Malignance Dreamquest: the Awakening eng

R  E  V  I  E  W
    Malignance
    Dreamquest: the Awakening

    Year: 2020
    Genre: Black Metal
    Label: Black Tears
    Country: Italy
    Line Up: Arioch - all instruments,vocals


    Cover artwork by Alessandro Casoni


    The year was 2003 when the first album of Malignance saw the light. "Regina Umbrae Mortis" was unfairly underrated, but regardless of that and loyal to their mark, several years later the band released their second full-length "Architects of Oblivion", which finally consecrated Malignance to the national scene.
    Nowadays the combo is reduced to a one-man band from the mind of Arioch and comes back with a new album entitled "Dreamquest: the Awakening", a work resumable in three words: mature, engaging, professional.
    Thanks to the experience grown through the years, Arioch is the maker of high-level songwriting, inspired and effective, where the Swedish influence is clear but not the only one, indeed the Black Metal shown on this album varies pretty much. Loud violence and melody perfectly mix in a solution that takes no prisoners!
    "He, the crawling chaos" with its overwhelming "wall of sound" is just a little taste of what we can expect from the next tracks.
    A well-programmed drum machine, able to sound almost "human" to our ears, becomes the backbone where the majestically played guitars range between driving rhythmic and melodic riffs that mark the listener's mind; a clear example is "The Crossbowman".
    The compositional skill of the mastermind is clearly perceived; fast-paced parts in the vein of old Marduk' style melts perfectly with slower and evocative moments, necessary to take a breath for a while.
    Arioch' scream is furious, a river of anger that inexorably flows and sweeps away everything!
    The high quality of well-defined and balanced sounds makes " Dreamquest " look mixed and mastered in some well-known Scandinavian studios.
    Worth to mention is the concept of the lyrics, where an imaginary character faces an inner journey searching for his own ego; real life's experiences intertwine with oniric worlds, distant lands, and secret places where he has to face dangerous hitches to achieve his goal! I personally recommend listening to this album with the booklet in hands to fully appreciate this opus.
    A must-have!

    Andrea B.


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