Malcolm’s Activities
Beyond teaching: the bands I’ve played in, the events I’ve thrown and the music writing I do. A working musician who lives in the scene, not just the studio.
The bands.
Sceptocrypt (1992–99, 2014–15, 2022–)
Death metal I co-founded in 1992, unrestricted by the style’s own boundaries. Reborn in 2014 as “extreme music research”; regrouped again in 2022 with three singles (2023, 2024, 2026) and a full-length in the works.
EthnaMorte (2007–2017)
Formed on moving to multicultural London — the balance of life and death, light and dark, borrowing from bossa nova to avant-garde to fury-filled flamenco. Two CDs released and a third recorded before hiatus.
Unus Quod Insane (2011)
A 2011 project exploring sounds that influence but sit outside EthnaMorte — studio instruments, drony whispers and tribal beats over an industrial backbone.
Wound (since 2002)
“Trip-hop doom rock” — slow classical and jazz harmonies over electronic and rock pulses. With Pope Crool, Sean Pollacco and Dino Mifsud. A recording still waits to be finished.
Dysmenorrhea (1999–2001)
In-your-face thrash/death/grind with a deliberately funny, sometimes daft, lyrical streak — born from an offer by Sceptocrypt’s ex-vocalist. A nine-song promo recorded.
Achiral (1999)
I helped these friends briefly after Sceptocrypt’s demise — thrash/death/black metal, one live show together. They went on to become one of Malta’s leading live metal acts.
Weeping Silence (2001)
One of Malta’s most emotional bands. I stepped in on bass as a session player until I moved to Germany — morosely romantic tunes I’m still fond of.
Events, DJing & journalism.
Performing is only half of it. Over the years I’ve organised events, spun records and written for the underground.
Event organisation & DJing.
Bisoul Promotions was my alternative events organisation from 1999 to 2009, merging art with darkness. Diversity was the whole point — themed nights spanning classical music, holographic presentations, middle-age fashion shows and the darker forms of underground music. Attendees knew there was always more to it than met the eye, and behind the decks my nom de plume was DJ NecroGool.
Journalism.
Rancid Soup Productions was a metal organisation through which I released two editions of the Rancid Soup zine, presented the Rancid Soup radio show as DJ NecroGool, and put on live events — the pinnacle being Anathema live in Malta in 1995.
- Brutalism.com — I still contribute the occasional review to this ever-expanding metal web resource, and support its radio podcast.
- Rock City — I wrote reviews in German for this magazine; the English translations ran on the now-defunct Maltese web-zine Solemn, from the label Solemn Music.
- Black Death Fanzine — an A5, purely underground metal zine out of Sydney, Australia, for which I contribute festival reviews, scene reports and the odd review.
Curious about the gear behind all this? Have a look at my services and gear, or read my full story.
Learn from a lifer.
Three decades in bands, studios and the underground press — all of it feeds the lessons. Come and play.