MALICE MISSES

The enormous success enjoyed recently by some hard-rock bands has cleared a wider path for other metal outfits to reach commercial paradise. But Malice won’t get within spitting distance of the Top 10, judging by the band’s new album and dreadful show Friday at the Country Club. Regarding the handful of head bangers at the top of the album charts, it may be that Malice has simply decided it won’t join any club that would have it as a member.

Whatever the rationale, the local group certainly dispenses wholly pedestrian metal and, on stage, is given to pointless jamming characterized by lots of crunch but no punch. The band did hit some fiery, focused moments, like “License To Kill,” the vaguely melodic title track of its new LP. Overall, though, the material and live presentation will ensure that the upper rungs of the sales ladder continue to reflect an absence of Malice.

Second-billed Chastain, led by Cincinnati-based songwriter-guitarist David T. Chastain, favored a more complex brand of metal, often embellished with surprisingly intricate guitar parts.