It's like Marilyn Manson and Zeromancer rolled into one!
Scandinavia is a region of the world with a huge reputation for producing music and for having a vast wealth of musical talent from all genres and fields of the art to back up the claim. It seems that the music that does come forth from this small collection of Islands is either stunning, groundbreaking gothic metal, aggressive death metal or the completely opposite end of the musical spectrum: cheesy pop, the kind you would expect to enter the Eurovision song contest and win. Fortunately, our band in question, hailing from the lovely Sweden (home to such massive bands as Children Of Bodom and In Flames), belong to the former group and represent the world of gothic metal in such a unique and impressive style, doing so much more than justice towards the reputation of Scandinavian metal.
A splendid mix of gothic rock and industrial metal, Malaise have evolved incredibly over the last two years and their new EP proves that hard work and practise do rise to create the sound a band have always aimed for. In the case of Malaise, theirs is a sensuous and dark combination of gothic synth melodies and the almost dance-like heavy riffs of industrial metal, bursting to the brim with mesmerising soundscapes, rhythmic industrial beats and haunting melodies. The use of a 12 string guitar on this record also lends a hand to the music, giving it an interesting and heavier twist which delivers twice the sonic force that a normal six string would.
The opening track 'This Is For A Friend' gets off to a haunting melodic start with a flowing piano and synth introduction that softly brings the ballad-like track into existence before the entrance of the vocals, which on their own are a sound to behold but, with the rest of the band to compliment their warm undertones they are simply heavenly. The vocalist's tone of voice is unusual and is uncannily similar to that of Marilyn Manson, so much so that on first hearing it would be all too easy to mistake the vocalist for the man himself! With the same purring alto tone crooning and seductive yet strangely melancholic mood, the vocals gently float overhead romantic and emotive sounding keys while guitars slowly creep in, breathing a chilled whisper of life into the music as it slowly builds up tension. Soon the industrial side of the music kicks in with roaring synth backgrounds and searing guitar riffs building up a storm of tension, with an energy to match that found in the music of Zeromancer or Ramnstein. Desperate and yet strangely catchy, 'This Is For A Friend' is only a small taste of what is to come on this new improved introduction to Malaise. The following track 'In Your Dreams' holds much of the same characteristics of the previous track but is much darker and slower with much more of an industrial influenced kick in the chorus, here the vocals begin to sound much huskier and challenging and keep the trance-like pulse in constant perfect timing.
'Little Girl Of Mine' has a slower tempo but still retains the constant and definite pulse of the other tracks on this album. It is much more heavily industrial based, comprising mainly of heavily distorted guitars and synth and works based around a thick structure of several constantly repeated riffs that work together to make up the thick textured wall of sound that makes up the bulk of this track. Occasionally during the verses the melodic piano will weave in and out of the constant pulse of the synths but it is much more relaxed in this track, the whole mood being entirely more sinister and darker then previously.
The only real fault that could be found with this release is that it could be potentially too short, even for an EP. After 5 tracks the impact of the music will have the listener so energised that they will just crave more and more of their music and the album does pass you by very quickly despite the tracks being of average length. Malaise are the perfect blend of emotive melodies and adrenaline filled rhythms designed to keep you rocking for years to come, proving further that Scandinavia rock better then anyone else in the world!