MALIANT – Oracle

vote
7.0

• Bands:
  MALIANT
• Duration: 00:39:48
• Available from: 01/22/2026

Streaming not yet available

Maliant appear on the Italian metal scene with “Oracle”, a debut album composed of ten tracks that draw from progressive metal, contaminated by symphonic and electronic elements.
The band was born from the meeting of musicians with heterogeneous backgrounds, ranging from symphonic metal to black/death to electro-pop: a variety of influences that is clearly reflected in the sonic identity of the album. The themes of the album range from the impact of technology in everyday life to aspects closer to the world of ritualistic witchcraft, elements perfectly captured by the beautiful cover.
Track after track, the listener is immersed in a world that alternates moments of pure instrumental virtuosity – with guitars strongly influenced by Symphony X – with more modern and experimental sections.

Particularly interesting are the electronic elements present in songs such as “The Ritual Fire” and “Cyber ​​9”, dedicated to the advent of artificial intelligence in a world increasingly governed by algorithms: a current theme and very representative of the state of artistic creation in our times, increasingly impacted by a rampant attention deficit and strongly dominated by a continuous presence on social media.
The real strong point of the album is undoubtedly Kyrah Aylin's voice, which demonstrates considerable versatility in moving from a clean and rock register – Lacuna Coil style, so to speak (“The Witches' Brew”) or the latest Epica in songs like “Mirror Of Deception” – up to dirty and aggressive growls that recall the sounds of Arch Enemy. The union between a female rock voice, not purely lyrical, and a progressive instrumental base represents one of the most successful aspects of the work.

Observing the compositional architecture, we notice how the album develops around two distinct souls, separated by “Desert Prayer”, an interlude with a tribal flavor based on drums and didgeridoo.
If the first half of the album moves on more controlled sounds, the second veers towards more energetic and dark territories: tracks like “Stigmata”, for example, could easily appear in a Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth album, while “Elementary” emerges as an anxious and crazy song, characterized by lightning-fast solos and a screaming and psychotic vocal part.
This second part of the album – the best, in the writer's opinion – shows a braver band, willing to get their hands dirty with decidedly more extreme sounds.
Despite the undoubted technical qualities and a good level of production, “Oracle” however struggles to shake off a feeling of déjà-vu. In a landscape saturated with bands that mix progressive, symphonic with extreme elements and female vocals, Maliant struggle to find a truly distinctive identity.

What we have in front of us is certainly a good debut album capable of overcoming its baptism of fire and which demonstrates the technical and compositional solidity of the band.
At the same time, however, there emerges a clear need for further testing to reach sonic maturity and, above all, to find that creative spark capable of transforming a set of good ideas into something truly identifying the sound of a group. The path is the right one, but the journey has just begun.