Welsh progressive metallers Malum Sky have been coaxing attention for a fair while; from the 2015 release of their extremely well-received self-titled debut EP luring praise for their richly flavoured sound. Now though they are done teasing it and are making real demands on acclaim and spotlights with their new mini-album, Diatribe. Offering five tracks which bound with energy and spirit whilst embroiling the imagination in their creative cunning and bold adventure, the encounter is a cauldron of fascination and pleasure.
Formed in 2014, the quintet as mentioned has earned high plaudits and support and equally through their live presence as their first release and a greedily devoured following single in Eye Above. It is easy to expect all success to date though to be majorly eclipsed by the surely to be eagerly welcomed Diatribe. The band’s sound has always been a multi-flavoured affair with its own notable stand out character but it has evolved and been honed into something truly individual and enthralling as evidenced by the band’s new offering. A collusion of progressive and tech metal with similarly bred melodic rock ferocity, it is a proposition which unapologetically arouses the imagination as like a fever it invades the body, making it inexcusable at the very least to not give it an eager check out.
There is a fresh darker feel to the band’s music from that first release, equally a heavier touch and intensity which seems to accentuate the melodic prowess already shown previously. With even more assured and adventurous songwriting going hand in hand with open individual craft it makes for a rather tasty proposition as proven immediately by opener Year Of The Rat. As it lays out its staggered bait the instantly compelling tones of vocalist Ben Honebone share their harmonic temptation, all the while guitars weaving and rhythms brewing their equally magnetic snares. Guitarists Michael Jensen Després and Jon Evans continue to entangle their enterprise and skills, setting out a web of melodic adventure around the track’s blossoming personality and imagination. A dark heady edge lines every strand set down as eagerly as it fuels the rousing trespass of drums and bass and with a great variety to the vocals around Honebone’s continuing to impress presence, it all makes for a striking and thrilling slice of creative incitement.
There is something of a TesseracT meets Karnivool spicing to the Malum Sky sound but indeed just a flavouring in something solitary to the band as confirmed just as easily by next up Borrower. Its gentle bordering teasing entrance comes with melodic intimation as keys add a melancholic yet radiant air. From the inescapable seductive caress warm vocals dawn but it is only the calm before a tempest of sound and enterprise. That though is equally the step to another twist and shade of emotional and physical dynamics, the track never afraid to revolve and evolve into another aspect of bold invention and initiative. As the first it is also an imposingly infectious affair in every way, its bite addictive and melodic lures delicious; a combination just as resourcefully exploited by next up The Coil. In fact from its first breath, the song has a catchy virulence which had body and spirit dancing like a puppet as ears and imagination succumbed to its brooding breath and increasingly rabid contagion. Després and Evans cast another riveting web of enterprise and technical prowess which alone compels attention but with fine vocals and a rhythmic manipulation to song and ears which directs reactions, the track is another major incitement within Diatribe.
All songs live up to that description though, the fiery and ridiculously infective Eye Above indisputable proof. Through the album the rhythmic incitement of bassist Athanasios ‘Saki’ Patsiouras and drummer Joe Wilkes is irresistible as it is dextrous but within the fourth track they simply seize instincts and appetite with their combined enterprise and drive. Their tenacious spine and leadership just sparks a matching hunger and endeavour from the rest of the band, every element of the track ambitious and ferocious, inventive and unpredictable.
The album’s title track brings things to a might close, the wiry net of enticement cast by the guitars around again voracious rhythms setting the tone of track and temptation. It is a carnivorous yet galvanic proposal grabbing easy attention and greed, a predator of a song again as virulently infectious as it is imaginatively gripping for a conclusion which alone makes the most rousing and memorable experience.
Across every single second, Diatribe was a major treat and adventure impossible to get enough of. Already 2019 has offered some truly striking and thrilling releases; Malum Sky has added another and one surely thrusting the band to the fore of the UK metal scene.
Diatribe is out now through Sliptrick Records across most stores.
http://www.malumsky.com/ https://www.facebook.com/malumsky https://twitter.com/malumsky
Pete RingMaster 02/02/2019
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
Produced and mixed by Jesse Vainio (Apocalyptica, Poets Of The Fall, Sunrise Avenue), The Divide opens with Please. Immediately the dark growl of Mikko Määttä’s bass entices ears and attention, the crispy beats of Santeri Saksala enticing alongside. The pair is soon joined by the flavoursome lures of the guitars, a mix settling into a suggestive stroll as Lascelles tones step forward. There is a slight Bush like scent to the song at this point, its tempting tendrils and intimation a flirtation easy to grab with hunger. Lead guitarist Roni Seppänen weaves a web of adventure and craft as the track grows, Lascelles backing him with string and voice as the tempestuous heart of the song erupts with increasing rigour. As suggested earlier, there is something recognisable about the song yet every twist is unexpected and each of its emerging textures and turns a spark for the imagination.
