• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

May 2025

• The Flower Kings: Love
• Maestrick : Espresso Della Vita: Lunare

March 2025

• W.E.T.: Apex
• Alliance: Before Our Eyes
• Ginevra: Beyond Tomorrow
• Phil X & The Drills:
  Pow! Right In The Kisser
• IQ: Dominion
• Heart Line: Falling Heaven
• Gotthard: Stereo Crush
• Defender: Dying To Live
• Streetlight: Night Vision

February 2025

• Robin McAuley: Soulbound
• Perfect Plan: Heart Of A Lion
• Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
• Mantric Momentum: Alienized
• Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
• Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
• Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
• Dream Theater: Parasomnia
• Tyran: Tyran's Oath
• Saber: Lost In Flames

January 2025

• Wildness: Avenger
• The Ferrymen: Iron Will
• Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
• Bonfire: Higher Ground
• The Big Deal: Electrified
• Landfall: Wide Open Sky

December 2024

• After Lapse: Pathways
• Illusion Force: Halfana
• Powell-Payne: Voilá

November 2024

• Sunstorm: Restless Fight
• Storace: Crossfire
• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

[ More Music Reviews ]

Malison Rouge: Malison Rouge

Melodic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal

3.75/5.0

Inner Wound Recording
Website Facebook MySpace
by Craig Hartranft,  03.14.2011

Malison Rouge is an upstart band from Sweden, releasing their self-titled debut album on Inner Wound Recordings with production handled by the ever versatile Mats Leven (Yngwie Malmsteen, Therion, et al). Malison Rouge has a distinctive mid-Eighties melodic hard rock and heavy metal sound, with a definite touch of the NWOBHM heritage. You may also hear inspiration from likes of Iron Maiden, Queensyrche, and Fate's Warning.

On heavier side, Malison Rouge delivers on Friend or Foe and Scars, though latter also has distinct hints of progressive character. Then the band offers rock groove on the fast-paced numbers The Pain You Cause and We're All Born Sinners. Echoing the best of those Eighties bands, Malison Rouge delivers a true power ballad in My Mistakes, a sentimental song of confession and epic proportions. Other songs like The Griever and Everything Faces, though quite good, require more than a little patience to absorb and enjoy. The former starts slow and plods along, the latter takes some time to develop. The only other objection to this debut is that it's too short: only 8 songs at less than 40 minutes.

Nevertheless, Malison Rouge has put together an ambitious and entertaining debut, with the promise of a great future. Recommendation: crank it up an extra notch and give several spins to persuade you.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Malison Rouge has put together an ambitious and entertaining debut, with the promise of a great future. Recommendation: crank it up an extra notch and give several spins to persuade you.

Alphabetical Index

Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]