Would Greece be the new Eldorado of metal? After Mother Of Millions, who never ceases to amaze with their progressive metal tinged with post rock, here comes Rascal Whack with 'Maliveni'. With a first album released in 2015, the band took time to release this new record, a rare luxury in an industry where everything goes faster.
A first global listening confirms that the quintet has used this time to refine in the smallest details an album rich both musically and on the philosophical theme so natural to Greece, the cradle of learning to think. We bathe here in a hybrid form of heavy rock, metal and hypnotic stoner which serves as a support to texts on urban oppression and loss of identity.
The rhythmic is undeniably the backbone of all the tracks and is close to Tool ('Carved Ignorance' or 'The Fly') with a bass with powerful roars that is widely put forward. But the group goes much further than the Americans with a balance almost without fault found between a more expressive song and a more pronounced melodic instrumental sense as the poignant end of 'The Fly' testifies. The added value is then undeniable because rather than simply copying their colleagues, Rascal Whack densifies its titles by personal touches which bring more relief in particular by the use of two guitars.
The compositions are varied, oscillating between a saving power ('Raging Groove' and 'Slipping Away') with terribly groovy riffs and convoluted constructions like 'Hallucination' which, after a metal passage, offers itself a more atmospheric and incantatory movement. In spite of this variety between effective pieces and others more complex, "Maliveni" remains coherent and exciting what is not an easy task nowadays. 'Space Cowboys' synthesizes this impression of fusion with its progression full of feeling.
Well helped by an excellent production and a limpid and mastered interpretation, this second album of Rascal Whack is a frank success. By relying on marked references, the band succeeds in absorbing them and interweaving them to gain in personality, even if it means becoming almost unclassifiable. "Maliveni" is a nice surprise that you should not miss.