A macabre black paint job, a creature-inspired body shape and a sinister name don’t automatically qualify a guitar for employment as a metalworker. But if that same shady plank plays with the speed of the Malden Subhuman and incites high-gain aggression from an amplifier as the Malden’s scary-hot pickups do, then you have a weapon that’s ready to serve a darker purpose.

The Subhuman’s body and 25-inch-scale set neck create thick tones, which are punctuated by the edgy attack of nickel hardware. Fit and finish are excellent throughout, and the bound indian rosewood fretboard displays the same striping and open-grain qualities of the prized Brazilian subspecies. The narrow neck makes stretches easy, but its round shape means there’s always wood stabilizing the palm of your hand.

Malden’s Tesla VR-Extreme humbuckers deliver screaming high mids and a trashy “edge of destruction” crunch, and they quickly produce endless harmonic feedback from sustained bends. Both pickups split to single-coils when the tone knob is pulled up. Combine that with its dangerously slick neck and angry tone, and you have a guitar that is defiantly subhuman.

Malden Subhuman Guitar Video Review

Thanks to GuitarWorld for the report