After their debut album Hollow Throne has already been successful, the German melodic post hardcore band Maelfoy is releasing their sophomore album. I had the opportunity to listen to Failures, Fears and Forgiveness before its actual release on 24th November 2023 and share my thoughts with you.
Maelfoy – About The Artist
Maelfoy has been founded in 2017 in Ganderkesee near Bremen in Germany. The band is a quintet, consisting of singer Marne, guitarists Lars and Lukas, bassist Chris and drummer Martin. In 2021, they released their debut album Hollow Throne. Before that, the band had released two EPs.
Maelfoy – Failures, Fears and Forgiveness – Track by Track
The eleven track album lasts 39 minutes.
1. Intro
The 76 second intro creates a scary atmosphere. There is even some sort of psychedelic touch.
2. Fear
The single release Fear already underlines the wide range of styles the Northern German band offers. Dark and scary grunting, rap, melodic parts with an alternative rock touch change forth and back. Impressive listen.
3. Finding Forgiveness (with Wake Up Hate)
The third song, which has been recorded together with members of the Florida based band Wake Up Hate. The song is more melodic and emphasizes the alternative rock sections. Fans might miss the magical touch of darkness in here, but I feel the song is really nice and fluent listen.
4. Heroes
The fourth song, Heroes, presents a similar sound. This time, however, the instruments also have some opportunity to drive the song without vocal influence. Nice work by the band.
5. Away
Gentle melodies kick off Away and turn into the main theme. The fifth song also presents some sections for fans of hardcore sound. The last part of the song fades into a dark rap-alike bridge.
6. Monster In The Mirror (with About Monsters)
For the second collaboration on their album, Maelfoy went for a domestic option. About Monsters is a band from Osnabrück in Germany, the two bands recorded the single Monster In The Mirror together. And this time, they definitely get straight down to the nitty-gritty. No excuse, there is the full range of metalcore and post-hardcore in this 3:26 minute song. Definitely energetic!
7. Darkness Dwells
Darkness Dwells in the seventh track of the album. There are darker sounds in this album – but Darkness Dwells can especially persuade me while listening in the melodic and keyboard parts. Nice one.
8. Borrowed Acoustic
And then, Maelfoy sounds like a folk music band. It might not be the sound you are expecting, but the acoustic guitar track with a slightly melancholic touch (I need a little love, I need a helping hand…) underlines that this band could even deliver very different kinds of songs in style. Definitely a special song in this set of tracks.
9. Facing Failures (with Chaosbay)
The final guest musician collaboration of the album is Facing Failures, which Maelfoy recorded with the Berlin-based progressive metalcore band Chaosbay. The song definitely presents typical metalcore and hardcore sections, but despite there are a lot of breaks and quite some action, this one feels surprisingly fluent.
10. Owe You Nothing
Owe You Nothing has been another track the German band has already shared with their fans before the album release. This one is another really good listen. Especially the main theme stays in your mind and makes you smile. Good one.
11. Eiskaltes Blut
Maelfoy already surprised us the the gentle strummer Borrowed Acoustics – the chucker out of Failures, Fears and Foregeiveness presents some German lyrics as well. First of all, though, the song starts as a die-hard rapper in English. The second stanza introduces German rap and lyrics and creates an interesting dialectic between the two languages.
Maelfoy – Failures, Fears and Forgiveness – Spotify
Here is the album on Spotify:
Maelfoy – Failures, Fears and Forgiveness – My View
Failures, Fears and Forgeiveness is a lot of fun listening. The key reason for that is that the band is not reproducing songs. Every song is different. The gentle Borrowed Acoustics has its spot in this album just as full energy metal and metalcore elements. You spot something new with every track – that’s why I really like it.
Favorite Song: Finding Forgiveness
Maelfoy – Triple F Tour 2023
Right after the release, the band is having some shows in Germany during the next weeks:
Sa 25.11.2023 | Karlsruhe – Z10 | |
Fr 01.12.2023 | Bremen – Lila Eule | |
Fr 08.12.2023 | Übach-Palenberg – Rockfabrik | |
Sa 09.12.2023 | Salzgitter – Forellenhof | |
Fr 15.12.2023 | Würzburg – B-Hof | |
Sa 16.12.2023 | Crailsheim – Ratskeller | |
Fr 22.12.2023 | Münster – Rare Guitar |
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