EP Review: Malacoda – The Year Walk (Old Haunt Studios)

Originally a recording project of multi-instrumentalist and music producer Lucas Di Mascio, Malacoda has persevered and grown throughout the years. Now a trio, the band is ready to unleash the conclusion to their trilogy of EP’s that was written and recorded before the pandemic.

The Year Walk is the third EP Malacoda will release in 2021. Four more songs which build upon the band’s symphonic sound first explored on 2016’s Ritualis Aeterna.

Long-time collaborator Michael Farina returns to play drums on select tracks, as well as Ryan Claxton (Tulip, Living Dead Girl) and Andrew Suarez (ex-The Slyde). The EP also features Gabriel Guardiola (Immortal Guardian) on the track Beaten Path.

Frontman Lucas Di Mascio had this to say about The Year Walk:

The majority of the songs that have been released this year were written around 2017 – before the release of our last full length, Restless Dreams. I didn’t really know what to do with these songs because they were so different from Restless Dreams but still were aligned with the sound we had developed on the EP, Ritualis Aeterna. I shelved them for a bit and then decided to rework them when working with an artist who was endorsed by a big guitar brand.

The artist in question wanted to have some metal material to help promote themselves, so we built a new band for the material. I was actually supposed to be the rhythm guitarist for this project- we had a different singer involved. Unfortunately that project never got off the ground after almost a year of working on it and the songs were shelved yet again. In mid-2019 I revisited the songs and wrote a few more after Zak had joined. We were excited with the material and felt it should be a Malacoda release.

We finished drum tracking right as 2019 was ending. While our initial plans drastically changed because of the pandemic, I decided that we should still release this material but just break it into EP’s so we can keep busy in a time without touring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoDEemLMCAQ

We’ve been along for the trilogy ride and have enjoyed a lot of what we’ve heard over the year from Malacoda. April’s Crawling Chaos, July’s The Strain and now this, December’s The Year Walk.

Happily, Malacoda end the trilogy and the year with a bang. A dark, melodic, and symphonic metal bang. The chilling wickedness present from the very start with the twisted glee of the title track.

A faster metal tempo but layered with sweet piano melody, Beaten Path is a step up musically. A much more exciting listen that really shows off the intricate details that make Malacoda an enjoyable band to listen too.

Legacy continues forth with the thumping, fast and more metal orientated sound. Before Damage Control has Malacoda close out their year with one of their darkest and heaviest sounding efforts so far.

Malacoda – The Year Walk Full Track Listing

1. The Year Walk
2. Beaten Path
3. Legacy
4. Damage Control

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