes very close to actual singing. However, it’s that in a very emo way, with vocal stylings that wouldn’t sound out of place in modern metalcore or emo. And, honestly, I’ve always had a hard time with this style of vocals.
Apart from the vocals, I quite like the album. The beats have that trademark dark-but-vintage style of LLE, which to me is the best in contemporary horrorcore. This isn’t rap rock or anything like that; you can hear the long history and time-honoured traditions of hip hop/rap here, rather seamlessly melded into the horror movie aesthetics of horrorcore.
And whilst I have a hard time with the vocals, they have their upside too. Malakeye’s melodic style lends the album a very melancholic vibe, which is a nice change from the usually very on the nose approach of most horrorcore, where subtlety is an unknown word. Malakeye’s style is also rather versatile, so in addition to the “emo” vocals, there’s more conventional rapping, in which his style is brooding instead of aggressive.
This is one of those albums I’ve spent an inordinate time mulling over, trying to make my mind up. On one hand, the vocals rub me the wrong way. On the other, I recognize how they add a welcome dimension to the album, and enhance its atmosphere. And, almost inevitably, over the course of a dozen spins, I’ve started to become accustomed to them; something that tends to downplay the negatives and accentuate the positives.
I suppose that ultimately, I more like than dislike the album. The vocals take some time to get used to, and I’m still not sure about them. But I absolutely like the melancholic atmosphere, which suits the narrative framework of the album, of an angel cast out from Heaven and condemned to wander a modern metropolis. The beats I have absolutely no negative remarks about.
In any case, Malakeye is a slightly different type of rapper, and as such adds versatility to the LLE roster. I can see how this will be of benefit in possible collaborative releases. And, despite having a hard time getting to grips with the vocal style, I’m fairly sure I will check out whatever Malakeye does next. Count that as a victory, right?
