What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. That's how MALNATT has forged an avant-garde profile with unconventional concept and stage performances, dragging it even to what they referred to as a new musical order, with interestingly, a Jugund branch, the way secret societies are organized (though I've always thought that metal in general has always been one).

The quite experienced band from Bologna, Italy has released "Swinesong" (parodying swansong), a full-length studio album containing 15 tracks, each one standing for one year of the span of their career, which started in 1999. What draws the attention first is definitely the bizarre artwork. As a preliminary thought, it seemed what they would play in a 1920's Italian bar in NY if metal existed then.

But point is, if you ever attempt to classify this band, quit already, hands down. Should it be a blend of Black metal as heard on "Vota Cthulu", the fast tempo typical tremolo-and-double-bass-drums black metal track that shaped a genuine blast with just one guitar, power/progressive metal in "Sleipnir" with a freaking bass (well, it was bel et bien the lead instrument of the album), the pagan/folk pipe-like interludes, and *drum rolls*... House music, Ambient prayer reminding of Tibetan monks or better, the diphonic Mongolian style, the nylon-stringed acoustic "Sol" or the groovy brass section of "La Lancetta Di Longino", the crooner air of "Discordia", similar to what I used to watch on Rai Uno movies when it used to broadcast on the Tunisian soil...

Such diversity in such short tracks with weird elements that unexpectedly managed to be tied together and fit like a pair. This originality mostly generated from the intensive vocal experimentation, ranging from intriguing deep growls, pseudo-growls to overdubs of low and high-pitched harshies. But else, the singer literally toyed with spoken speech, whether whispering or oratory, in a sort of a catching multiple character debate.

Likewise, innovations are definitely a counter argument when it comes to the presumed (and potentially real) stagnation of the metal genre. Therefore, I don't see the point of reviewing what is supposed to be heard and seen, not merely read about.<