It is a magnificent start which hints at bands like Voyager, Tool, and Karnivool in its own individual adventure; a blend echoed in the equally creative Sunburn & Moonshine. A gentle melody wraps its suggestion around ears first, harmonic whispers adding their elegance before Guerrero’s expressive tones join the already bubbling adventure brewing within the catchy encounter. Embracing an engaging intimacy as it brews up emotive crescendos, the track just seduces ears and attention. It does lack the tempestuousness of its predecessor but replaces it with melodic flames and warm infectious tenacity for similar if not quite as spectacular success.
The EP opens up with its title track, distant vocals running to ears with emotive urgency before guitars spin their wiry web and rhythms rumble with boisterous imagination. Pretty quickly it is easy to see where those Reuben and Karnivool influences come in, though in many ways the song offers a lively enterprise more akin to At The Drive In meets The Martini Henry Rifles. The track continues to twist and turn keeping the listener hooked and guessing, every change an organic shift from what was before. Vocals singularly and together impress as potently as the sounds and craft building the EP’s striking start with the antics of the bass a particularly appetising essence to personal tastes.
Without knowing their influences it is not too difficult to guess the touch of bands like Karnivool and Incubus but similarly that individual character of the White Noise Radio sound is apparent and just as vocal within the equally striking Gone Inside. The wiry riffs of its entrance again make for a richly appetising lure, the guitars and bass seductive and sinister as they continue their invitation whilst subsequent mystique lined grooves flirt alongside before a heavier breath sweeps through it all. As its predecessor, the track twists and turns through a revolving spiral of aggression and intensity, each bringing new textures and drama to easily embrace as the five-piece technically and creatively weave with increasing dexterity.
The stunning start is matched by the equally dramatic and even bolder exploits of Alpha. Guitarists Paul Callow and Simon Edgell spring a lure of wiry riffs and sonic temptation around the harmonic delivery of Tronson, though as the music he allows harsher textures to escape his throat to keeps things unpredictable. Virulently infectious and persistently imaginative, the song is pure captivation; its heart earnest and body a tapestry of melodic and sonic intrigue with just the right richness of volatility to keep things intensely fascinating.
The quite stunning start is quickly continued by the equally outstanding Misery Is Only Company. From the off, it has a harder core to its presence, a latent but open intensity which lines jagged riffs and the brooding air of Alex Canion’s bass. There is no containing the instinctive catchiness within songwriting and imagination though, the swinging beats of Ashley Doodkorte inciting similar boisterousness in the resourceful and technical enterprise across the band. Deftones’ Chino Moreno recently likened Estrin’s voice to Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon, something at times easy to agree with and indeed at times the song has something of the British outfit to its pop sensibilities, infectiousness aligning with more predatory essences to masterful effect.
Equally fiercely robust and enticingly elegant, the song is a formidable introduction strongly backed by its companions starting with Desolate. Quickly the second song sounds very familiar though we cannot remember hearing it prior to the EP yet it cannot stop the fiery serenade of the track seducing ears and passions. Its melodies and harmonies caress the senses, its snarling riffs and boisterous rhythms raising the spirit and though it takes a touch longer to tempt as its predecessor, it blossoms into its equal.
A heavy bass groan opens up the following A Curse Ensues, melodic strands from Fido soon wrapping the senses as the track grows and blossoms into a proposal distinct to the band. The second track reinforces the thought that the band has discovered a sound which roars only Target:Renegades though inspirations from the likes of Deftones and Karnivool are additional hues in its canvas of imagination. Hulse excels as he shares the song’s landscape with earnest prowls and emotional roars, both backed by Fido’s potent tones and inventive guitar spun enterprise.
New single, Forever is next, its sombre breath and emotional intimacy bred from the alluring voice of Kate and the plaintively shadowed melodies of Chris’ piano alone; their potency backed by the expansive suggestiveness of guitars and strings as rhythms court a darker climate. It is equally a template behind the emotive theatre of next up Don’t Let Go which is taken to even more intimate depths as Kate’s voice flames across another enticing tapestry of flavours and textures. As strong as its predecessor was, the track easily eclipses it.