MALPRACTICE – Triangular

A band from the land of the Thousand Lakes, yet everything but typically Finnish. Why? Because it is a Progressive Metal band, not the most common style in good ol’ Suomi from where usually darker sounds wash unto Metal shores. Nearing their 15th anniversary, Malpractice just released their third album in total, and their second for Spinefarm Records. Triangular is the name, and for many, the band will still not ring a bell, no surprise considering that four years went by since their last CD was released.

In the meantime, the band changed singers. Aleksi Parviainen joined the outfit and is a giant step forward for Malpractice as his voice is very fitting for their style. The album consists of eight tracks, three of which exceed seven minutes, but also four are under five minutes. So everybody who had reservations about the progressiveness can rest assured that this is not one of those abundantly available ‘look-how-fast-I-can-play’ stereotypes, nor does it drag on with alternating soloing between guitars and keys to confuse the listener. Actually, except for the song “Waves,” which is a ballad and in the race for the best track on the album comes in eighth, this is a keyboard free zone.

The opening track “Maze Of Inequity” sums up Triangular pretty well: this is one of the long tracks, and it deviates nicely between power and melody, where well-placed breaks keep the song interesting without hindering a certain flow. It seems the songwriting has matured over the almost one and a half decades of existence of this band, and in this track all their abilities culminate. Second comes one of the shorter songs, and the straight and catchy “Symmetry” delivers not only an interesting contrast, it is also a fine example of the other kind of songs these five guys write.

This deviation between the extensiveness of the compositions and an undeniable similarity in sound let’s one think of early Ray Alder-era Fates Warning, a comparison the band acknowledges freely is justified. Although the band themselves uses some of the big names to be compared to in their bio, their picks are well chosen:

Dream Theater: Similarities are definitely audible in their longest composition, “Fragments,” and the elaborate instrumental “Triangular”.

Megadeth: Of course, “Deception” cannot hide the Thrash roots of Malpractice, and a certain Marty Friedman-era Megadeth feeling is omnipresent throughout the album.

Queensryche: Uh, no, not so much.

Instead a tiny bit of Anathema atmosphere is recreated in “Waves,” which is the reason why this song stands out like a porcupine in a petting zoo among the other tracks.

Some of the songs do take a few spins before they stick, with the exception of “Symmetry” that after some time is almost too poppy a tune, and “Platform” which is a bit too straight and simple, but that also means this is an album which will find its way into one’s player time and again. This is one of the better Prog releases lately. It is not their Images And Words or Parallels yet, so hopefully the band will not take another four years to follow up this fine effort with a fourth album.