Malacoda
Restless Dreams

Canadian band Malacoda releases their second album, it is an album that is inspired by Silent Hill 2 and it has a pretty boring artwork. But artwork is one thing, being inspired by a strong video game another thing and making music is of course a third thing. So they have been around for a while, the debut was released in 2014 and they released an EP in 2016 – now they are going dark, telling the story of a tormented man who visits Silent Hill.

Their music can be described as dark and gothic power metal that is darkly themed through this conceptual story of despair and horror. Good production. I think they have found a pretty good sound for their story, the melodies are good and I think they have pretty good depth to their songs and story. There could have been more dynamics though. The album feels a tad on the long side with a playing time near the hour; I think this story could have been told over fewer minutes.

Restless Dreams is a good album, the songs are good, they tell their story well and it is fairly easy to like. I can’t find anything overly negative about this album, one thing could be that the vocalist doesn’t grab me as a listener and the lack of a superstrong track that grabs my attention and draws me towards the album. Those are not strong negatives and I think that this is an album that will give listeners a positive feeling even though it may not be the most fantastic album either. I think it could have been more dynamic, it could also be a little bit darker and they could have built the story a little more dramatic but overall I think this album works quite well and Malacode feels like a fairly competent band – they just don’t quite hit the bullseye this time.

In the end I think that the overall feel towards this album is a positive one, the band has put together a very fine album here and if you like the similar bands it might be worth checking out. And while it may not be as great or interesting as Silent Hill, it is a very fine album that probably won’t disappoint whoever gets it.

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