NOTHGARD

Malady X

METAL BLADE Melodic death metallers embark on an epic new adventure

Malady X marks the start of Nothgard’s multiplealbum Metal Blade deal with a bang. Boasting guest appearances from Battle Beast’s Noora Louhimo, Kalmah’s Veli-Matti Kananen and Evanescence’s Jen Majura, it’s an epic and ambitious effort that sees the Bavarian quartet once again raise the bar in a bid to perfect their fusion of bombastic orchestration and fretboard gymnastics. While the second half of their fourth LP doesn’t quite match the opening salvo of the shred-tastic title track, the savage

Shades Of War and the

hook-laden Guardians Of

Sanity, they’ve created a formidable slab of melodic DM. Noora Louhimo helps make the powerful and

precise Deamonium I the record’s finest moment and the marriage of her arena-rattling vocals with stabbing strings and anthemic Maiden-esque leads is game-changing.