Formed in 1994 in Kouvola, Finland, by guitarist Joonas Koto, MALPRACTICE already have six albums in the market. Their new CD “Turning Tides”, the second featuring vocalist Aleksi Parvianen continues the self-described ‘connoisseurs of prog metal’ career and showcases that they’re as dedicated to the genre as they claim to be.
Going against modern prog’s trends, Malpractice take influence from classic prog metal like Shadow Gallery, Dream Theater (the most obvious) and Queensryche, balancing out a traditional metal sound with progressive changes and rhythms here and there, while featuring plenty of melodies and massive, heavy riffs with a surprise or two.
Despite existing in the progressive metal genre – known for inaccessibility and demanding strict attention from a listener – there’s a lot of catchy hooks to be found on “Turning Tides”, and it’s a toss up whether the consistently engaging instrumentation or the solid vocal work is the highlight.
01 – Best Kept Secret
02 – Weight Of The World
03 – Irony Tower
04 – State Within A State
05 – Turning Tides
06 – Symphony Of Urban Discomfort
07 – Out
Joonas ‘Jope’ Koto – Guitar
Aleksi Parviainen – Vocals
Markus Vanhala – Guitar
Jonas Mäki – Bass
Toni Paananen – Drums