Maelføy has come a long way since its debut EP.
Formed in 2017 in Germany, the band comprising Marne Büch (vocals), Lukas Meyer (guitar), Lars Riedel (guitar), Christopher Maaß (bass) and Martin Schiwy (drums) expands its universe with Failures Fears and Forgiveness, its second studio album, released in 2023.
After an introduction between the crackle of a Geiger counter and some modern keyboards, the band attacks with Fear, a composition divided between leads’ melancholy and jerky riffs’ raw power. Saturated, rapped and clean vocals blend to create a catchy diversity as the rhythmic changes, before welcoming American band Wake Up Hate to give Finding Forgiveness its accessible touch as the musicians unleash, creating a natural duet. Heady keyboards graft themselves just as deftly onto the energetic parts, leading us into Heroes, where clean vocals soften the massive riffs, fueling again the contrast that anchors itself once more in nostalgic guitar tones. The final returns to rage, then Away finds a heady groove that the band decides to mix with explosive saturation and effective choruses where clean vocals reign while keeping their heaviness, which easily ignites in the track’s final moments. The band invites compatriots About Monsters to share Monster In The Mirror and give it a wider range, alternating raw touch and soft choruses thanks to a sublime duet, then the modern approach resurfaces with Darkness Dwells, which is easy to listen to and places heady touches here and there, even using intense backing vocals. The band tries their hand at pure tranquility with Borrowed Acoustic, a ballad where nostalgia invades the vocalist, only accompanied by a guitar, then saturation takes over again on the danceable Facing Failures, where the band meets Chaosbay, another German band with a more Progressive approach, who come together on this collaborative track punctuated by eruptions of fury. The band return to their current intriguing touch on Owe You Nothing, where widely-represented Trap influences meet effective Metalcore, as on Eiskaltes Blut, where the two cultures find a perfect balance, in English or German, to allow the musicians an audacious crossover that closes the album.
If you like Maelføy, you’ll know how much the band likes to mix its influences. The band takes this approach to the extreme on Failures Fears and Forgiveness, where Rap and Trap meet Post-Hardcore and Metalcore in a modern, powerful sound.
80/100