“We make weird heavy music for the end of the world” – Introducing Malevich and ‘Into Bliss’ Single Premiere

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia and composed of members Daniel DeSimone (Bass, vocals, synths), Connor Ray (guitar, vocals, synths, piano), Josh McIntyre (guitar) and Sasha Schilbrack-Cole (drums, vocals), Malevich are an artistic pushback against a world desensitised. Taking their namesake from Russian artist Kazimir Malevich and taking inspiration from his work exploring abstractionism as a counter to authoritarianism, whilst it would be easy to describe Malevich via the means of increasingly faded genre tags, to do so would contradict the ethos of this band entirely.

Instead, what Malevich do is subvert what is expected from an amalgamation of black metal, post metal and the kind of pioneering screamo synonymous with bands such as Envy and Pg. 99. Yes, it’s a visceral sound, one that triggers a reaction, but one that’s beautiful and genuine. Instead of the tired gimmicks one would maybe anticipate from such genres, there is only chemistry and a real, palatable sense of urgency to create something true, honest and authentic. Their last EP Trembling and Dowsed was a great example of this, but their forthcoming record Under a Gilded Sun and new single ‘Into Bliss’ – premiering below – proves such a sentiment wonderfully.

Released August 22^nd via Church Road Records, Under a Gilded Sun is an authentically challenging experience for an age where most just wish to be narcotised by AI generated slop. It’s a reaction to how community is shunned in favour of isolation, to how content has replaced art and how an actual genocide is being shrugged off by those witnessing it in real time. A charred and ashen outpouring of grief over a world and societal system that has forgotten it’s priorities and how to even act as a collective system all together. The aforementioned ‘Into Bliss’, which follows on from previous single ‘Blossom In Full Force’ makes all of this palatable, and serves as a wonderful lead into a record that’s musically traumatic, but thematically hopeful for change through the power of collectiveness.

With Under a Gilded Sun released next month, and with us premiering ‘Into Bliss’ just below, we got in touch with Daniel to know more about Malevich, the upcoming record, and their ethos.

For those new to Malevich, how would you briefly describe the band?

We make weird heavy music for the end of the world.

Musically and topically, what are your primary inspirations?

Musically we are excited by the idea of art that challenges your assumptions about a genre. All of our favorite bands are bands that continuously reinvent themselves and challenge their fans’ expectations of what they ‘are’, or even joyously disrespect their genre. Artists like Thou, Sumac, Altar of Plagues, Swans, Oneohtrix Point Never, Bjork… But we always love a big fucking riff.

Topically we explore the existential weight of living in a time and place where you are constantly inundated with the reality of violence and exploitation; the feeling of opening your phone and seeing videos of children being starved and murdered contrasted with advertising slop and absurdist AI content. The constant whiplash of trying to hold a brighter view of the future despite overwhelming pressure to fall into apathy and nihilism.

We understand your name comes from the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich. Could you tell us about the connection between the band and his work?

1) It sounds cool and it’s hard to come up with band names.

2) The band agrees with one of his most core philosophies: “the supremacy of pure artistic feeling”; that art doesn’t need to justify itself to exist, and that art has value as a fundamental part of human existence. Many contemporary scholars consider him to have been an anarchist. We resonate with a view of the world that is fundamentally anti-authoritarian and pro-creativity.

3) Look up Malevich’s ‘Black Square’. It’s metal as fuck.

You’ve just released your new track ‘Into Bliss’. Can you tell us more about the track and its lyrical themes?

This was a really fun and challenging track to write. Half accidental and half an intentional paring back of the role of the guitar in the composition. We were playing around with some stems our bassist and our friend Terence ‘Murk Daddy Flex’ Chiyezhan freaked beyond recognition and accidentally played a ton of them at the same time. It was sick. From there we tuned to double drop F# and finally got stupid enough to write good music.

The lyrics are about the importance of connection with community despite the fact that connection inherently brings pain. We tapped our friend Lex from Sunrot to add his voice and lyrics to the song, and his contribution really tied the lyrical themes together and made the song feel complete.

Under a Gilded Sun by Malevich

The track’s amalgamation of post metal, sludge and classic screamo is fantastic. What’s been your approach to establishing your sound? 

With this record we wanted to fully integrate electronics, textures, and non-standard instrumentation while leaning more into melody that has been buried or even stifled in our previous writing.  We set out with the goal of taking our music from a collection of disparate references to bands we like, to a fully developed and cohesive sound. We have never felt particularly constrained by genre, but there is always a fear of creating something that doesn’t have a clarity of voice. We took extra care to make sure the movement away from dissonance for its own sake towards clarity and melody didn’t feel outside of the world we had previously created, it was very important that the record flowed smoothly between tonal shifts while not losing urgency and aggression.

You’re also about to release your new record via Church Road. What’s it been like working with the label? 

It’s been awesome. It means a lot to us that Sammy and Justine are human beings who play in a band and who are excited about the project. We have heard horror stories from our friends in bands who have signed to labels and got buried in the roster or treated like a number on a spreadsheet. We appreciate that CR intentionally set out to work with bands that are challenging, and sit at interesting intersections of genres. That said, the real reason for us signing with CR is because we were able to stipulate in our contract the express delivery (international) of a monthly full English breakfast for 4 and a bottle of Buckfast. Also Employed to Serve has the riffs.

Finally, what do you want listeners to take away from Malevich?

We hope that listening to the album leaves you with a nugget of hope even in the face of overwhelming trauma. Thanks for listening. Free Palestine.

Under a Gilded Sun is released August 22nd via Church Road Records. Pre-order the record here.