Malpractice
Triangular
7.6
What?! This isn't thrash? But they're called Malpractice! I know there's no evidence of skeletons violently quaffing nuclear waste on the album cover, but Malpractice is such a thrashy sounding moniker.
Ahhh, the shroud is quickly lifted. These Finns started in the game as a thrash band back in the late 90's, but they quickly morphed their sound to incorporate large measures of progressive elements. Fine by me; the idea of wading through yet another throwback thrash album left me about as excited as Droopy at a stamp convention (google him, ya rassin'-frassin' whippersnappers). Yet I digress...
This album was a very pleasant surprise for me. Imagine Perfect Symmetry era Fates Warning flashing moments of easily approachable thrash; not the more violent variety, but more along the lines of the forward thinking thrash bands of yore: Wrathchild America or latter era D.B.C., for example. Throw a Finnish version of Brainstorm's Andy Franck behind the microphone and you've got a damn good idea of what Malpractice is cookin' in the kitchen.
There's really not much of a stinker amongst the bunch either, unless you count the excessively maudlin slow tune, "Waves" (something Fate's Alder was always able to do quite well: deliver sensitive vocals without sounding overly sensitive, which would help this tune immensely). But apart from that one small snafu, you've got another 46-minutes of very strong material to catch your attention. And catch your attention it most certainly will. Whether it's the ridiculously catchy guitar work and infectious choruses throughout "Maze of Iniquity", "Symmetry" and the album's strongest track, "Deadline" (which also sports a very King Diamond-esque riff at its onset); the ballsy, more aggressive strike of "Deception"; or the longer, more complex structure behind the self-titled instrumental track and the ten minute closer; Triangular stands as a contender for one of the better (fairly) obscure releases of 2008.
Bottom line: if you count yourself a fan of late 80's/early 90's era Fates Warning, you owe it to yourself to give Malpractice a fair shake. As it stands, I can see myself revisiting Triangular fairly often in the future, and I definitely look forward to seeing what the band comes up with next. Check 'em out.
